Your After Fit After 50 Reading List: More Fitness, Less Stress

Your Fit After 50 Summer Reading List

I remember the days when we would make tents with blankets over the clothesline. We’d ride our bikes to the library and bring our books back in the basket on the front and read for hours. It’s been a long time since I’ve made a tent but I still love books. Love the look of them on my shelves, the feel of turning pages, and folding down the corners… and the ideas and inspiration. I pulled together a few of my favorite titles here for you. Here’s my advice though; buy ONE of them and read it before you buy another. Why? Because “open loops” is a whole other topic I could blog about, but it’s this: if you think these are all great and buy them at once, the chance you’ll never read any, or just added to your mental clutter of “to-do” is too much to handle! Let yourself be successful and order one, read one. Then move on! Open loops are just one of the ways we self-sabotage! Don’t go there! The first two books on my suggested reading list are about getting focused (see open loops above!) so you can get traction on those things you want. It might be work-related tasks, finally getting a handle on your house and closets, or maybe it is creating the time for exercise – even digging into how to plan a program that meets your goals and getting the to-do list first before the time really helps. If you’re in business you’ll especially like these (or chances are you’ve read them), and if you’re not in business, they may be a refreshing look at obstacles to better nutrition and exercise that’s NOT in most fitness or diet books.

Reading List for getting focused

Essentialism The ONE Thing

Reading List Picks for the power of your mind

If you need a little hope that aging is inevitable but getting old is optional, the Counterclockwise is your read. I regularly share the research by Harvard professor Ellen Langer. This book may be a bit deeper than your typical beach bag read, but it’s fascinating. Its proof that if you can go beyond lip service to “age is a number” get that message between the ears you could age backwards. If stress keeps you from getting started, sticking with it, or allowing it to even be a vision, The Upside of Stress is a game-changer. Forget month-long bootcamps. Shift your mindset in minutes and it could change everything for you. Counterclockwise Not one of us with a heart beat is immune to stress. We are however, immune to negative thoughts about stress. Kelly McGonigal, a Stanford teacher and researcher, shares a scientific-based book full of stories woven together that make this an easy read. You’ll relate to her stories. She’s smart: smart enough to write so we can understand what she’s saying. The Upside of Stress

Reading List Pick for Eating Less, Easily

This last reading list recommendation may have you thinking, finally! It’s in a category all it’s own but it could easily fit above because it illustrates the power of the mind. If you’re not yet ready to change WHAT you’re eating, but willing to explore what makes you eat too much or why you are tempted by the sugar we know isn’t serving us well, this is a geeky but fun read. Every chapter is filled with not only research about why we eat more off of a big plate and in a red room, but it’s got of course, the easy anecdote for dozens of ways to change the way you eat simply by making small changed in how you set the table and serve the food, or which restaurant you go to, or if you should go first or last when ordering off a menu in a restaurant. This one has been a classic for me to recommend to students in my Health Studies courses, personal trainers, as well as for my own clients. You have the power to change…without feeling any pain of change. Mindless Eating

 

Got books? I’d love to hear from you! What books have made a difference for you and changed the way you approach fitness or nutrition?