Live A Little!

I love these thoughts- let's get out of our own heads, and back into our lives ladies! Go read this post by Melissa- http://talesofadisorderedeater.org/2010/01/05/new-book-tells-women-to-stop-fretting-about-their-health/

Intentions for 2010

I have gotten so many inquiries about advice for motivation, for ambition, for workout programs and healthy eating tips in the last two weeks and I thought I would lay them down here. I'm re-commiting to each of the following which I have dispensed to close friends trusting in me for guidance, but also as a participant in them myself. A good whop in the arse is exactly what I need from myself:

So, to stick to our intentions for 2010:
1. Be your BIGGEST fan- be kind to yourself. Setbacks will happen, you will cry and you will support yourself like your own best friend
2. Be consistent, be consistent, be consistent- when making a change, you are building a mountain using grains of sand.
That's it. Two simple suggestions to guide our thoughts, and then our actions towards success.
Biggest Fan icon from the Dictionary of Automotive Terms
A colleague of mine committed to a healthier lifestyle in a BIG way this year and is using a blog to maintain motivation and I hope like me, it builds a community of support for her. In addition to her, I have watched so many beautiful women commit to something new in the last few months, both a cousin and friend of mine reached a 20lb weight loss goal in December (way to go girls! You inspire me!). So regardless of the day you choose to change, I raise my water bottle to you in sisterhood in healthy choices.

An Apple a Day-Lit Review

I read this on the treadmill, over a couple of weeks- you can tackle a couple chapters in your half-hour of cardio if you can read and run/walk at the same time. And this book is about the easiest one to read if you are challenging your cerebellum by running and reading at the same time. Dr. Joe Schwarcz (author) is not a medical doctor, is an amateur magician and advocate for popularizing science- so the language is direct, simplistic and so tongue in cheek I couldn't help laughing, or at least 'chortling' between breaths on the run.
The tag-line is 'a must read for anxious eaters'- but don't let that deter you from reading it. On the contrary, if you believe food is just that- food, then pick this book up. Dr. Joe holds his doctorate in Chemistry- not medicine. So he talks about food in it's elemental form- and straight up sends the message to just 'chill' when it comes to what you eat. Make good choices, don't fret about organic too much, don't fall into the traps of modern advertising about this argument or that argument for or against fat content in your diet (as an example).
Structurally the book is unique- he devotes each chapter to a unique concept; for example, there is an entire chapter on Tomatoes. I love that we can all identify what a tomatoe is, so of course we get what that chapter will address. Further, he doesn't force his opinion, but rather discusses various research (including the sordid, and sometimes almost pop-culture drama of the researchers) about the different topics in the book. You can arrive at your own conclusion before he lays down his own. Never intrusive, and always thoughtful.
Pick this up and give it a go- especially if you have read any of Micheal Pollan's books. They come from very different points of view, and I find the differences between them very intriguing. Pollan talks about food as a whole, and the dangers of 'nutritionism' (breaking things down into parts) while Dr. Joe breaks it all down for us.
When read together, a balance is quite nice to behold mentally- and you can make up your own mind. Which is why we read anyway- right? None of us has ever read a book and then fallen head-over-heels with the prophet writer's works?
I did of course, when I read Brendan Brazier's Thrive Diet, directly after reading "An Apple a Day"- with unhealthy results (indicative, I think, of following anyone's word to the letter). But that, my friends, if for the next literature review.