Changing bad habits...

I just started reading this book "Banish Bad Habits Forever" by Vera Peiffer and I love it. Mike always makes fun of me for getting random self help books like this, but I always figure you can learn something new about yourself and who doesn't have at least one bad habit I ask you? I'm also a firm believer in positive thinking and self hypnosis and this book talks more about that too so it's a great blend of Mind/Body/Health which I find fascinating.

I've only read about 30 pages and I highly recommend it, but I'd like to share with you one bit of advice that I've taken away from it so far. It gives a great recommendation when trying to change habits to set daily goals and an immediate reward system. Instead of planning for months at a time or weeks ahead just plan day to day what you have to do and then reward yourself daily instead of just when you hit your ultimate/long term goal.

I'd like to apply this to working out. Often it's easy to say, "I'll work out today," and then when we don't we say, "Well I'll do it everyday for the rest of the week to make up for not doing it today." Most often than not this doesn't happen either. Then we go on to tell ourselves, "Well I'll start up again next week and be perfect from then on." Does this sound familiar to anyone?

This book suggests if you want to make a goal to work out do it just for that day and then set a reward to either watch your favorite TV show, read a book, take a hot bath, etc. Then tomorrow do it again. Eventually you'll be able to set bigger goals, but to initially start a new habit or break a bad habit this is what Peiffer recommends. I really like this way of thinking and I'm going to apply it to a few things that I want to work on and I hope you will too.

Read This...

For anyone who is trying to turn their life around and get healthy this book is a must have. I actually had the author of this book as a professor in college and he was great. He writes the book so it's easy for anyone to understand. I really like this book to because it's about educating and teaching you about why whole grains are important or why trans fats are bad. He covers all of the important topics of health and what you need to know.

The overall take home message of the book is that our sedentary western living lifestyle is making the US overweight. By making lifestyle changes and changing your everyday habits you can become more healthy and avoid the risk of cancer, hypertension, diabetes, etc.

I know I like to give diet tips and tricks to lose weight on my blog, but the key to staying fit, thin, and being healthy is making fitness a way of life. Read this book and it will give you the encouragement to make these steps and to know what to do to make your health a way of life.

GO GET THIS!!!

I highly recommend this book to everyone who has a busy lifestyle and eats out. Keep this book in your car or purse and take a quick peak before you head out to eat. It has foods to avoid and those calorie nightmares that might sneak into your diet if you're not careful. I also love it because it's a picture book so you don't have to do a lot of reading and you can just scan through it real quick. It's as basic as the title reads...for any given restaurant/fast food joint it has 3-4 things you can eat and the top 3-4 things to avoid. Want a quick example? The Awesome Blossom at Chili's which I'm sure everyone has had...2,710 calories. That's just the beginning. That one might not surprise everyone because you can tell it's deep fried, but the Fiesta Lime Chicken at Applebee's has...1285 calories. That one definitely shocked me and this book is full of these kind of surprises.

Trust me on this one guys it's a must have!

Read this...

I want to start recommending good books on this blog. I love reading books related to health, fitness, nutrition, and the mind body connection. I thought I'd start sharing some of my favorites and my hope is that through reading them you can educate yourself and develop your own thoughts and let the things you learn become a part of you.

This was a fascinating book. It delves into the shift our foods have taken in the last 20-30 years. We are bombarded with tons of diets, low fat, low carb, high fiber, fortified, low sugar, sugar free, whole grain, etc. No wonder why our society as a whole is overweight and suffering from obesity. There are so many options out there that we hardly know what to eat.We think that we have a healthy food so we can eat the whole box.

A short summary of what I learned: Just get back to the basics. Eat clean, natural food. Realize where the food your eating is coming from and how it is being produced. Put extra money into healthy food, because the processed junk food is inexpensive and unfortunately it's everywhere.