Book Lists
Hi everyone,
All scattered throughout the forum we've been talking about books we've found useful in our weight loss & maintenance journeys. Someone mentioned starting a thread with the collected information and I thought I'd put mine together tonight while I had some time. So here is my recommended book list, with extremely short descriptions/reviews of each book. The two books in red are the ones I recommened most highly. General: Thin for Life, Anne M Fletcher, MS, RD The absolute classic. Read this one if you don't read anything else. The 9 Truths about Weight Loss, Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, PhDGood sections on weight control and excellent techniques for stress management and maintenance. I found the food/nutrition sections to be less helpful. Nutrition:The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan, Barbara Rolls, PhD & Robert A. Barnett Subtitled: Feel Full on Fewer Calories. A scientific approach to satiety and one that works extremely well for me personally when I actually do it. My #2 book. The Complete Book of Food Counts, Corinne T. NetzerWhatever you're counting, it's in here: calories, protein, carbs, cholesterol, fat, fiber. Quicker and more portable than the internet. Updated periodically. American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide, 2nd Ed., Roberta Larson Duyff, MS RD FADA CFCS A huge book packed with general nutrition information for all situations from growing children, weight loss, sports nutrition, etc. USDA Food Guide Pyramid based. Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Nancy Clark, MS RDConcentrates on the nutrion needs of athletes and heavy exercisers, including how to time meals/snacks for optimal workouts, sports drinks, supplements, etc. Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, Walter C. Willett, MDIncorporates newer research than the USDA Pyramid approach. Stresses the importance of healthy fats and carbohydrates. Eating Well For Optimum Health, Andrew Weil, MDA more holistic approach to nutrition and health. Great recipes. Some recent research on supplementation doesn't support the older research that went into this book, and I take some of the healing advice/claims with a big grain of salt. Exercise/Sports/Motivation:Strong Women Stay Slim, Miriam E. Nelson, PhD Why strength training is beneficial for weight loss, how to begin, and how to incorporate cardio and healthy eating to complete the program. Outlines a very doable program and illustrations feature realistic women performing the exercises. The Courage to Start, John "The Penguin" BinghamJohn started took up running and it transformed his life. How he started as an absolute, obese beginner and became a runner. Good intro to beginning running and very motivational for getting started with exercise in general. Slow Fat Triathlete, Jayne WilliamsJayne does for triathlon what John did for running. Jayne still doesn't have a 'perfect' body but became an athlete anyway! Good for intro to triathlon and general motivation. It's Not About the Bike, Lance Armstrong with Sally JenkinsLance went from a promising cyclist, to a cancer patient given little chance to live, to one of the greatest champions in the sport, unparalleled 6 time Tour de France champion. This tells the story of his illness and comeback. Unbelievable motivation for reading when I think that I'm having a bad day! Others:The Quest for Peace, Love, and a 24" Waist, Debora Low A guided tour to figuring out if weight loss is right for you. Sounds kind of crazy but encourages some deep thinking about your priorities, goals. Ranges from being very New Age-y to good sound advice for setting SMART (Specific, Measureable, Adaptable, Realistic, & Time-based) goals. Fast Food Nation, Eric SchlosserImpact of fast food in America. Health implications are one part of this. I would recommend this but warn that it is a 'political' book and not an individual self-help one. |
Hi,
Which book would you recommend for an overweight man who has lost weight and regained--to help with motivation and healthy lifestyle changes? I have a friend who is looking for a book as a gift to a relative. Thanks:) |
Thank You, Anne!
Anne!
THANK YOU! What a great Christmas present to wake up to! I can't tell you what a huge help your book list is! And you organized it so well, with the topics and descriptions. It's one of the things that's been on my 'to do' list for after the holidays and you beat me to it - and did a much better job than I would have. Look for a larger and better organized Maintainers Forum in the next few weeks ... with Anne's marvelous book list as the heart of the library! :D |
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I'm not a maintainer YET ... heh heh ... but I love the idea of this thread and thought I'd contribute. Reading is as important as breathing to me, and whenever I undertake something my first step is to read about it. So, in the 3+ years I've been doing this, I've read quite a bit. Here are my recommendations:
Practical Books about Weight Loss and Fitness
Mind / Body
True Stories
Related Medical Issues
For Those Thinking about Plastic Surgery
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Thank you too, Funniegrrl! What a wonderful list! This is awesome and anyone else who wants to contribute, please feel free. :D
BTW, Funniegrrl - you are absolutely 100% a maintainer! Even though you may have a few pounds left to goal, you've done an incredible job losing the vast majority of your weight and you're certainly dedicated to maintaining THAT loss. So don't you dare leave our little group! |
*grin*
Validation from Meg! Validation from Meg! *giggle* OK, you've talked me into it! heh heh |
Thanks for great advices!
I would like to add my couple of books to Funniegrrl's list. Eat Right 4 Your Type by Dr. Peter D'Adamo Live Right 4 Your Type by Dr. Peter D'Adamo I know in some kind those are controversial, and it also depends which blood type you are. My husband though, who for many years suffered from bad mouth smell and constant indigestion problems benefited from the book tremendously - he is blood type A and as soon as he stopped eating red meat, his stomack problems and bad breath went away... Mind you, he still eats turkey and chicken. As for me, who is blood type B, Dr. Adamo's theory is not working as well as type blood A part, so I did not benefit from the book as much as DH, but I still use tons of his recipes as well as fitness suggestions. Sandy. |
Thanks Meg! That's the one I've been eyeing but I wasn't sure if it was appropriate for men as well--going to pick it up right now:)
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I haven't read this yet, but I just got the CD's and workbook by Deepak Chopra called Weight Loss - The Complete Mind Body Solution. In it, he talks about compulsive eating habits, and when to start and stop eating. Has anybody read/listened to it? I'm hoping it tackles the head hunger issues that creep up when I least expect it!
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We'd love your review when you've finished listening!
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What a great list of books; I see many of my favorites here. I have two to add:
Fit From Within: 101 Simple Secrets to change Your Body and Your Life -- Starting Today and Lasting Forever by Victoria Moran. As much as I have benefitted from several of the books listed above, it is this volume to which I will return most often. It is divided into 101 very brief chapters (each 2-3 pages) that can be read straight through, or as a daily meditation, or as a boost when spirits are flagging. One might call it a yogic approach, focusing as it does on the balance of body, mind and spirit. But it's yoga as written by a westerner, with a western sensibility. It is gentle, loving, compassionate and wise. I love this book. The Body Sculpting Bible for Women by James Villepigue and Hugo Rivera. A great book, with dozens and dozens of pictures and descriptions of the basics of weight lifting. With the help of this book, you can focus on form from Day One. It includes a 14-day body sculpting workout, which is then extended through 6 weeks, so that you can see -- and experience -- what happens when you begin to add sets and weights. A great book! Thought I'd pop back in to edit and add another recommendation for a second book by Victoria Moran, Creating a Charmed Life. Although not about maintenance, it's another wonderful book that might be a useful tool in the maintenance arsenal (it is in mine). Moran is a motivational speaker and writer, and in this book she talks about slowing down, nurturing your dreams, savoring simplicity, and nourishing your spirit. The format is the same as Fit From Within -- short chapters on a wide range of subjects. |
Hi all,
I just wanted to 2nd another of funniegrrl's recommendations, Passing for Thin by Frances Kuffel. This book was delivered yesterday, and I absolutely could not put it down until I finished it. It's all here, the humiliation of being fat, the elation at losing weight, the confusion about the new body, how she handles becoming a new person. She lost the weight through OA, but the actual plan plays a tiny role in this book. It's all about the experience, the support, the changes. As I get further from obesity, the sharpness and the pain of the experience recedes. This book brought it all back for me. Why is that good? Because it reminds me exactly why I'm not going back. This book let me re-experience it, with having to actually relive it. |
There is a really interesting interview with Kuffel at Salon: http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature.../index_np.html. You'll have to watch an ad to get a "day pass" to read it if you don't subscribe to the site.
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