A new year means the majority of us have made some kind of New Year’s resolution. And sadly, according to a New York Times article that I read recently, one third of those resolutions will be broken by the end of January. So what’s a potential resolution-breaker to do? How about adding a few worthy books to your arsenal.

The same New York Times article also stated that resolutions are likely broken because people “eventually run out of willpower, which social scientists no longer regard as simply a metaphor. They’ve recently reported that willpower is a real form of mental energy, powered by glucose in the bloodstream, which is used up as you exert self-control.” Two new health and diet books that I feel could help establish some useful habits as well as give resolution-makers’ willpower a boost are Thinner This Year by Chris Crowley & Jen Sacheck, Ph.D. and The Happiness Diet by Tyler Graham & Drew Ramsey, MD.

Thinner This Year, part of the  Younger Next Year series, advises readers to avoid “dead foods” or nutrient-poor foods such as highly processed foods with solid fats and lots of added sugars. Along with a straightforward diet plan, the book also sets up a meticulously researched exercise program that includes 25 whole-body strength exercises-what the authors call the “Sacred 25.”

**Chris Crowley of Thinner This Year will be visiting Lemuria on Wednesday, February 6th!**

The authors of  The Happiness Diet have fused neuroscience and nutrition in order to illustrate the pitfalls of the Modern American Diet, or MAD. Like the authors of Thinner This Year, Graham and Ramsey focus on America’s detrimental shift to a more processed diet, and provide straightforward solutions for eliminating processed foods and replacing them with nutrient-rich foods that improve both health and mood. With a range of advice, from a list of “good mood foods” to instructions on how to pickle your vegetables at home, The Happiness Diet emphasizes a return to a simpler and more conscious relationship with food.

Both books set their readers up with the tools to establish healthy habits and provide a guide to navigate today’s consumer food market, which does not always have the consumer’s best health options in mind. Here’s to keeping our New Year’s resolutions!

 

by Anna

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