Not my normal type of book rec question.
I’m in my mid 30s and I’ve let myself slip a little over the past 2-3 years. Not necessarily weight wise, but just general health and energy levels have dropped. Largely due to having a kid and working from home full time, it’s all too easy not to go out a walk/run.
Find myself really wanting to get back into shape, eat more healthy, get better sleep etc.
Before people say it, I know reading a book isn’t going to solve the problem of motivation / willpower / hardwork. But, I know just how inspiring books can be, and if a recommendation can at least kick start me into action, I’ll take it.
So with that, have you any book recs that really inspired you into action? Whether it be exercising, eating better, prioritising sleep, stop drinking etc.
Thanks in advance!
by User0301
16 Comments
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
For me it was medical journalist Gary Taubes’ **The Case Against Sugar**.
In addition to laying out the history, uses, and questionable research of sugar, it has a chapter on the physiology of sugar in the body. That chapter enlightened me on why I needed to cut back on the consumption of my drug of choice. After doing so (and combined with daily exercise) I achieved a considerable weight loss.
*Stretching* by Bob & Jean Anderson?
*The Omnivore’s Dilemma* by Michael Pollan?
***Aerobic Exercise*** by Kenneth Cooper. A doc-in-the-box wrote this out on a prescription pad for me in 1982, when I was 33, suffering from very high BP, and overweight. I read it, quit smoking that week, and began jogging. I continued to run for 40 years, until walking became a more advisable alternative.
The Resistance Training Revolution by Sal Di Stefano
and You Just Need to Lose Weight (and 19 other myths about fat people) by Aubrey Gordon.
These 2 books balance eachother perfectly. Sal has all the best information on how to actually get strong and healthy, and Aubrey provides the perfect counterpoint for everything you think is true about diet and exercise.
Aubrey also hosts Maintenance Phase podcast which is absolutely brilliant.
Sal also hosts Mind Pump, the #1 fitness podcast, but it sucks. The fitness info is fantastic, but the hosts are insufferable libertarians who are very stupid about politics and philosophy. Yet they ramble their lazy opinions on those topics almost every episode.
*Move Your DNA* by Katy Bowman!
Why we sleep.
*Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions* by Johann Hari
“Why we sleep” by Matthew Walker
“Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence” by Anna Lembke
“How not to die” by Gene Stone and Michael Greger
“The female brain” by Louann Brizendine
not exactly that, but Annie Leonard – The Story Of Stuff made me reconsider all the products I use (hygiene, cleaning, etc.)
and also Salt Sugar Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us
Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg. I read it at a transitional time in my life and it taught me to make small incremental changes rather than going all or nothing, and give myself credit for any and all progress.
This book-length blog series on grain production by historian Bret Deveraux, which I read when I was beginning to lose weight and grappling with how things got so bad for me. Basically, widespread obesity makes a lot more sense when you consider our DNA and our culture evolved in circumstances where nearly everyone was constantly in danger of starving to death. It’s not what you’d think of as health advice but it provided me with some important context that allowed me to shift my thinking on food, and I credit it with helping me to lose 75 lbs. https://acoup.blog/2020/07/24/collections-bread-how-did-they-make-it-part-i-farmers/
“Thinner Leaner Stronger” (Michael Matthews). Another that was highly recommended in my fitness group but I still haven’t read is “Everything Fat Loss” (Ben Carpenter)
“Life Span” by David Sinclair. “Now not to Die” by Gene Stone and Michael Greger. “Outlive” by Peter Attia. “Breath” by James Nestor.
If you are looking at mental fortitude, I’d highly suggest reading *mans search for meaning*
Younger next year. i used to work with a great guy who shared my love of donuts etc. Saw him a year or so later and he was a different guy, no more junk, trim and looked years younger. this was the book that did it for him and it worked for me to. it does not pull any punches and is designed to get you on the wagon of getting fitter and healthier. i have both the audiobook and the book. both fine
Seriously take a hard look at any author’s credentials and whether they based their conclusions on real research that they are qualified to interpret. There is so much garbage published in health and wellness and plenty of it recommended here.