Fit Friday: Six Health Books You Should Be Reading

Hey ladies and gents! Welcome to this week's FIT FRIDAY! Today I will be sharing some health related books that I think you should read if you are serious about being healthy and living a healthy lifestyle.

Speaking of living healthfully... have you entered my Whirlybird Granola GIVEAWAY yet?! It ends at 11:59PM TONIGHT! Go enter while you still can!

The books below are books I either have read or am reading currently, and I think they are worthy of your time. Take a look and see if any strike your fancy!

Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels

The title makes it sound like a book for women going through menopause, and - yes - it does talk about that. But this is a book for EVERYONE, and I don't say that lightly. Jillian goes into great detail by explaining various hormones and the effect they have on your body, weight, and metabolism, and she explains how to make those hormones work for you. It's really interesting. 

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell

This is a classic book in the vegan health world, and T. Colin Campbell is quite possibly one of the most famous doctors in the world. He knows what he is talking about, and the vast amount of info you will learn from him about meat and dairy will shock you.

Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr

If you didn't learn enough from reading The China Study, this book will teach you everything else you need to know. Kris Carr overcame cancer by switching to a mostly raw, vegan diet. She is amaze-balls.

Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure

Otherwise known as "Stephanie" from Full House, Candace shares her story of struggling with her weight and how faith & fitness helped her through it. She's one tough cookie. She's also the sister of Kirk Cameron, the famous Christian actor, if you have heard of him.

Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and and Kim Barnouin

This was the book I read that made me turn vegan a couple years ago. Although I'm no longer vegan, this book was my first look into the world of animal abuse and the negative effects meat and dairy have on your body. Even if it doesn't cause you to change your lifestyle, you'll learn a lot. Plus, these women have a lot of attitude and snark to their writing, so you will be thoroughly entertained.

The Skinny Rules by Bob Harper

Bob Harper, star of The Biggest Loser, breaks down healthy living into 10 simple rules. They are very straightforward and easy to follow, and Harper helps you integrate the rules into your daily life.

Others {Haven't read these, but heard they are great}:

Food Rules by Michael Pollan

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

What books do YOU recommend?

NEW GIVEAWAY WINNER & Fitness Updates!

BECAUSE THE WINNER STILL HAS NOT RESPONDED, THERE WILL BE A NEW WINNER OF THE TWO COUPONS FOR COCONUT BLISS ICE CREAM. THE WINNER: LAUREN! CONGRATS! PLEASE EMAIL ME ASAP SO I CAN GET THOSE COUPONS TO YOU!

Guys!

Thanks so much for your kind words and awesome support about my weight loss and fitness journey! I have absolutely no clue if I lost more weight this week or not, but I really hope so - I weigh myself tomorrow, so I guess we'll find out then!

I still struggle to turn down sweet treats and stay within my calorie limit - not because I'm hungry, but because I like to snack all the time for no real reason - but I've been doing very well. As long as sweets are not in the house, I don't really eat them. I don't buy them anymore because I just don't want them around me. That is the only way I've found I can stay sane.

You know the cool thing? I don't even crave sweets anymore. I only eat them because they are in front of me, not because I crave them. I think that is so great! I also love that I've been trying to eat seasonal - plums, peaches, berries, and melon are so yummy right now, so go buy a bunch and snack on them! Plus, Bob Harper says you should be eating apples and berries every day, so get to it. It's one of his 20 skinny rules.

Have you read The Skinny Rules by Bob Harper yet? Go buy it. It's great. I'm reading it right now. But more on that later - it'll be in my things I'm lovin post this week, and I don't want to spoil it!

Tomorrow is my last day at my internship with Daelia's Biscuits for Cheese as their social media intern. So sad, isn't it? I hope to make a binder filled with all the stuff I did over the summer for my boss, so she has everything in one place when she needs to refer to a list or some social media tips. Gotta love Twitter and Facebook. And who can forget Pinterest?!

Okay, that's all for now. Sorry this was short and to the point. More soon on my continued health and fitness journey, a recipe for some killer apple chips, and reviews of PB2, Zagorra HotPants, Crum Creek, KLUTCHclub, and WayFare products. See you soon!

Much love,

Journey to Health

Well, friends - it's about time I stopped eating so much junk food and got my healthy eating habits back in order.

I've been eating so much junk food recently - pasta, burgers, mexican, fries, chocolate, candy - if it's bad for you, I've probably been chowing down on it. Needless to say, it's time to eat more salads and whole foods.

I think I've also gained some unwanted pounds, so I've decided to buckle down and work to get rid of it. I'm starting something I'm calling 30 Days to 130 Lbs. - meaning I'm giving myself 30 days to work hard towards a goal weight of 130lbs. My ultimate goal is to be 125 lbs, but I think that's a bit unrealistic to do in 30 days. I even made myself a nice calendar on my wall to keep myself on track. See?

I'm hoping to workout twice a day while doing this. I want to get the best results that I can.

I'm kickstarting my journey by doing a week long juice cleanse. Today is day 2. I'm striving to drink only fruit and and vegetable juices every day for the next week - except for a small cup of protein powder and coconut milk after I work out (for protein). Ideally, I think I should be drinking a minimum of five times a day to help keep my metabolism up and running. Hopefully this juice cleanse will kickstart my weight loss journey. After this week, I will weigh myself and see where I am (I'm too nervous to weigh myself prior to starting the cleanse). I will take that weight and use it to see how much weight I lose each week following. Wish me luck!

After the juice cleanse is over, I hope to keep eating healthy, lean, clean, and green. Lean protein and lots of veggies and fruits. Lots of salad and foods that are low in fat. I'm tired of being the weight that I am and I know I can do so much better!!

So far, it has been going pretty well. Yesterday I was extremely hungry, so I ate a couple of crackers. Today I'm feeling pretty good - I think that has a lot to do with the protein I drank after doing my new kettlebell workout.

It was pretty good and definitely had me sweating - Bob has a love for squats. My legs are always extremely sore after a Bob Harper workout, and this one was no different. I also bought another Bob Harper kettlebell DVD:

I'll let you know what I think about this DVD later! 

See you guys soon - hopefully with good results from my cleanse!,

Much love,