Based on the Japanese principle of kaizen (which means “improvement” or “small permanent change for the better”), the Zen Diet Revolution is centered on incremental changes that add up to a gradual lifestyle overhaul, weight loss and improved health.

This unique exercise guide is big on attitude, giving plus-size women the motivation and information they need to move their bodies and improve their health.

Billed as "a provocative look at how eliminating wheat from your diet can help one to lose weight for good, shrink unsightly bulges and reverse a broad spectrum of health problems," there is one rule with this diet: Eliminate wheat in all forms.

Bob Harper, co-host of NBC's The Biggest Loser, coaches readers through 20 rules designed to change basic behaviors, referred to as "defaults." He explains each rule in a separate, succinct chapter so readers can decide if and how the rule may apply to them. The book also includes recipes, an index and a notes section with scientific references to support the rules.

The author claims "removing the toxins of processed food and replacing it with real food allows your body to absorb the good stuff it needs to heal and become healthy again" and that "you’ll learn how to rid yourself of gingivitis, acid refl ux, anxiety, arthritis and many more bothersome conditions."

Tired of being teased about his weight, 10-year-old Marshall Reid decided to change his lifestyle and asked his family to help him along the way. For 31 days, Marshall and his family paid close attention to how they ate by looking at portions, reading labels and learning about ingredients.

The author shares his tips for eating, fasting and exercising “as wild humans did for millennia,” including how to embrace your primal cravings for animal fats and fiber-rich plant sources, stop listening to the “experts” and start tuning into the body’s natural signals.

This is not a diet book but instead an explanation of what calories are and how they work, both biologically and politically. Overall, the book delivers science and perspective, and is refreshingly less about finger-pointing and more about joining hands for a solution to America’s obesity problem.