John Gray Love & Sex Coach

by Deborah Kotz McCabe, Special to AOL Coaches

From the man who told us that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, we now learn than men and women have different needs when it comes to diet and exercise. Men tend to be deficient in the brain chemical dopamine, while women tend to have low levels of the brain chemical serotonin. Gray contends that a poor diet and lack of stimulating exercise combined with a long term, ho-hum relationship can cause dopamine levels to drop in men and serotonin levels to drop in women. This leads men to seek out excitement activities like sports or internet porn, while women seek out psychotherapy and soul-searching talks with their friends.

Unfortunately, the dearth of these brain chemicals can be combustible for a relationship: Women with low serotonin crave a good listener to unload their troubles on, while men with low dopamine tend to tune out their partner because they feel like they’ve heard it all before. The solution, says Gray, lies in creating the brain chemistry that can help men and women boost these deficient chemicals. That way, men will listen better, and women won’t be as needy for attention.

Dieting is a major no-no, since it can inhibit the production of necessary brain chemicals. Gray’s other rules: eat three meals a day; follow the Mars or Venus exercise routine for 10 to 30 minutes when you first wake up; replace your breakfast with a nutrition shake following the recipe he provides. Sounds pretty simple but be prepared to visit a health food store on a regular basis. Gray’s breakfast shake includes such ingredients as vitamins, amino acids and chromimum as well as ionic plant source materials.

Still, his overall dietary plan is sound. Both men and women should get about half their calories from carbohydrates. Men should get 30 percent of their calories from protein and 20 percent from fat, whereas women should get 20 percent protein and 30 percent fat. Not a huge difference but he claims "with this Mars and Venus balance, you will have the perfect combination to create healthy brain chemistry." In terms of exercise, Gray’s plan doesn’t require much effort in terms of exertion but exercise physiologists may question whether the small amount he recommends is enough to the boost "feel good" endorphin chemicals.

Gray is on firmer ground when he discusses the psychological differences between men and women and the link between their differences in brain chemistry. Here his expertise shines through. It’s a shame, though, that he didn’t work more closely with a nutritionist and exercise physiologist when writing this book. None appear to be thanked in his long list of acknowledgements, which shows in terms of the scantiness of his nutrition and exercise plans.

1. Buy 'The Mars & Venus Diet & Exercise Solution'