A Beautiful Work In Progress
Mirna Valerio - 2017
When you meet her on the trail, you might be surprised to see she doesn’t quite fit the typical image of a long-distance runner. She’s neither skinny nor white, and she’s here to show just how misguided these stereotypes can be.In this prejudice-busting, body-positive memoir told with raw honesty, an adventurous spirit, and a sharp sense of humor, Valerio takes readers along on her journey from first-time racer to ultramarathoner and proves that anyone can become a successful athlete.
The Shift: How I Finally Lost Weight and Discovered a Happier Life
Tory Johnson - 2013
And after a lifetime of obesity, of failing at fad diets and sporadic health programs, Tory was ready to make great things happen for herself -- making the shift by recognizing that it was time to lose weight once and for all, and do it her way. In twelve months, she lost more than 60 pounds, and for the first time shares what she learned, what she ate and how she changed in The Shift: How I Finally Lost Weight and Discovered a Happier Life, her most personal book yet. In this updated trade paperback edition, Tory Johnson adds a look back at the amazing response her Shift has brought from thousands of people across the country, shares additional lessons learned in the year following the book's publication, and includes the stories of "Shifters" -- readers so inspired by her book they have made their own life-changing Shifts.
Stronger, Faster, Smarter: A Guide to Your Most Powerful Body
Ryan Ferguson - 2015
How many of us really understand that every moment counts, and that physical strength and confidence enable our mind and spirit to make the most of our lives? Ryan Ferguson does. He survived nearly a decade behind bars for a murder he did not commit. An innocent collegian imprisoned at nineteen, Ferguson’s disbelief turned to resolve after his father told him: “Son, do whatever you can to get stronger, faster, and smarter. This is now your number one priority.”In his darkest hour, even after countless appeals and disappointment, in a place that threatened physical violence, malnutrition, and offered almost no medical aid, Ferguson knew his physical health was paramount. In this startlingly elegant, authentic, and inspiring guide, Ferguson shares his simple, universally attainable recipe for health and power.
The Big Fat Truth: The Behind-the-scenes Secret to Weight Loss
J.D. Roth - 2016
Who could help it? Here was a young woman who, just a few months earlier, had weighed in at 340 pounds on the hit ABC show Extreme Weight Loss. Now for all the world to see—and merely part way into her one-year effort to pare down—she’d (literally) gone further than she’d ever expected. From barely being able to walk up the stairs to running 26.2 miles in practically no time? The body is an amazing thing. And yet … it’s no match for the brain. It wasn’t the strength of Meredith’s body propelling her across the Niagara Falls finish line—it was the power of her mind. No one knows that better than JD Roth, who as the number one producer of TV weight loss shows has helped countless overweight people change their bodies—and lives—for the better. Viewers of Extreme Weight Loss, The Biggest Loser, The Revolution and other transformational shows have seen the “technicians”—the trainers, the nutritionists, the doctors, and other health pros who appear on-screen—but they’ve never seen the heart and soul behind these amazing makeovers. That would be JD, whose production company not only created weight loss television, but who has produced more episodes in the genre than all other producers combined. He’s the behind-the-scenes wizard who gets inside the heads of the shows’ participants, encouraging, persuading, prodding, and inspiring them to succeed. Intimately involved in casting the shows’ contestants, then seeing them through the weight loss process, he’s the guy whose picture they tape onto their elliptical trainers and angrily scream at each night—then hug out of gratitude the next morning. He’s the guy who holds them when they cry and the one who tells them they need to get back on the treadmill even though they’re crying. JD is the shows’ tough-love dad—love being the operative word. Because it’s not just TV to JD; he’s on a mission to change people’s lives. Every fat person (yes, “fat person”—there’ll be no sugarcoating here) knows that you need to move more and eat less to shed pounds. Not exactly rocket science. Yet that simple formula doesn’t get to the root of what makes someone top out at 500 pounds, or sometimes just carry an extra fifty. The missing link in transformative weight loss is mental and emotional fortitude. Mining the same problem-solving and motivational skills JD has used so successfully with reality show contestants,
The Big Fat Truth
gets readers to address the real reasons they’re overweight (and nobody gets away with saying it’s because they love food). With his combination of enthusiasm, empathy, no-holds-barred style, and master story-telling abilities, JD helps them unearth and tackle the unresolved issues they’ve buried under the French fries and chocolate chip cookie. Presented in three parts,
The Big Fat Truth
includes short straight-to-the-point chapters that help readers identify their real issues, create their own reality show, and then shake up their lives to do the impossible. Included throughout are inspiring stories, advice, and before-and-after photos from people JD has helped to lose weight (both on camera and off), along with quick tips for how to stay accountable and a 30-day plan for putting this advice into action.
It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways
Dallas Hartwig - 2012
Your success story begins with "The Whole30," Dallas and Melissa Hartwig's powerful 30-day nutritional reset.Over the last three years, their underground Whole30 program has quietly led tens of thousands of people to weight loss, improved quality of life and a healthier relationship with food—accompanied by stunning improvements in sleep, energy levels, mood and self-esteem. More significantly, devotees of their program have reported the "magical" elimination of hundreds of lifestyle-related diseases and conditions.Now, Dallas and Melissa detail the theories behind the Whole30, summarizing the science in a simple, accessible manner. It Starts With Food will show you how certain foods may be having negative effects on how you look, feel and live—in ways that you'd never associate with your diet. More importantly, they outline their life-long strategy for Eating Good Food in one clear and detailed action plan designed to help you create a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food.Infused with their signature wit, tough love and common sense approach, It Starts With Food is based on the latest scientific research and real-life experience, and includes success stories, a shopping guide, a meal planning template, a 30-day meal plan with creative, delicious recipes, and much more.
WOLFPACK: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game
Abby Wambach - 2019
She became an icon because of her remarkable wisdom as a leader. As the co-captain of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Champion Team, she created a culture not just of excellence, but of honor, commitment, resilience, and sisterhood. She helped transform a group of individual women into one of the most successful, powerful and united Wolfpacks of all time.In her retirement, Abby’s ready to do the same for her new team: All Women Everywhere.In Wolfpack, Abby’s message to women is:We have never been Little Red Riding Hood. We Are the Wolves.We must wander off the path and blaze a new one: together.She insists that women must let go of old rules of leadership that neither include or serve them. She’s created a new set of Wolfpack rules to help women unleash their individual power, unite with their Wolfpack, and change the landscape of their lives and world: from the family room to the board room to the White House.· Make failure your fuel: Transform failure to wisdom and power. · Lead from the bench: Lead from wherever you are. · Champion each other: Claim each woman’s victory as your own. · Demand the effing ball: Don’t ask permission: take what you’ve earned.In Abby’s vision, we are not Little Red Riding Hoods, staying on the path because we’re told to. We are the wolves, fighting for a better tomorrow for ourselves, our pack, and all the future wolves who will come after us.
Superlife
Darin Olien - 2014
Olien demonstrates in great detail how to maintain these processes, thereby allowing our bodies to do the rest. He tells us how we can maintain healthy weight, prevent even the most serious of diseases, and feel great. He explains that all of this is possible without any of the restrictive or gimmicky diet plans that never work in the long term.Olien has traveled the world, exploring the health properties of foods that have sustained indigenous cultures for centuries. Putting his research into practice, he has created a unique and proven formula for maximizing our bodies’ potential. He also includes a “How-to-eat” user’s guide with a shopping list, advice on “what to throw away,” a guide to creating a healthy, balanced diet plan, and advice on how to use supplements effectively.Written in Olien’s engaging conversational style, Superlife is a one-of-a-kind comprehensive look at dieting and nutrition, a timeless and essential guide to maintaining the human body and maximizing its potential.
How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind Over Muscle
Matt Fitzgerald - 2015
Elite athletes have known this for decades and now science is learning why it s true. In his fascinating new book "How Bad Do You Want It?," coach Matt Fitzgerald examines more than a dozen pivotal races to discover the surprising ways elite athletes strengthen their mental toughness.Fitzgerald puts you into the pulse-pounding action of more than a dozen epic races from running, cycling, triathlon, XTERRA, and rowing with thrilling race reports and revealing post-race interviews with the elites. Their own words reinforce what the research has found: strong mental fitness lets us approach our true physical limits, giving us an edge over physically stronger competitors. Each chapter explores the how and why of an elite athlete s transformative moment, revealing powerful new psychobiological principles you can practice to flex your own mental fitness.The new psychobiological model of endurance performance shows that the most important question in endurance sports is: how bad do you want it? Fitzgerald s fascinating book will forever change how you answer this question and show you how to master the psychology of mind over muscle. These lessons will help you push back your limits and uncover your full potential."How Bad Do You Want It?" reveals new psychobiological findings including: Mental toughness determines how close you can get to your physical limit. Bracing yourself for a tough race or workout can boost performance by 15% or more. Champions have learned how to give more of what they have. The only way to improve performance is by altering how you perceive effort. Choking under pressure is a form of self-consciousness. Your attitude in daily life is the same one you bring to sports. There's no such thing as going as fast as you can only going faster than before. The fastest racecourse is the one with the loudest spectators. Faith in your training is as important as the training itself.Athletes featured in "How Bad Do You Want It?" Sammy Wanjiru, Jenny Simpson, Greg LeMond, Siri Lindley, Willie Stewart, Cadel Evans, Nathan Cohen and Joe Sullivan, Paula Newby-Fraser, Ryan Vail, Thomas Voeckler, Ned Overend, Steve Prefontaine, and last of all John The Penguin Bingham"
Feeding the Soul (Because It's My Business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom
Tabitha Brown - 2021
For years she pursued acting while raising a family and dealing with undiagnosed chronic autoimmune pain. Before she became vegan, her condition made her believe she wouldn’t live to see forty. Now she’s one of the most popular personalities in the world, with millions of followers on social media whom she inspires to live and eat well with her blend of homespun wisdom and delicious home cooking. With her relatable personality and health struggles, approachable and nonjudgmental take on plant-based living, and warm voice reflecting her Southern upbringing, Tabitha connects with readers with a good story and gentle hand. The most important lesson Tabitha shares with readers is how to make a life for themselves that is rooted in kindness and love, both for themselves and for others.Tabitha doesn't just spout inspirational platitudes. She roots her lessons in stories about her own life, career, faith, and family in this down-to-earth book, all structured around Tab’s catchphrases that her fans know and love, including:Hello There!: Introduction, and why hope, joy, and clarity are so very neededThat’s Your Business: Defining yourself, and being okay with thatHave the Most Amazing Day…: Choosing joy and living with intentionBut Don’t Go Messin' Up No One Else's: Learning to walk in kindness even when the world doesn’t feel kindLike So, Like That: Living life without measurementVery Good: Living in peace and creating good from the badRich with personal stories and inspirational quotes, and sprinkled with a few easy vegan recipes, Feeding the Soul will be eagerly embraced by Tabitha’s legion of adoring fans. Readers will return to this comforting book whenever they want to feel seen, loved, and heard—and they’ll share it with family and friends, too.
Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable
Tim S. Grover - 2013
Now, for the first time in paperback, he reveals what it takes to get those results, showing you how to be relentless and achieve whatever you desire.Fore more than two decades, legendary trainer Tim Grover has taken the greats—Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and dozens more—and made them greater. Now, for the first time ever, he reveals what it takes to get those results, showing you how to be relentless and achieve whatever you desire.Direct, blunt, and brutally honest, Grover breaks down what it takes to be unstoppable: you keep going when everyone else is giving up, you thrive under pressure, you never let your emotions make you weak. In “The Relentless 13,” he details the essential traits shared by the most intense competitors and achievers in sports, business, and all walks of life. Relentless shows you how to trust your instincts and get in the Zone; how to control and adapt to any situation; how to find your opponent’s weakness and attack. Grover gives you the same advice he gives his world-class clients—“don’t think”—and shows you that anything is possible. Packed with previously untold stories and unparalleled insight into the psyches of the most successful and accomplished athletes of our time, Relentless shows you how even the best get better . . . and how you can too.
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Phil Knight - 2016
Selling the shoes from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed $8,000 his first year. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of startups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all startups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognizable symbols in the world today.But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, in a memoir that is candid, humble, gutsy, and wry, he tells his story, beginning with his crossroads moment. At 24, after backpacking around the world, he decided to take the unconventional path, to start his own business—a business that would be dynamic, different.Knight details the many risks and daunting setbacks that stood between him and his dream—along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls the formative relationships with his first partners and employees, a ragtag group of misfits and seekers who became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything.
Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection
John E. Sarno - 1991
Sarno saved me from a life of pain.” — Howard Stern The New York Times bestseller that has helped thousands leverage the mind-body connection to heal lower back pain and live pain free—without drugs, surgery, or physical therapy. Offering a surprising, noninvasive solution to an epidemic of pain, Dr. John E. Sarno’s research on TMS (Tension Myoneural Syndrome) reveals that stress, anxiety and other psychological factors, not structural abnormalities, are the root cause of chronic pain. TMS develops as a result of repressed emotions which trigger tension in the body and deprive muscles and nerves of oxygen. The solution? Recognize the emotional roots of your TMS and sever the connection between mental and physical pain. With Dr. Sarno’s expert guidance you will learn:How the mind-body connection can permanently heal shoulder, neck, and lower back painHow accepting negative emotions like anger, anxiety, fear, or grief can reverse physical symptomsHow we condition ourselves to think back pain is inevitableWhy you should resume physical activity as soon as possibleSharing case histories and the results of his extensive, groundbreaking research, Dr. Sarno’s life-changing insights show readers how to banish back pain and reclaim their lives for good.
Anticancer Living: Transform Your Life and Health with the Mix of Six
Lorenzo Cohen - 2018
The scientific data on the link between lifestyle, environmental factors, and cancer risk has been accumulating at an accelerated rate over the past decade: Every week we learn something more that we can do as individuals to decrease the risk of can-cer and improve the likelihood of long-term survival. Many of us--patients and doctors included--do not realize that changes in our daily choices and habits can improve quality of life, increase the chances of survival, and aid in the healing process for those with a diagnosis. These ideas were pioneered in David Servan-Schreiber's Anticancer: A New Way of Life, and became the basis for a research study developed by Lorenzo Cohen and Servan-Schreiber at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.Introducing the concept of the "Mix of Six," Cohen and Alison Jefferies make an informed case that building social and emotional support; manag-ing stress; improving sleep, exercise, and diet; and minimizing exposure to environmental toxins work together to promote an optimal environment for health and well-being. While each plays an inde-pendent role, the synergy created by all six factors can radically transform health; delay or prevent many cancers; support conventional treatments; and significantly improve quality of life--as many testi-monies and stories of those in the anticancer com-munity eloquently show.Anticancer Living provides an accessible, pre-scriptive guide to wellness based on the latest scien-tific findings and clinical trials, and it showcases the community of doctors, researchers, caregivers, and patients who have been inspired to create change.*Includes a Bonus PDF with charts, graphs, chapter summaries, and appendices.
If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body
James Hamblin - 2016
Now, in illuminating and genuinely funny prose, Hamblin explores the human stories behind health questions that never seem to go away—and which tend to be mischaracterized and oversimplified by marketing and news media. He covers topics such as sleep, aging, diet, and much more: • Can I “boost” my immune system?• Does caffeine make me live longer?• Do we still not know if cell phones cause cancer?• How much sleep do I actually need?• Is there any harm in taking a multivitamin?• Is life long enough? In considering these questions, Hamblin draws from his own medical training as well from hundreds of interviews with distinguished scientists and medical practitioners. He translates the (traditionally boring) textbook of human anatomy and physiology into accessible, engaging, socially contextualized, up-to-the-moment answers. They offer clarity, examine the limits of our certainty, and ultimately help readers worry less about things that don’t really matter.If Our Bodies Could Talk is a comprehensive, illustrated guide that entertains and educates in equal doses.