Tag: diet

Own the Day, Own Your Life: Optimised practices for waking, working, learning, eating, training, playing, sleeping and sex by Aubrey Marcus

Own the Day, Own Your Life: Optimised practices for waking, working, learning, eating, training, playing, sleeping and sex by Aubrey Marcus

Aubrey Marcus shares different life hacks in an effort to improve your day. Because, as he reminds us: “To live one day well is the same as to live ten thousand days well. To master twenty-four hours is to master your life.” pg 7, ebook

There’s not a lot of new information here, especially not for aficionados of the self help genre. But there are some interesting strategies to try that I enjoyed.

One is to use your commute time to listen to a book or a podcast. As Aubrey points out, if you’re going to be spending the time anyway, you may as well use it to invest in yourself.

“These minutes are precious things. They are the only currency we spend every day whose value fluctuates wildly. Spend your minutes investing in your future self, filling your emotional coffers, and building value and enjoyment, or spend minutes depleting your emotional bank account.” pg 82, ebook

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Nothing new, as I said, and also it doesn’t take too much encouragement to get me to read. 🙂 But for anybody who hasn’t tried it yet, I highly recommend incorporating this into your morning commute.

Another strategy suggested in Own the Day, Own Your Life that I attempted to hilarious, yet effective, results was a method for waking yourself up. Basically, you practice deep breathing and then stand under cold water in your shower.

The basic principle behind it, if I understand it correctly, is that our bodies have evolved to handle stress in ways that are completely outdated in the modern world. We react to an emotional email or digital comment as if a tiger was running at us. But it’s not.

All of those chemicals go into us and have no where to go, leading to chronic stress and all of the symptoms that go along with that. The deep breathing and cold water cause a stress reaction too, but it’s one that you control and can switch off at will. The exposure teaches your body how to handle it when you can’t switch it off.

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In addition to these other supposed benefits, it wakes you the heck up. I can vouch for that. Come on, Heidi, I can hear you say. You really needed a book to tell you to take a cold shower? Well, apparently I did. And that part really works as promised.

If you’ve already got your diet and exercise routines locked down, you’re already well on your way to living your best life and probably don’t need this book. But, for anybody looking for a few pointers or are willing to try new things, this could be the book you’re looking for.

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger

I think everybody is aware that your diet has an enormous impact on your health. This book is another reminder that this is true.

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Though everyone will one day die, Michael Greger gives some tips to help you live as long and as healthily as possible.

I’m not going to debate the merits of different diets which seem to change as quickly as fads. I think everybody should try to incorporate healthy habits that are right for them as they are able.

How Not to Die is packed with ideas on that front.

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I think the most interesting part of this book are the effects that various foods have on the body. But you don’t have to take Greger’s word for it, experiment and see what works for you.

Happy eating 🙂

This Is Why You’re Sick and Tired: (And How to Look and Feel Amazing) by Jackie Warner

This Is Why You’re Sick and Tired: (And How to Look and Feel Amazing) by Jackie Warner

Jackie Warner sets the gold standard for diet and exercise books with This is Why You’re Sick and Tired. She starts out with the science of nutrition, exercise, and rest then goes into custom diet and weekly exercise suggestions. It’s easy to see why she’s so sought after by Hollywood stars — this lady knows her stuff.

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I first saw Jackie in action on her, now ended, Bravo show, Work Out. At the time, I had just had a baby and was awake at all hours of the night doing the infant-feeding dance. Work Out was a nice escape from the spit up, exhaustion-filled reality that I was living at the time.

Jackie looked pretty serious about her business, but Work Out mainly focused on the drama between Jackie, her trainers, and the folks who came to her for help. It’s nice to see that she actually knows what she’s doing as a trainer and she’s not just another reality show poser.

The exercises that Jackie suggests are intense. They can be executed with hand weights, but by the fourth set, I’m so wobbly that it’s comical. We’ll see if I ever reach the heights of fitness put forth in This is Why You’re Sick and Tired. At this point, I’d be happy to finish her workout strong rather than falling apart in the last few reps.

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Recently, I saw on Jackie’s Facebook page that she intends to lose 30 pounds in the coming weeks. She has shared that her fitness and nutrition has spun a bit off the rails in the last year. But, using what she knows about the body, Jackie intends to get herself back on track and fast.

I think it was brave of her to share that struggle in such a public manner. She’s as human as the rest of us and I think I like her even more since she’s admitted that. Here’s hoping Jackie accomplishes everything she sets out to do.

And you do too, dear readers. I’m not big into New Year’s resolutions, but this book may be a help to you if you’re looking to jump start your fitness and diet plans in the new year.

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If you enjoy This is Why You’re Sick and Tired, I also suggest reading Reboot with Joe: Fully Charged: 7 Keys to Losing Weight, Staying Healthy and Thriving by Joe Cross (instructions on how to add juicing to your daily diet) and Down Size: 12 Truths for Turning Pants-Splitting Frustration into Pants-Fitting Success by Ted Spiker (to keep you laughing through any ups and downs of your new diet and exercise routine).

I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.

Thanks for reading!