Books and Me

by Joe Wicks (2018) Great, simple, manageable workouts and great, simple, manageable veggie food.  7/10

by Dr. Michael Mosley (2018) True to the scientific method, Michael moves where the evidence takes him with this book  and updates his  5:2 Fast Diet book of 2014 .  The thing is, I have been enjoying the results from the 2014 version, having relatively easily lost a reasonable amount of weight (5kg and down to my target BMI of 19) following its prescriptions, so I was worrying that the update involving a significant revision would leave me confused and in a bit of dilemma as to what to do next. As it happens, it simply opened up the options, which turned out to be useful since a friend has recently challenged me to actually do that 5k parkrun  that I have long talked about but have not actually trained for in any shape or form, having been focusing more on HIIT and walking the dogs and certainly not doing the paced jogging that my version of a park run would entail. When I did start to try to do longer runs on fast days of only 400 cals (sadly that is a qua...

By Grant J. Smits (2018) This book leaves you feeling as if you have just been yelled at for an hour (it's a quick read) by someone who channels the energy of a very enthusiastic trainer along with a dose of sanctimony and disapproval of a Dr. Phil, all bundled together with the conviction of a cult leader.  The exhortatory street style could make it easy to dismiss, but actually the content pretty much sums up the current consensus on how to lose weight, whilst also usefully dismissing some of the more outlandish and exploitative methods that do the rounds.  Of course, the science around all this sort of stuff remains rule of thumb and is an on-going argument, so it would be very dangerous to think this is the last word on anything, and there are at least a couple of issues where the author appears to be behind the times on the current consensus: ie: his assertion that people need not worry too much about micro-nutrients and can solve the problem by simply popping ...

by Hiroaki Tanaka and Magdalena Jackowska (2016) In stark contrast to the current trend for intense interval training, this book offers a very gentle introduction to achieving cardio vascular fitness, weight-loss and a host of other useful physical and mental outcomes.  Given the slow burn approach, this method would involve greater time commitment than interval training, but at the outset at least, is almost certainly less painful and the eventual results seem pretty impressive if the numerous testimonies are to be believed.  If nothing else, the book is likely to ensure that you are getting your running posture right, and it offers a number of other useful parameters for calculating whether you are doing the requisite amount of work.  Having owned a Fitbit for about three weeks now, I've found jogging/running to be the quickest way to raise the heart beat to fat burn, cardio and finally peak levels, and although this method suggests that you only take your heart...

by Scott Douglas (2017) In this book, Scott Douglas, (a name which feels uncomfortably tautological and therefore somehow unreal, but hey ho, is probably just American) describes in 100 succinct points the broad consensus as to how to get fit and healthy as of 2017.  Most of the advice still seems to make great good sense.  I particularly enjoyed the first point about "choice architecture" - a pleasingly broad opener which just feels as if it must be true.  Less obviously in the next point, Scott suggests that one should take on quite a few habit changing behaviours all at once. This doesn't seem as intuitive, and in fact, I'm sure I've read elsewhere that this is precisely what you shouldn't do.  However, within very recent personal experience of doing precisely as he suggests and actually finding it extremely motivating and easy to do, I would have to concede that this advice does seem spot on. The problem for this sort of book, it seems to me, is t...

By Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer (2014) So far, the process described in this book looks to be pretty life changing as far as I am concerned!  I have found it extremely easy to enact the principles described and have lost 10lbs in three weeks.  Not that I was overweight to start with you understand.  My BMI was 20.4 at the start. Haven't worked it out now, but it is anyway nice to feel a lot lighter and to think that my insulin sensitivity is probably improving, along with all the other health benefits that this process is meant to produce.  The whole experience has been made very easy by using Huel on fasting days.  I just don't have to think about food at all and I very rarely have felt hungry!  What's more, I can't eat nearly as much on the non-fast days either.  I just feel as if I have over-eaten very quickly.  It is a strange thing.  Food also does taste so delicious now.  My previous boredom with food has vanished ...