Grain Brain

November 12th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Good Reads - (7 Comments)

I just finished the book Grain Brain by Dr. David Perlmutter, a neurologist and Fellow of the American College of Nutrition.

Grain Brain by Dr. David PerlmutterAn alternate title for this book could have been “How to Lose Your Taste For Sugar and Bread”.  When you understand what goes on in your body when these foods are a regular part of your diet, suddenly that muffin or bagel for breakfast doesn’t look so tasty anymore.  It’s sort of like going to a dinner party and drooling over the cheesecake they’ve got on display that will be served for dessert, but then someone whispers in your ear that the chef mixed a laxative into the batter because she’s ticked off at the host.  Amazingly, you now have no urge to eat any cheesecake, no willpower needed.

Cholesterol Clarity

October 15th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Good Reads - (1 Comments)

Cholesterol Clarity was written by Jimmy Moore of Livin’ La Vida Low Carb (nice!) and was co-authored by Dr. Eric Westman, MD at Duke University, as well as a long list of contributing experts.

Cholesterol Clarity by Jimmy Moore

Let me start by saying that I don’t have concerns about my cholesterol, but I have a couple of family members who do and are on statin medications to bring their cholesterol levels down.  One of those family members would be my loving father who I cherish and adore.  He and I talk about nutrition a lot and I’m very grateful that he’s open minded and is willing to listen to his Bossy Pants Nutrition Nut daughter who will happily rattle on and on about what I’m currently reading, how I’m eating and what I think he should be eating too.

Summer Vacation Reads

July 27th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Good Reads - (3 Comments)

We spent the first couple weeks of July away from home.  I’d like to say we were on vacation, but I think “family trip” is more accurate.  There is just not a ton of relaxing going on when there is a toddler under foot.

Still, in preparation for our time away, I snagged a couple new publications from the library before we left – two books to read for the sake of reading.  I’m very often reading books about health, fitness, nutrition or food, sometimes a girl just needs to read a STORY for crying out loud!  Even if I couldn’t go “on vacation” in every sense of the word, at the very least I could let my brain take a trip.  (Not an acid trip, just so we’re clear.)

I’ve been hoarding links and things to share all month – I better get down to it before the month is over!

Why You Should Drink Warm Water and Lemon

After I read that article (the comments in particular!) I decided to try it.  Hot water with just lemon?  And no tea or anything else?  It was very simple, and I felt like it was worth a shot.  (a shot of lemon.)

It was… nice.  And then I made coffee (with coconut oil) because coffee is nice too.

Life of Pi

January 24th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Good Reads - (6 Comments)

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I just finished Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I didn’t know much about this book before I read it, and for that reason I don’t want to share too many details here.  It was nice picking this up and knowing very little about it, simply believing it was going to be good.  I liked having nearly every part of the story being left to surprise, so I want to leave much of it a surprise for you too.

I will tell you what little I knew going into it though, in case what intrigued me might intrigue you.

OK people, we need to talk about Deep Nutrition.  I wrote briefly about this book last week, but to put it mildly, it’s been shaking things up around here.

Project Weight Loss

First, Deep Nutrition has changed the direction Project Weight Loss because it has inspired me to start looking beyond calories.  I still believe there is value in counting calories if you are looking to lose weight and you’re struggling with slow or no progress.  After nearly 10 weeks of calorie counting here, I know what portions sizes are supposed to look like and have been reminded about how quickly calories can add up and sabotage weight loss efforts, even when you’re eating well.

Julia Kozerski

September 30th, 2012 | Posted by Alison Spath in Good Reads - (1 Comments)

I just finished looking through the photographs of Julia Kozerski, a photographer who captured her 160 pound weight loss in two different photographic projects.

Julia Kozerski

The first series of photographs is called Half.  (Warning!  Not safe for work!)  From her statement about this project:

In the Flesh

July 19th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Good Reads - (7 Comments)

Want to know where I was last night?

Cool Sky

Well, photographically speaking – I’m at the bottom of that picture of a really cool sky.

Technically speaking, I was at a seminar given by a really cool guy.

The best selling author of Thrive and Thrive Fitness,

Thrive by Brendan Brazier Thrive Fitness by Brendan Brazier

vegan pro Ironman triathlete – none other than Brendan Brazier himself.

Brendan Brazier Seminar at Lori's Natural Foods

I know, right?

Brendan.

Brazier.

Brendan Brazier

(once upon a time I read Brendan’s first book Thrive and I loved his thoughts and ideas so much that I couldn’t shut up about it. 21 posts and counting. sheesh. no wonder I called him my boyfriend.)

Green Smoothie Revolution

July 18th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Good Reads - (3 Comments)

I’m about to put Green Smoothie Revolution in the library book drop, but thought I’d write a little something about it first.

Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko

Written by Victoria Boutenko and published in 2009, Green Smoothie Revolution is a fairly quick read.

(it’s only about a half inch thick.)

The first 1/4 inch is ten short chapters filled with facts and information explaining why green leafy vegetables are the miracle food that they are.  The the other 1/4 inch is the 200 green smoothie recipes and a couple of case studies and personal anecdotes – from weight loss to simply feeling better after an increase in consumption of leafy greens.

I recently finished Jillian Michaels’ latest book, Unlimited: How to Build an Exceptional Life.

This book could also be titled “Unlimited: The Book I Didn’t Know I Needed to Read.”

Unlimited: How to Build an Exceptional Life by Jillian Michaels

To be honest, I wasn’t really looking for tips on How to Build an Exceptional Life, so while I knew she had a new book out, I hadn’t given much thought to reading it.  But then I listened to her talk about Unlimited in a podcast from May and my curiosity was officially piqued.  I snagged a copy from the library and after reading just the first page, I didn’t want to put it down.