Suggested Reading
You cannot rely on American Food
Culture to make your eating decisions for you. Which means if
you want to follow a healthier diet you need to do one of two things.
Either evaluate every single food decision you make or change your
mindset so that your decisions are good without you having to think
about them. The following articles are available for free and can help
change the way think about health.
Here's one from the New York Times: Dieting vs. Exercise for Weight Loss.
And another on a similar subject from Time magazine: We Burn as Many Calories as Hunter-Gatherers, So What Makes Us Fat?
Most people think that the biggest use of energy in our bodies is directly related to the amount of exercise we get. Except for people who are EXTREMELY active, this is not true. The biggest use of energy in your body is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) - that is the energy your body uses just to keep you alive. This article provides a great short summary of what can affect your BMR: Basal metabolic rate changes as you age.
Our emphasis is health, not fitness, and you don't get healthy from exercise, you get fit. However, we are concerned about how your activity level affects your health. Here is an article from the Wall Street Journal about how sitting too much can affect your health: Sitting for More Than Three Hours a Day Cuts Life Expectancy.
Here is another article about sitting from the Journal of the American Medical Association. Because it is a medical journal article, it is a little harder to read than one appearing in the popular press. Here's the relevant conclusion: study participants who sat more than 11 hours a day were 40% more likely to die over the course of the 3-year study than those who sat less than 4 hours a day. And that was true even after they controlled for age, weight, overall health, tobacco use and amount of time spent exercising! Which means that sitting is statistically worse for you than smoking. Even more shocking, sitting is worse for you than exercise is good for you! Sitting Time and All-Cause Mortality Risk in 222,497 Australian Adults.
So, if you are concerned strictly about health, how active should you be? The answer is right here in this article from the New York Times: Moderation as the Sweet Spot for Exercise.
Are cravings your biggest problem? Keep in mind that cravings are physical, NOT psychological. Having cravings is NOT a reflection on your character. Read this article: Cravings - How they Work and How to Manage Them.
If you are interested in how and why food companies have been using cravings against you then you will be very interested in this long article from the New York Times: The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food. It is a synopsis of the recent bestselling book: Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
.
Weight loss diets are almost never what they are cracked up to be. In order to be popular they need to cause rapid weight loss without a whole lot of effort or sacrifice. A currently popular diet is the Paleo Diet. Although the theory is sound - we are best designed to follow a pre-agriculture diet - the execution is flawed. Here's an article by Dr. John McDougall explaining exactly why: The Paleo Diet Is Uncivilized (And Unhealthy and Untrue).
Don't understand why you still have a weight problem when all eat are "diet" foods? Check out this article: Confessions of a recovering diet food junkie.
There is no question that you need to limit your sodium intake to be healthy. Or is there? Read this article from the New York Times: Salt, We Misjudged You.
That's fine to read an article that might suggest you can have more salt, which you love (the answer is more complicated - read the article). But it could really change your life to read this article from the New York Times: Got Milk? You Don't Need It.
Stop. Did you read that last article on dairy? If you really don't want to hear any bad news about dairy, you are probably genuinely addicted. That's no joke. Here's a good article by Dr. Jenna Taylor explaining exactly how that works: Addiction to Cheese is Real Thanks to Casomorphins.
Now go back and read Mark Bittman's article from the New York Times and if you are still not convinced that what he is suggesting has the potential to drastically change your life, then read the followup article: More on Milk.
Should we all be vegan? Read this debate from the New York Times: Is Veganism Good for Everyone?
Could Diet Sodas be Making You Depressed?
Do you think you know everything there is to know about willpower? Think again. This article from New York Times Magazine is longer than most but well worth a read: Do You Suffer from Decision Fatigue?
"Be careful what you pretend to be. Because you are what you pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. You can become an optimistic person simply by pretending to be an optimistic person! A Richer Life by Seeing the Glass Half Full.
That article in the New York Times was hugely popular and a followup article was published a few months later: How to Make Optimism Work For You.
Trying to change your entire lifestyle can be quite overwhelming. But what if you could just focus on a couple of key lifestyle changes that would lead to wider ranging changes. It turns out you can! Read this article from Time magazine: How Two Key Lifestyle Changes Can Boost Your Health Overall.
Articles
Exercise and Health
Here's one from the New York Times: Dieting vs. Exercise for Weight Loss.
And another on a similar subject from Time magazine: We Burn as Many Calories as Hunter-Gatherers, So What Makes Us Fat?
Most people think that the biggest use of energy in our bodies is directly related to the amount of exercise we get. Except for people who are EXTREMELY active, this is not true. The biggest use of energy in your body is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) - that is the energy your body uses just to keep you alive. This article provides a great short summary of what can affect your BMR: Basal metabolic rate changes as you age.
Our emphasis is health, not fitness, and you don't get healthy from exercise, you get fit. However, we are concerned about how your activity level affects your health. Here is an article from the Wall Street Journal about how sitting too much can affect your health: Sitting for More Than Three Hours a Day Cuts Life Expectancy.
Here is another article about sitting from the Journal of the American Medical Association. Because it is a medical journal article, it is a little harder to read than one appearing in the popular press. Here's the relevant conclusion: study participants who sat more than 11 hours a day were 40% more likely to die over the course of the 3-year study than those who sat less than 4 hours a day. And that was true even after they controlled for age, weight, overall health, tobacco use and amount of time spent exercising! Which means that sitting is statistically worse for you than smoking. Even more shocking, sitting is worse for you than exercise is good for you! Sitting Time and All-Cause Mortality Risk in 222,497 Australian Adults.
So, if you are concerned strictly about health, how active should you be? The answer is right here in this article from the New York Times: Moderation as the Sweet Spot for Exercise.
Nutrition and Dieting
Are cravings your biggest problem? Keep in mind that cravings are physical, NOT psychological. Having cravings is NOT a reflection on your character. Read this article: Cravings - How they Work and How to Manage Them.
If you are interested in how and why food companies have been using cravings against you then you will be very interested in this long article from the New York Times: The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food. It is a synopsis of the recent bestselling book: Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
.Weight loss diets are almost never what they are cracked up to be. In order to be popular they need to cause rapid weight loss without a whole lot of effort or sacrifice. A currently popular diet is the Paleo Diet. Although the theory is sound - we are best designed to follow a pre-agriculture diet - the execution is flawed. Here's an article by Dr. John McDougall explaining exactly why: The Paleo Diet Is Uncivilized (And Unhealthy and Untrue).
Don't understand why you still have a weight problem when all eat are "diet" foods? Check out this article: Confessions of a recovering diet food junkie.
There is no question that you need to limit your sodium intake to be healthy. Or is there? Read this article from the New York Times: Salt, We Misjudged You.
That's fine to read an article that might suggest you can have more salt, which you love (the answer is more complicated - read the article). But it could really change your life to read this article from the New York Times: Got Milk? You Don't Need It.
Stop. Did you read that last article on dairy? If you really don't want to hear any bad news about dairy, you are probably genuinely addicted. That's no joke. Here's a good article by Dr. Jenna Taylor explaining exactly how that works: Addiction to Cheese is Real Thanks to Casomorphins.
Now go back and read Mark Bittman's article from the New York Times and if you are still not convinced that what he is suggesting has the potential to drastically change your life, then read the followup article: More on Milk.
Should we all be vegan? Read this debate from the New York Times: Is Veganism Good for Everyone?
Psychology
Could Diet Sodas be Making You Depressed?
Do you think you know everything there is to know about willpower? Think again. This article from New York Times Magazine is longer than most but well worth a read: Do You Suffer from Decision Fatigue?
"Be careful what you pretend to be. Because you are what you pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. You can become an optimistic person simply by pretending to be an optimistic person! A Richer Life by Seeing the Glass Half Full.
That article in the New York Times was hugely popular and a followup article was published a few months later: How to Make Optimism Work For You.
Trying to change your entire lifestyle can be quite overwhelming. But what if you could just focus on a couple of key lifestyle changes that would lead to wider ranging changes. It turns out you can! Read this article from Time magazine: How Two Key Lifestyle Changes Can Boost Your Health Overall.
Books
Willpower:
Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
For example, if you liked the article about decision fatigue
maybe you will be interested in reading the book written by the guy
doing all that research. 
The
China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted
And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term
Health
The title
really says it. It will open your eyes to the health
implications of the Western
diet.
The
End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite Learn how
Big Food tries to make it difficult for you to refuse their products
and what you can do to beat them.
The
Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health
& Happiness This book
goes into great detail about the process of becoming
addicted to processed food and the steps you can take to end the
addiction.
Forks
Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to HealthFor those who have already developed a lifestyle disease, this book can inspire you to take control of your health with a plant-based diet.
The
Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
Greater choices equal greater happiness. Maybe not. An overabundance of
choice can lead to decision paralysis. Even worse, the more choices you
have the less sure you can be about making the best choice.
Breaking
the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings---And 7
Steps to End Them Naturally A different
presentation of the same subject as The
Pleasure Trap. This book
also includes many good recipes.
Dr.
Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically
Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs If you or a
loved one have Type II Diabetes you should be following the advice in
this book.
Prevent
and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven,
Nutrition-Based Cure This is
proven. Insurance companies actually pay for
this therapy for heart disease.
The
Starch Solution: Eat the Foods You Love, Regain Your Health, and Lose
the Weight for Good! More than
any other, this book puts the lessons learned from the China Study into
an actionable plan.
Switch:
How to Change Things When Change Is Hard This is an
excellent self-help book that will show you how to build a mental
framework
for making a change.
Food
Rules: An Eater's Manual How you
should approach food - as simply and clearly stated as anyone has ever
done.
The
Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Forget about diet gurus. It's the food activists who have the most
important stuff to tell you about food. Michael Pollan is one of the
best.