Fitness/Diet/Lifestyle Books?

[Ceasefire]

So I've been using my time getting my 20 month old to sleep at night by reading her fitness related books. (Boring her to sleep for some? Probably.) I just got done reading the last rental from the library and I need a fresh book! These are the books I've read so far:

 

• Paleofantasy.
• Which comes first, Cardio or Weights?
• The Great Fitness Experiment.

 

Game for pretty much anything insightful and informative. I'm looking for something Pro-Paleo at some point, as the first book was kind of one of those 'dispelling Paleo' books and I feel like I owe it to Paleo to at least see the positive sides of the nutrition/lifestyle.

 

I also did not like the 'Great Fitness Experiment' as much as I'd hoped. It dealt a lot with the writers (blogger) eating disorder and past history with an abusive ex. That thing should have come with a trigger warning. Guh.

[traabbit]

So I've been using my time getting my 20 month old to sleep at night by reading her fitness related books. (Boring her to sleep for some? Probably.) I just got done reading the last rental from the library and I need a fresh book! These are the books I've read so far:

 

• Paleofantasy.
• Which comes first, Cardio or Weights?
• The Great Fitness Experiment.

 

Game for pretty much anything insightful and informative. I'm looking for something Pro-Paleo at some point, as the first book was kind of one of those 'dispelling Paleo' books and I feel like I owe it to Paleo to at least see the positive sides of the nutrition/lifestyle.

 

I also did not like the 'Great Fitness Experiment' as much as I'd hoped. It dealt a lot with the writers (blogger) eating disorder and past history with an abusive ex. That thing should have come with a trigger warning. Guh.

I just got done reading the Power of Habit! It was really awesome! I will be reading good calories, bad calories by Gary Taubes and Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes soon! 

 

If you are looking for a fun read that is nerdy, check out Ready Player One by Ernest Cline!

[milythael]

Have you read It Starts with Food?

[Ceasefire]

Nope. My list is very small right now. I also tried to start a self-improvement book, but it was a year 'journaling' and I couldn't rent it for a year, so I have to wait until I can find it at the half-price book store.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! Adding them to my library queue. =)

[Meant2Move]

Some of my favorites:

Spark: The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain by John J Ratey, MD - lots of info on what happens in the body when we exercise and why it is so good for us.  Helped me understand how to better manage some long-standing issues with depression and PMDD, but was just generally a really interesting read.

 

I enjoyed Younger Next Year, but it is probably not a great choice for you given your age - again, discusses why exercise is important, but quite focused on aging well (I probably read it for the first time when I was about 42 and starting to think about such things...)

 

Food books are my favorite:

Gary Taubes Good Calories, Bad Calories and Why we Get Fat were both mentioned previously. I've read both and liked them. GCBC is really detailed, WWGF is a solid summary of GCBC and has some, um - recommendations I guess - that seems like too strong a word, but really, one of the GCBC criticisms was "ok, you tell us all of this, but then what do we do about it?", so Why we get fat was written in part to address that.

 

Loved In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan - this book really got my husband and I on the path to thinking about food and to eating much, much better. Probably my top recommendation. The Omnivore's Dilemma also by Pollan is lengthy, well written, and again, makes one think about our food choices.

 

I really liked Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD. Interesting read and annecdotes, the guy's humor is a bit off-putting at times, but he really is passionate about why you might consider dropping wheat, and ultimately he advocates a paleo diet. I feel hugely better since mostly eliminating wheat from my diet, thus am likely a bit biased.

 

Favorite read of the summer (so far) is Fat Chance: Beating the odds against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease by Robert H. Lustig, MD.  The author is a pediatric specialist, working with childhood obesity and endocrine issues. His focus is on the danger of all the added sugar in the western industrial diet and the harm it does to all of us and a lot of information about metabolic syndrome, but has a number of items related to children and the serious problem of childhood obesity.

[vibrantnotions]

In Defense of Food is on to read list.

 

I recently finished You Are Your Own Gym.  I greatly dislike going to the gym which is why I picked it up, and I enjoyed reading it.  The majority of it is exercise descriptions.  In reviews I've read the phone app is great for following the program and exercise descriptions/videos, but I still found reading the book beneficial. 

 

You mentioned trying a general self help book.  My favorite self improvement book is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  

[Ceasefire]

Good Calories, Bad Calories was the pick I went with. Goddamn, this book is wordy already. I've decided to keep reading, but probably NOT to my daughter. My husband keeps laughing at me when I struggle to pronounce some of the big words and I feel like a huge, illiterate jerk. (I can read and understand them well enough, saying them? Not so much.)

[Jill Beat]

I read Born to Run by Christopher McDougall a couple years back and thought it had some really interesting ideas in it.  Overall I thought it was a good read AND I'm not a runner in the least, so I would suggest giving it a try!

[Angie_Phoenix]

I just got done reading the Power of Habit! It was really awesome! I will be reading good calories, bad calories by Gary Taubes and Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes soon! 

 

If you are looking for a fun read that is nerdy, check out Ready Player One by Ernest Cline!

 

I haven't read the "Good Calories" but I really like the other two we must have similar taste.

 

Jill Beat- I'm currently reading "Born to Run" too, and really like is so far as well.

[lawrencep93]

Rich food, poor food

Why we get fat

Good calories bad calories

Anything from Mark Sisson

Cholesterol clarity

Low carb, high fat recipe books are good.

Body by science

 

These are the ones off the top of my head, I have not read them yet, but they are on my to do list. Need to buy some as well.

 

Lifestyle books I have a tonne of great ones listed on a different website not my list someones list.

What I have read:

Anthony robbins awaken the giant with in. That was good.

[Mathieu *Gamer Unleashed*]

I have ''listened to'' born to run last month and Loved it.

 

I just get ''no meat athlete'' in the mail a few days ago. someont interressed to hae my thoughts on it after my read?  

[Kaylya]

Drop Dead Healthy - AJ Jacobs.

 

AJ Jacobs will try pretty much anything to write about it (e.g. one of his other books is about trying to follow everything in the Bible). It's not a how to guide so much as a "here's a humorous take on all the things I tried, some of which were ridiculous and some of which worked", with some useful information thrown in.

 

I will also second the Michael Pollan stuff, and Born to Run.

 

I'd be a bit careful giving that you're reading to your kid that the message is about positive healthy things (eating healthy foods, exercising) and not a heavy "weight loss" oriented thing.

 

There's some book reviews of the type of books you're looking at by an obesity doctor http://www.weightymatters.ca/search/label/Book%20Review'>here, including some that are specifically aimed at kids or are parenting guides.

[Glacier]

If you really want to put her to sleep, but maybe pick up something interesting for your own consideration... Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price. There's also geography in it!

Or Rebuild from Depression by Amanda Rose, but skip the first 4 or 5 chapters where she's talking about her postpartum depression... the rest is about studies and nutrition as they relate to mental health.

[lawrencep93]

John Kiefer has some good books for weight loss and lean mass gain

Carb nite (weight loss)

Carb Back Loading (lean muscle gains)

[bigm141414]

Squat Everyday by Matt Perryman. 

 

It's a good look at training mentality. 

[IslandGirl_Becks]

"Born to Run" was great. It's the sort of writing that'll have you breaking out your running shoes and craving a high. 

 

My last really good fitness read was "Becoming a Supple Leopard" by Kelly Starrett. If you haven't watched his self-maintinance videos... you should It's gotten me moving fluidly despite a history of injury and a desk job. The first few chapters cover the concept, and then it moves into specific mobility work. Worth it if your library has a copy.

[sjr243]

I love the idea of reading fitness books to get your child to sleep.  Why didn't I think of this years ago? 

[Draken50]

Starting Strength and Practical Programming are pretty good if you want to learn about Barbell training or strength programming.

 

Ninpo: Wisdom for Life isn't so much a martial arts book as a training/lifestyle book. Though it is more geared towards martial artists it doesn't really get into specific techniques or such. It's more about training and fitness and mobility and such.

[Machete]

Some guild-dominant lore that I've read so far and particularly enjoyed:

ADVENTURERS

Grappler's Guide to Sports Nutrition - Berardi & Fry

The Underground Guide to Warrior Fitness - Ross Enamait

The Vertical Jump Bible - Kelly Baggett

Exercise Physiology: Theory & Application to Fitness & Performance - Howley & Powers

 

WARRIORS

5/3/1 Manual - Jim Wendler

5/3/1 for Football: The Physical Development - Wendler & Fitzgerald

Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training - Mark Rippetoe

MONKS
The Mixed Martial Arts Book of Knowledge - BJ Penn

Punching with Power - Ross Enamait

Ultimate MMA Conditioning - Joel Jamieson

 

ASSASSINS

The Naked Warrior - Pavel Tsatsouline

Building the Gymnastic Body - Christopher Sommer

 

RANGERS

Ranger Athlete Warrior - US Army (of course)

[Dandizette]

Some guild-dominant lore that I've read so far and particularly enjoyed:

ADVENTURERS

Grappler's Guide to Sports Nutrition - Berardi & Fry

The Underground Guide to Warrior Fitness - Ross Enamait

The Vertical Jump Bible - Kelly Baggett

Exercise Physiology: Theory & Application to Fitness & Performance - Howley & Powers

 

WARRIORS

5/3/1 Manual - Jim Wendler

5/3/1 for Football: The Physical Development - Wendler & Fitzgerald

Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training - Mark Rippetoe

MONKS

The Mixed Martial Arts Book of Knowledge - BJ Penn

Punching with Power - Ross Enamait

Ultimate MMA Conditioning - Joel Jamieson

 

ASSASSINS

The Naked Warrior - Pavel Tsatsouline

Building the Gymnastic Body - Christopher Sommer

 

RANGERS

Ranger Athlete Warrior - US Army (of course)

To add to this:

SCOUTS:

The Art of Cycling by Robert Hurst

Bike for Life by Roy M Wallack and Bill Katovsky

The Anatomy of Running by Phillip Striano

Born to Run by Christopher McDougal (Already mentioned, but worth mentioning again.)

I'm really liking The Art of Cycling right now. I picked up and it's a great supplement to understand how cycling has evolved in American culture. You get a history of bikes, urban planning, a run down of quirky road laws for cyclists, and other info. 

Also, for beginners fitness for women, surprisingly enough the Seventeen Magazines 500 Health and Fitness Tips  has some great beginners body weight workouts, stretches, and more that encourage playing in parks, at home, and going out and about. I used this book when I started my health journey and lost about 10 lbs following those 500 tips. : )