Welcome to Spring Training!

It's time for spring training!  No baseballs required, though.  This is all about you and the most important fitness tool in your whole body: your stubborn little noggin. I've compiled a reading list for spring training your brain for a fit and fabulous summer!
A couple of things happened last week that got my brain moving in the direction of brushing up on knowing stuff: 1) a friend asked me for advice on nutrition for strength training, and 2) I went through some pictures from 2009 and noticed that I was much leaner back then.  A lot has changed in my training goals and priorities since then, requiring more carbs in my diet, so it wasn't a stumper to figure out why that happened. But it still happened and I still noticed.

I also got the wonderful news last week that I've decreased my body fat since the last time I measured it in November - woo hoo! And with the leaned-out-me pictures still on my mind, that got me in the mood to do some more fat loss.  So over the weekend I re-read Leigh Peele's sobering and highly informative e-book, The Fat-Loss Troubleshoot.

And that got me to thinking about the other books I rely on to keep me honest (and informed) about nutrition and how to make sure it works for you.  Remember, you can't out-train a bad diet so nutrition is absolutely the most important factor to consider when getting healthy. Exercise is proactive, not reactive. Do not exercise to compensate for bad nutrition! I will not feel sorry for you if you eat crap and wonder why you aren't getting anywhere in your fitness goals!

Anyway. The books.

1. The Fat-Loss Troubleshoot by Leigh Peele. Honest, informative, and technical. It takes the emotion and "it's not fair," out of figuring out how your body uses food, which you know is right up my alley.

2. The New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove, and Cassandra Forsythe, PhD, RD. They also have a version for men. It's a great combination of information on training and eating for function.

3. YOU: On a Diet by Dr. Oz and that other guy.  Dr. Oz is a cheese-ball but this book saved my life. It is what got me started on clean eating back in the day and I still refer to it all the time. Buy two copies and give one to a friend.

4. Breaking Free from Emotional Eating by Geneen Roth. An oldie but goodie. Wow, this book changed my life in so many ways. 

Read! Learn! Apply! And..

good day. :)