This book has been my dietary bible since reading it a year ago. It is a sourcebook for people wanting to eat a traditional diet, which is a diet solidly grounded in current dietary research, not unproven theories of the past. Look past the gimmicky cover here, as this is not a book about fads. It is a book about coconut oil as the foundation for an overall diet that is health-enhancing.

"Eat Fat, Lose Fat" is part of the growing body of literature supporting the eating of "real food", which is food that is healthy, tasty, not disease-promoting, slow, of exceptional quality, nutrient dense, organic, vital, traditional, local, seasonal, and clean. "Real foods" are the opposite of "fake foods", which are foods that are processed, dead, fast, nutrient poor, chemicalized, devitalized, rotten, spoiled, dead, old, or contaminated with antibiotics and growth hormones. It is based on scientific studies published in journals such as the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Lancet, and even JAMA. It is also based upon looking at the dietary practices of people of different cultures, a fascinating anthropological study that illuminates how indigenous people throughout history instinctively knew things that we are just now "discovering" with modern scientific methods.

The authors are Mary Enig, a world-renowned biochemist and nutritionist who spearheaded, with her research over 25 years ago, the recent move against trans fats at last, and Sally Fallon, The book is written in an interesting style, and is full of facts, explanations, how-to's, tips for

Chapter 1 sorts out the facts versus the fears about fats, debunking fat myths one by one, citing recent studies. The authors explain contradictory findings and flaws with past studies. One surprising fact is that most studies done in the past with coconut oil were done with fully hydrogenated coconut oil, a far cry from today's organic, extra virgin coconut oil or traditional society's raw coconut oil.

Chapter 2 explains the lipid hypothesis (and makes it interesting for non-chemistry majors like me) and explains the relationship between fat and heart disease and cholesterol. She explains how quality fats actually protect you from heart disease. This will be of particular interest to those eating a low-saturated-fat diet in hope of preventing or recovering from heart disease. All of this is written in a logical, yet not dry style.

Chapter 3 details the effects fats have on your various body systems, and the important nutrients that these systems need that can only be obtained from fats.

I know that up until this point this review makes the book sound boring, but it is very exciting, filled with facts and ideas that work.

Chapter 4 explains why diets with healthy fats help you to lose weight and be healthier at the same time, including important effects of healthy fats upon metabolism. This chapter also explains problems with ineffective weight loss theories of the past. It discusses the pros and cons of the Atkins diet, Ornish (low-fat vegetarian), Zone, South Beach, Weight Watchers, juice fasts, and the glycemic index.

Chapter 5 discusses the principles of healthy traditional diets, which surprisingly are similar the world over. It discusses individual foods at length as well as MSG, superfoods, fermentation, supplementation, raw vs. cooked, and more.

Chapter 6 is all about weight loss, based on four core principles:
1. Eat three meals per day, and always eat breakfast.
2. Eat traditional fats, including coconut oil.
3. Eat nutrient dense foods, particularly those supplying calcium and vitamins A and D.
4. Restrict calories moderately.
It also discusses special weight loss tips, such as taking coconut oil before each meal (and gives you 25 ways to use coconut oil in your meals). Of particular interest to me was why you should restrict your calories moderately but not too much. The chapter takes you step-by-step and day-by-day into starting your weight loss program, effectively holding your hand with shopping lists and daily menu plans.

Chapter 7 is about dietary emphases for recovery from various illnesses and health issues.

Chapter 8 is an everyday gourmet diet for those who are interested in maintaining their weight. It also covers dining out.

The rest of the book (about 100 pages out of almost 300 pages) is recipes and resources.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough for those who are serious and committed to their health, especially including those who are unwilling to lose weight through dangerous fad diets.

Get Motivated With Your Own Personal Trainer That Will Fit Into Your Pocket

   Just like hiring a personal trainer, Striiv motivates you to achieve results by encouraging you to get moving and rewards you for doing so. Unlike a personal trainer, it doesn't cost $100 a session and you won't be sweating through a painful workout. But you will see results, because walking is one of the easiest and most beneficial workouts you can do and it can be transformative to your health and fitness. Using Striiv is addictive---and was designed that way. Because each experience is powered by your activity, it's fun to achieve your fitness goals.

Discover the power of finding the right music to turbo charge your next workout

Get Yourself Motivated To Workout

Anyone who exercises regularly will agree that sometimes it is extremely difficult to find the motivation to workout. Let's face it, If you are not really in the right mood, your workouts will suffer.....and so will your results.
Those of us that spend countless hours in the gym can attest to how easy it is to break concentration and focus when working out. It can be something as simple as someone starting a friendly conversation with you. A text message that somehow turns into a 30 minute conversation about absolutely nothing. Or maybe you are just not feeling it so you go through the motions just so you can somehow convince yourself that you really did something at the gym that was remotely similar to a workout.

My point is simple. You can have the best workout routine in the world, but if you lack the motivation to complete the workout then your trip to the gym was wasted. Whether you are working on getting thin, training for a sport, or working out to become fit and healthy, you need to remain motivated to follow through with your fitness goals.
Music is one of the most effective motivators there is. Everyone has their own style and taste in music. Music that when you hear it play your heart rate rises and you want to get up and do something. Personally I use 80's hairband music to get me through my workouts.
Find your motivational music and use it to your advantage.