Despite my intention to stuff as much content into the Mega-Health post as I could, I realized a few days later that there were still several things I left out. Here’s what I forgot the first time around.
This past December I got a juicer. My wife and I had just watched a documentary called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead about a guy that goes on a 60 day juice fast in an attempt to lose weight and reverse his myriad health problems. It’s a great film — this is not a documentary that you sit through just so you can say you love documentaries — it’s entertaining, and funny, and occasionally sad.
I was so intrigued by the juicing concept that I decided I wanted that juicer for Christmas. I wasn’t on board with a full 60-day juice fast, but I liked the idea of getting a fresh, nutrient-packed fruit and veggie juice mix from home with no added sugar, artificial flavors, or artificial colors. There is a ton of information online about health benefits from juicing, but I wanted something with all the information compiled and organized for easy reference, so I picked up a copy of The Juice Lady’s Guide to Juicing for Health. This book lists all the benefits of the fruits and vegetables you can juice, with specific application to particular health needs. I’m still on the lookout for a really good juicing recipe book, however.
Another book I’ve looked at several times is Wheat Belly. This book focuses on the detrimental effects of wheat and gluten. Since my wife and I have been following The Primal Blueprint, we’ve already cut out basically all grains anyway, but wheat in particular has some really terrible consequences for your health, and this book goes into much greater detail on the development of wheat and wheat-based foods. I’ve found going grain-free is not significantly more difficult than going wheat-free or gluten-free, but I’ll probably go back and read this book just for the information on wheat.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a bit of a bike geek. Running has taken over some of my outside exercise attention, but I still love cycling. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone mountain biking, and my old mountain bike needed a serious overhaul before it would be trail-ready again. I usually attempt to do my own repair and maintenance but I’ll confess I ran out of time and took my bike to the shop this time (two big thumbs-up to The Bike Crossing). For the simpler at-home stuff, my go-to guide is The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintence and Repair.
I’ve also picked up a copy of DK’s Bicycle Repair Manual. It’s much smaller than the Bicycling Guide, and doesn’t have as much information, but the illustrations and photos are full-color and much clearer. Between the two books just about everything you need is covered.
Weight-lifting is an important part of fitness, but it takes some planning if you’re not the type of person to spend hours at the gym (and I’m not that type of person). Sure, I could spend a few hundred dollars on a home gym or free weights and bench, but I’d rather be creative and save some money at the same time.
The best place to start is with the basics: pushups and pullups. Pushups obviously require no special equipment, but if you’d like a good plan for building strength, I recommend 7 Weeks to 100 Push-Ups. Pullups require that you have access to some kind of a sturdy bar (I use one of those doorframe-bars you see in stores), but it’s well worth the minimal investment, and we have the companion guide 7 Weeks to 50 Pull-Ups.
When you’re ready to move beyond (or supplement) basic pushups and pullups, probably the biggest bang for your buck is a kettlebell. For a long time weight-lifting has focused on isolating muscles (think: biceps curls) — kettlebell workouts toss this out the window and encourage full-body coordinated movements that work all the little stabilizing muscles in addition to the large muscle groups and build real, functional strength.
You can imagine my shock the last time I was working through the fitness shelves and realized we didn’t have any kettlebell books. I immediately started researching to find the best kettlebell resources I could find, and settled on the two books that had the most recommendations from experts: Enter the Kettlebell and Kettlebell RX. Either book will cover all the basics and get you started, but personally I prefer Pavel’s book — both because he’s a pioneer in the popularization of kettlebell workouts, and also because he’s embraced the whole “Mad Russian” persona.
Joe and Lisa have extolled the virtues of BeanFruit Coffee here before, but I wanted to add one more reason to come by the store and pick up a bag — it’s good for you. The cleanest coffee tastes better, but it also minimizes the formation of toxic molds that you’ll find on 90% of the coffee beans out there. These mycotoxins don’t just affect the taste of the coffee, they affect your health. Additionally, because each bag is stamped with a roast date, you can avoid stale coffee beans covered in sticky, rancid oil. BeanFruit Coffee is super-coffee. Come get some super-coffee.
That’s all I’ve got for now! Health and fitness has turned into a bit of a hobby for me, so feel free to stop in the store and chat about any of this stuff — I’m often in the back room so just ask for me.
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