Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Diet and Fitness

Cupcakes and diet/nutrition/exercise books got along together like the best of friends at last night's Genre Reading Group meeting!  Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 27th at 6:30pm and the genre up for discussion will be historical fiction.


(powells.com) Imagine a diet plan that lets you eat at Burger King, McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts and Olive Garden and still strip away 10, 20, even 30 pounds or more! A diet plan that lets you order takeout pizza, whip up a box of macaroni & cheese, even reach into the freezer section for ice cream and never worry about gaining weight or going hungry! A diet plan that lets you enjoy your most indulgent comfort foods whenever you want and actually teaches you how to eat them more often! The Eat This, Not That! No-Diet Diet is the easiest, most revolutionary weight-loss plan ever created.

Whether you’re in the drive-through, the family restaurant, the supermarket aisle or your own kitchen, you make dozens of decisions every day that affect your weight and your health. Now, those decisions are made easier than ever! Authors David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding have built on the success of their wildly popular Eat This, Not That! series offood-swap guides and created a complete morning-to-night, 365-day eating plan that will have you enjoying all your favorite foods and shedding pounds like you’ve never imagined! No matter where you are or what you crave, you’ll be stunned to discover how easy losing weight can be!


(powells.com) With engineers working around the clock to figure out how to add irresistibility and whoosh to food, and the ever-expanding choices (and portions) available to us, it's no wonder we've become a culture on caloric overload. But with obesity rising at alarming rates, we're in desperate need of dietary intervention.

In The End of Overeating, Dr. David A. Kessler, former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, takes an in-depth look at the ways in which we have been conditioned to overeat. Dr. Kessler presents a combination of fascinating anecdotes and newsworthy research — including interviews with physicians, psychologists, and neurologists — to understand how we became a culture addicted to the over-consumption of unhealthy foods. He also provides a controversial view inside the food industry, from popular processed food manufacturers to advertisers, chain restaurants, and fast food franchises. Kessler deconstructs the endless cycle of craving and consumption that the industry has created, and breaks down how our minds and bodies join in the conspiracy to make it all work. He concludes by offering us a common sense prescription for change, both in ourselves and in our culture.


(powells.com) Pioneering research psychologist Roy F. Baumeister collaborates with New York Times science writer John Tierney to revolutionize our understanding of the most coveted human virtue: self-control. Drawing on cutting-edge research and the wisdom of real-life experts, Willpower shares lessons on how to focus our strength, resist temptation, and redirect our lives. It shows readers how to be realistic when setting goals, monitor their progress, and how to keep faith when they falter. By blending practical wisdom with the best of recent research science, Willpower makes it clear that whatever we seek—from happiness to good health to financial security—we won’t reach our goals without first learning to harness self-control.


(powells.com) Five years ago, with the publication of TheSouth Beach Diet, renowned Miami cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston set out to change the way America eats. Now he has an even more ambitious goal: to change the way America lives by helping Americans become fitter as well as thinner and healthier . . . for life.

In the all-new The South Beach Diet Supercharged, Dr. Agatston shows you how to rev up your metabolism and lose weight faster while following the proven healthy eating principles of the original diet: choose good carbs, good fats, lean protein, and low-fat dairy. Collaborating with Dr. Joseph Signorile, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Miami, Dr. Agatston presents a cutting-edge, three-phase workout that perfectly complements the three phases of the diet itself. Based on the latest exercise science, this ease-into-it fitness program combines low- and high-intensity interval exercise (with a focus on walking) and functional core body-toning exercises. The result: You'll look fitter and you'll burn more fat and calories all day, even at rest.

Also included is the latest nutritional research on how specific foods high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a host of phytonutrients help keep you healthy; new and expanded lists of Foods to Enjoy; taste-tempting Meal Plans for phases 1 and 2; and dozens of easy-to-prepare new recipes, including Eggs Frijoles, Chock-Full-of-Veggies Chili, Roasted Tomato Soup, Homestyle Turkey Meatloaf, and South Beach Diet Tiramisu. In every chapter you'll find inspiring success stories from real-life South Beach dieters and plenty of effective weight loss tips. And as an added bonus, Dr. Agatston answers the questions you've most often asked him about the diet since the original book was published.


(powells.com) Introducing a breathtaking promise: transform your body and get fit in just 10 minutes a day. Incorporating the latest research in exercise physiology, The 10-Minute Total Body Breakthrough is an ingenious program of interval, circuit, aerobic, and resistance training that accrues the benefits of hours at the gym in daily 10-minute workouts. And these are workouts that can be done anywhere, any time--home, office, hotel room, the park, and, of course, the local health club.

Created by Sean Foy, an exercise physiologist and behavioral coach, The 10-Minute Total Body Breakthrough counters the #1 reason people don't exercise--not enough time--with a scientifically proven, clinically tested 4-3-2-1 program: 4 minutes of high-energy cardio, 3 minutes of resistance, 2 minutes of core, and 1 minute of stretching and deep breathing. The step-by-step illustrated exercises are simplicity itself--air boxing, wall push-ups, chair jogging, stationary high-knee marching--and are presented in three levels geared to the reader's fitness, with four weeks of routines per level. Their potency lies in the benefits of nonstop movement, thermal effect, intensity, and more: in other words, why it truly takes just 10 carefully crafted minutes to boost metabolic rate, exercise all the major muscle groups, increase cardiovascular endurance, have a positive effect on cholesterol and blood pressure, and deliver a sense of well-being.


(powells.com) Do you suffer from ailments your doctors can't seem to diagnose or help: mysterious rashes, unpredictable digestive problems, debilitating headaches, mood and energy swings, constant tiredness? If so, nerve compression is likely the cause.

What Grain Brain did for wheat, leading peripheral nerve surgeon Dr. Richard Jacoby now does for sugar, exposing the shocking truth that a diet high in sugar, processed carbohydrates, and wheat can compress and damage the peripheral nerves of the body, and lead to pain, numbness, and tingling in the hands and feet, as well as a host of related conditions, from migraines, autism, and ALS to gallbladder disease and diabetes.

Over the years, Dr. Richard Jacoby has treated thousands of patients with peripheral neuropathy. Now he shares his insights and tells the story of how he connected the dots to determine how sugar is the common denominator of many chronic diseases.

Practical and accessible, Sugar Crush breaks down our dangerous addiction to sweets, offering a unique, holistic understanding of the toll sugar and carbs take on the body, and demonstrating how dietary changes can help nerves regain their normal function dramatically.

Whether you have diabetes or prediabetes, or are even just concerned about your health, Sugar Crush is the essential guide to knowing the dangers of nerve compression. Complete with dietary advice, the latest thinking on ways to prevent and reverse neuropathy, and a quiz to help you assess your nerve damage, this book will give you the tools you need to quit sugar, calm your nerves, and reclaim well-being.

Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan

(powells.com) Have you ever finished a meal that tasted horrible but not noticed until the last bite?
Eaten in your car so you wouldn't have to share with your children? Gotten hungry while watching a dog food commercial? Does the presence of green vegetables make you angry?

If you answered yes to any of the following questions, you are pretty pathetic, but you are not alone. Feast along with America's favorite food comedian, bestselling author, and male supermodel Jim Gaffigan as he digs into his specialty: stuffing his face. Food: A Love Story is an in-depth, thoroughly uninformed look at everything from health food to things that people actually enjoy eating.

GENERAL DISCUSSION:

One of our bookgroup members is participating in a nutritional study at UAB and is giving us a first person perspective of his experience:

“The purpose of the Fiber and Mood study is to determine the effect of a fiber-containing shake on mood. The study is set up in two separate phases. The first phase will include screening and baseline testing. In the second phase, participants will come to UAB to eat all of their meals for two weeks,-Monday-Friday. There will be two weeks in between each week-long session of eating at UAB.”


We spent a few minutes remembering the pioneers:

More recent trendsetters:

Food trucks are experiencing a surge of popularity.  There are several books out on the topic and last year’s Jon Favreau film, Chef, was particularly good.

Esquire article, “Why Did Everyone Stop Taking Real Lunch Breaks?” by John Hendrickson
http://www.esquire.com/food-drink/food/a33512/lunch-break-study/


What are YOU reading/watching/listening to?