Book Review: Marion Nestle's Unsavory Truth

But first, definitely a disclosure. It was reading Marion's 2002 Food Politics that started me on my own path of nutrition related public health advocacy, and in the ensuing years, I've had the great pleasure of meeting her, both online and in person, and I value her friendship and counsel. I was also a bit flabbergasted to learn that I had a small part to play in Marion's decision to write Unsavory Truth, as in the afterwords she notes that it was the exposé of the Global Energy Balance Network (in which I played a small role and where I receive mention in Unsavory Truth) that triggered her interest in writing. Consequently there's zero question I'm biased, both personally and professionally, and I've no doubt, she'd approve of me disclosing this before my reviewing her work, which was sent to me freely by her publisher, which explores the many conflicts of interest that exist between the food industry and nutrition professionals.

Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat, is Marion's take on how, and why, the food industry works with researchers and health professionals. She takes us on many different conflicts of interest tours, from nutrition research as a whole, to sugar and candy, to meat and dairy, to "health food", Coca-Cola, advisory committees, the American Society for Nutrition, to nutrition education and dietetic societies.

Overarchingly, Marion sees industry's response to criticism of its involvement as following the playbook set by tobacco which sees them:

"Cast doubt on the science
Fund research to produce desired results
Offer gifts and consulting arrangements
Use front groups
Promote self-regulation
Promote personal responsibility
Use the courts to challenge critics and unfavorable regulations"

And she laments the fact that nutrition, unlike medicine, doesn't seem to take its conflicts of interest as seriously, "

Decades ago, medical professionals recognized the distorted effects of drug company practices, measures the distortions, and took steps to counter them. Medical journals required authors to disclose financial ties to drug companies that might profit from the results of their studies. Medical schools banned drug companies from marketing to students. In 201, Congress required drug companies to disclose payments to physicians. Nothing close to that level of concern, scrutiny or action applies to food-company efforts to engage nutrition professionals"

The aim of the food industry is self-evident and non-indictable. It's profit. And there are many ways for them to invest in research and partnerships to help in that regard. Citing the work of Lisa Bero and colleagues, she explains that when it comes to research, food industry funding can,

"focus on single nutrients, ingredients, or foods rather than on interactions or overall diets. They can compare the effects of single foods by contrasting diets that include them to diets that lack them. They can design trials without randomization, blinding or appropriate comparisons. They can focus on obvious or irrelevant effects. And they can give a positive spin to results that show no effect or fail to publish unfavourable results."

And then by way of examples of each, demonstrates these are anything but theoretical risks, including studies where though the conclusions are valid, like for instance, if compared with sucrose, and when neither are consumed to excess, that the slightly higher amount of fructose in high fructose corn syrup isn't likely to make much difference to health, are designed to prove forgone conclusions that can be spun by their funders and are more apt to be classified as marketing research than basic science.

Marion's also quick to note that,

"industry funding does not inevitably bias a study, although it does suggest that the research question and interpretation require more than the usual level of scrutiny"

Looking to guideline committees and dietetic organizations, the food industry is again represented in ways that require more than the usual level of scrutiny. In 2015, 10 of the 14 members of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee consulted for, or received grants from the food industry, while the food industry also provides direct sponsorship and support for the works of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), and other dietetic organizations. And here the real question is "why?", or perhaps a slightly more nuanced, "is that really necessary?". Regarding AND for instance, Marion reports their own documents note that the cost of removing industry funding from their organization would cost just $17.17 per member per year.

Finally Marion ends with some thoughts on what to do about this mess, and while she covers a number of different options and initiatives, the one she sees as best would be, "an industry-wide program for research paid for by a mandatory tax or levy" whereby all food and beverage companies with sales over some pre-determined level, would pay a fee in proportion to sales revenues which in turn would serve to fund research and programs related to nutrition. Realistically though, she also notes that the likelihood and feasibility of such a system is "zero", and then encourages health professionals and organizations to at the very least, review their policies and to attempt to put some in that safeguard members and individuals, while asking all of us to remain vigilant and aware of the fact that in no way does disclosure alone always suffice.

Like all of Marion's books, Unsavory Truth is fascinating, and wherever you fall on the spectrum of worrying about food industry conflicts, a worthwhile read.

Book Review: The Complete Guide to Weight Loss Surgery

Today's guest post comes from our office's newest RD Alex Friel who has reviewed a book for people considering or having bariatric surgery (full disclosure, was provided with a feee copy of the book by the authors)

Thinking about weight loss surgery? You’re not alone. Bariatric surgery has been shown to be one of the most effective treatments for obesity and the number of people who undergo the procedure is steadily rising every year. Here at BMI, I work with many different clients. Some are considering bariatric surgery, others are actively preparing for it, and still more have undergone the procedure and are adjusting to life with a new anatomy. At every stage of the weight loss journey, it helps to be well informed.

Last week I was introduced to a new book written by registered dietitians Lisa Kaouk and Monica Bashaw. It’s a worthwhile read so I thought I’d share it with you. ‘The Complete Guide to Bariatric Surgery’ draws from their experiences as Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) dietitians and the many patients they have counseled over the years. Here’s what I liked:

• It’s from a trusted source. The registered dietitian (RD) credential means that Lisa and Monica are trained in the science and physiology of human nutrition. Their training and practice is regulated in much same way as that of our doctors and nurses so you can rest assured that the recommendations they make are tried, true, and grounded in evidence.
• Written in a conversational style, the book is an easy and entertaining read (or at least as entertaining as a book about a surgical procedure can probably be). There’s no jargon and you won’t need a degree in medicine or nutrition to make sense of the topics covered.
• Because the topics are drawn from the real life concerns and questions of more than 5000 patients, the book provides an honest glimpse into the realities of life after WLS. It’s a useful reference, not only for those who are considering WLS and those who have had it, but also for the friends and family who are their cheerleaders and support system.
• If you’ve ever anxiously wondered if your experience is normal, this book can provide some fast reassurance. The table of contents allows you to quickly skim questions at a glance and is organized into topic sections that range from ‘Tolerance Issues’ to ‘Hair Loss’ to ‘Emotional Changes and Support.’
• Much like this post, it’s short, sweet, and to the point. You won’t need to set aside hours of time to get through it.

My only critique is that the authors don't provide much information on additional resources, support groups, or further reading. It’s good to be aware of what’s available. Obesity Canada, for example, functions as a resource hub for professionals and lay people alike. In addition to educational webinars and videos, they also link to tools you can use to access greater health benefits for obesity care. The Bariatric Cookery, run by food writer Carol Bowen Ball, hosts a wonderful collection recipes to try at every stage of the WLS journey. As a former WLS patient herself, Carol’s first-hand experience lends the site a level of authenticity that is hard to top. Finally, a quick search on Google or Facebook will undoubtedly reveal a whole host of virtual WLS forums and support groups. Find one that resonates with you.

The Complete Guide to Bariatric Surgery is available for purchase on Amazon. It’s also available as an e-book at www.baritricsurgerynutrition.com.

Alex Friel, MSc, RD is a nutrition science nerd and one of the newest dietitians to join the BMI team. She’s convinced that everyone has a passion for food (even if they don’t know it yet) and is always on the lookout for her next favorite recipe. Alex spent six years living in Atlanta, Georgia where she completed a BSc and MSc in Nutrition Science at Georgia State University. Much to the chagrin of her dinner guests, she also gained an appreciation for collard greens and okra that persists to this day.

Registered Dietitian Christine McPhail Reviews The Picky Eater Project: 6 weeks to Happier, Healthier, Family Mealtimes

Today's guest post, a review of The Picky Eater Project 6 weeks to Happier, Healthier, Family Mealtimes, was written by Christine McPhail MSc RD. Full disclosure: I was given a review copy of the book by Dr. Muth.

I work with parents, and picky eating is a common issue. Fortunately, there are some general recommendations that I can review such as following the division of responsibility in feeding, where parents are responsible for the what, when and where of feeding and children are responsible for whether they eat and how much they eat out of what parents offer. Within this, I ask parents to focus on neutrality when offering different foods, bridging from foods their family already enjoys, involving children in grocery shopping, growing food and cooking for buy-in and avoiding pressure in general to eat more or less of certain foods.

The most important part of addressing picky eating with my clients is working on practical steps collaboratively with them. That’s where I have found the resources within The Picky Eater Project: 6 weeks to Happier, Healthier, Family Mealtimes by Natalie Digate Muth MD, MPH, RDN, FAAP and Sally Sampson from CHOPCHOP MAGAZINE to be very insightful and useful.

Here is what I liked about this book:

• It is a project. The book is very interactive and includes goal setting, action planning strategies, and ways to measure your progress at each stage of the project. Each section also uses to do/check lists.
• Picky eating is defined and explained and the book follows examples from real life families as they progress through the project. This shows families that it’s OK to stumble when they are trying to make changes and it allows them to see the recommendations translated into realistic outcomes.
• The concept of picky-free parenting allows parents to review their current behaviours around food to see if there is anything they could change in their behaviour that may be influencing their child’s picky eating behaviours. This also aligns well with learning about the Division of Responsibility in Feeding.
• There is a focus on changing your home food environment with sample pantry lists, snack lists, a how to use herbs and spices resource, recipes etc. which can be a useful tool for parents especially when they are tried and tested!
• Involving kids in the kitchen has its own section with a focus on age-appropriate kitchen tasks, tips for beginner chefs, meal ideas and recipes. This is so important for families to review and understand as we know that kids who participate in meal preparation are more likely to WANT to try new foods.
• Similarly, there is a section on involving kids in grocery shopping, growing foods, and visiting local farms with a focus on learning about food but also math and literacy skills too. It’s all buy-in and family involvement.
• Family meals are a primary focus of the picky eating project with tips on how to make them a priority, meal planning, meal time rules, and even packed lunch mix and match ideas.
• The project does not leave out all of the other factors and people that can either support or hinder your efforts to have your family eat a wider variety of foods. Those important people include peers, school staff, caregivers, grandparents etc. As the section is appropriately titled…it takes a village!
• To finish up the project, there is a section that addresses that behaviour change is hard! I think this is important for parents to understand but it’s equally important to for them to have tips on how to make changes stick. The focus is on starting small, using SMART goals, having a plan, anticipating problems, and involving your kids the whole way!
• The last section of the book discusses severe picky eating and when to seek more professional help. I was impressed with this because it identifies red flags for parents to watch out for so they know when they may need to incorporate health professionals into their journey.

The only issue I had about the picky eating project was the risk associated with labelling your child as picky i.e. they live up to the expectation. On the other hand, with the family-focussed nature of the book the journey is not simply for the “picky” child, it’s for the whole family to expand their palette in an open and honest way that includes all family members.

Christine McPhail MSc, RD is one of our Registered Dietitians at the Bariatric Medical Institute (though is moving on soon to work with the eating disorders team at Hopewell). Christine has worked in academic, clinical and public health nutrition settings and has been fortunate to have worked on projects relating to food sustainability, food security, food policy and politics, childhood nutrition, body image, and school nutrition programs. She believes in the power of connecting with your food from farm to table. She feels fortunate to share this passion with her clients, as she helps them strengthen their relationship with food and learn more about nutrition.

Guest Post: RD Christine McPhail Reviews Greta Podleski's Terrific New Cookbook Yum and Yummer

Today's guest post comes from one of our office's wonderful RDs - Christine McPhail, who has been spending a bit of time with Greta Podleski's terrific new cookbook Yum and Yummer.

As a Dietitian, I see the difference it makes when families start cooking together and children begin to develop the important food skills that they will need as adults. I hear about children being more interested in trying new foods, helping in the kitchen, wanting to pick out recipes, and being proud of the foods they’ve made. These cooking experiences can help children learn about nutrition, balanced meals, and the importance of including a variety of foods. Our lives are busy and I do hear about food going on the back burner (see what I did there) but it shouldn’t have to. You can read Dr. Freedhoff’s past post Teaching Your Kids To Cook Is More Important Than Teaching Them To Play Soccer Or Hockey that provides strong rationale for families cooking together.

Adults in turn benefit from sharing their skills, having the opportunity to pass down their favourite recipes and traditions, and of course having more balanced and nutritious meals themselves. A great place to start is having your family go through cookbooks together and pick recipes they would be interested in making. One recipe book I can recommend is Yum & Yummer by Greta Podleski, a Canadian author and recipe developer, who you may know from her very popular Looneyspoons cookbooks, which she co-wrote with her sister Janet.

Here are a few reasons I liked Yum & Yummer:

• The introduction is worth a read. I really appreciated that Greta addressed that healthy eating means different things to different people and that we all could try to be less judgemental. Unless there is a true risk with an eating behaviour, which as a dietitian, I am trained to look out for, I believe it’s important that we respect one another’s food preferences and choices.
• There truly is a recipe for everyone in this book and Greta follows through with her mission to use common everyday ingredients and simple recipes. Recipes will signify if they are dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian etc. 60% of the recipes are vegetarian but she also has sections for fish, poultry, and red meat, soups and chilis, snacks, and desserts. Meatless meals are a great way to get your family to enjoy meat alternatives that not only provide protein but plenty of fiber as well. You’ll save some money in the process too!
• For people who are new to cooking, are nervous to try recipes, or learn better with visuals, each recipe has a photograph and a “how to” video that you can access just by scanning the QR code on the page with your phone. They show you exactly what to expect step by step, so you can feel confident developing new skills (you can take a look at them here).
• For those who like to know the nutrition information, each recipe shows calories, total fat, saturated fat, protein, carbohydrate (fiber and sugar included), cholesterol, and sodium. This way you can make an informed choice that works for you and your family’s needs.
• The recipe descriptions don’t go into detail of the “nutritional benefits” or labels foods as “good” or “bad”. Greta does include some great food prep tips and food facts that are helpful. This is important because we don’t want to label recipes as “good” or “bad” and we don’t want weight to be the main motivation when trying a new recipe, especially if children are reading along. We want to hear about the fresh ingredients, flavour and texture as well as the nutrition information, when we are choosing to make a recipe or not. At the end of the day, if you don’t enjoy it you won’t continue to eat it anyways.

With some quality time in the kitchen and eating meals together, your family can appreciate the benefit and taste of whole foods, cooking from scratch, and eating together as a family. If you are interested, you can purchase the book via Amazon.ca (where 92% of the 148 reviews (and counting) are 5 star) or any other online Canadian book retailer.

Christine McPhail MSc, RD is one of our Registered Dietitians at the Bariatric Medical Institute. Christine has worked in academic, clinical and public health nutrition settings and has been fortunate to have worked on projects relating to food sustainability, food security, food policy and politics, childhood nutrition, body image, and school nutrition programs. She believes in the power of connecting with your food from farm to table. She feels fortunate to share this passion with her clients, as she helps them strengthen their relationship with food and learn more about nutrition.

An Incredibly Belated Review of James Hamblin's Terrific New(ish) Book

Full disclosure: I received an e-copy of Hamblin's If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body for review from James' publisher Doubleday. I should also disclose, I was likely predisposed to enjoying this book as I've long been incredibly fond of Hamblin's Twitter feed and Atlantic pieces. I'd have written this sooner, but I have this rule of not writing about things I haven't actually read myself and it took me longer than I expected - not because I didn't enjoy it, but more because I fall asleep in about two seconds flat every night. Also, if you use the Amazon links I provide, Amazon will send me a tiny commission.

James Hamblin is a medical doctor. But he doesn't practice medicine in its traditional seeing his own patients sense, instead his practice involves the translation of health into words for whoever wants to read them as he decided to pursue journalism and writing rather than the much safer path of radiology. Hamblin's main platform is his work with The Atlantic where he's a senior editor, and he's also a must-follow (if you like wonderfully dry humour) on Twitter.

Hamblin's book, If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body, was published back in December. Simply, it's a collection of questions spanning various topics about health, the human body, followed of course by Hamblin's science-informed answers. It's also a lot of fun.

From questions like,

"Why don't eyelashes keep growing"

(and answers that include, "For three months, then, the hair is called a "club hair". It is, like so many people in clubs, outwardly fin-looking but actually dead at the roots"), to

"Does the G-spot exist?"

(and Hamblin's admonishment, "never liken it to a bike tire"), to

"What about Smartwater?"

(where Hamblin helps you to learn that "electrolyte enhanced" means "bullshit"), the book covers a lot of ground.

Because each question and answer are fairly short, the book makes for excellent bed time reading (in that sense it reminded me some of another book I loved - Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything). And along with the humour and pith, comes a great deal that's both fascinating and informative (did you know that the hyperbole of carrot eating leading to better night vision arose in part as an attempt to conceal Britain's discovery of radar in World War II, or that Ben Carson (yes, that Ben Carson), played an important role in the treatment of an exceedingly rare and devastating brain disease?).

So why do you need this book when you can simply Google those very same questions? I think Hamblin covers this aptly by noting that

"Googling health information is roughly as reliable for finding objective answers as picking up a pamphlet on the subway floor"

The book is a delight. Suitable too for those parents like me who want to teach their children, without lecturing, that critical appraisal is sadly necessary in this day and age (another recommendation here is to listen to the podcast Science Vs. with them).

If you're looking for a book that entertains while it educates and you'd like to purchase a copy for yourself, here's an Amazon link to it for my American readers. And if you're living here in Canada - this one's for you (though at least when I was typing this, it would still be cheaper to use the American link).

Cookbook Review: Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking (Spoiler - It's Terrific!)

A month or so ago, our office's chief RD, Rob Lazzinnaro, brought a copy of Michael Solomonov' Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking into the office.

After a quick peek, I rushed to my computer to order it. A bunch of weeks later and I'm so glad I did.

For those who aren't familiar with Israeli cooking, plainly, it's amazing and eclectic, as like Israel, it's a mishmash of cultures, countries, and religions. Having lived in Israel for a year when I was 14, I developed a taste for the region, and who better than Eater.com's 2014 chef of the year, 2011's James Beard best chef of the Mid-Atlantic, and owner/operator of Philadelphia's Israeli cuisine Zahav restaurant Solomonov to bring Israeli cooking to global kitchens?

I do though, find it difficult to describe Israeli cooking. It's a broad collection of flavours and tastes, all kissed by the the spices of the Middle East. Salads and mezze feature prominently, and so too do seminal dishes and condiments like hummus and tehina. Hummus, the chickpea based dish I'm sure you know, but I'm not as sure you'll know tehina - even though it serves as the basis of hummus. And boy is Zahav's tehina amazing. It was the first thing I made from the cookbook, and I've made a new batch every week since. Given it's been published elsewhere online, I think it's safe to share.

1 head garlic
3/4 cup lemon juice (from fresh lemons ideally)
1.5 teaspoons of kosher salt
2 generous cups tahini sauce (you can find this base sesame seed paste in the middle eastern section of any supermarket)
1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin

Break up the head of garlic and throw unpeeled cloves into a blender. Add the lemon juice and 1/2 of a teaspoon of salt. Blend on high for a few seconds until you've got a coarse puree and then let puree stand for 10 minutes.

Pour the puree through a fine mesh strainer over a large mixing bowl and with a spoon, press on the puree to extract as much liquid as possible. Toss out the solids and add to it the 2 generous cups of tehini, the cumin, and the remainder of the salt.

Whisk this mixture together until smooth adding ice water a few tablespoons at a time to thin it out (ends up being somewhere around 1.5 cups of water). At the beginning, the sauce will be very thick, but as you add water, it'll thin out and lighten in colour.

Your final product should be smooth, creamy and thick, coming off in ribbons from your whisk as you raise it. It'll keep for a week refrigerated and it can be frozen for up to a month.

Honestly, I could eat this stuff on anything. I've tried it with the obvious - falafel and shawarma, but also on grilled fish, just on it's own as a dip, and of course as a base for other recipes. That photo up above from Zahav is 4 parts this tehina sauce and one part harissa (recipe in Zahav, but also easily buyable in middle eastern markets) along with fried potatoes. It's ridiculous.

I've made Solomonov's hummus, multiple ways (that photo up above is from Zahav and shows the many different ways Zahav teaches you to prepare hummus), his version of Yemenite hot sauce (zchug), his chicken soup with ghondi (think chickpea and chicken dumplings) that my kids now want included in our regular rotation, and I'm never buying pita again given his recipe only needs an hour rise, is delicious, and not one has failed to puff while baking. What's also exciting is just how accessible Zahav's recipes are.

There's so much more for me to cook from this book, and given it's summertime, I know I'm going to give his "Live Fire" chapter a workout.

Thankfully absent from Zahav is nonsensical health hype. Missing though is nutritional information - something that I think should be standard practice in this day and age. For readers here, that tehina recipe up above clocks in at roughly 90 calories per tablespoon coming primarily from sesame seeds' mono and polyunsaturated fats.

Given it's soon to be both Mothers' and Fathers' day, if you're looking for a fabulous and very different than we're used to here in North America cookbook, look no further. If interested, here's an Amazon Associates link to buy (and if you're Canadian, here's one from Amazon Canada - though it may still be cheaper to order from US even with exchange and shipping) where a full 90% of the reviews are 5 star.

Holiday Gift Guide

I haven't done any reviews for a long time so today I'm reviewing and recommending a bunch of items I love. You should know, that if you use the links to purchase them on Amazon, I will receive a small commission.

The Cookbook: The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, by J. Kenji López-Alt

(Personally purchased)

The second this cookbook was available for pre-order on Amazon, I jumped on it, and it's so much more than just a cookbook. Think cooking meets science. The book has received beyond glowing reviews (like this one in the New York Times) and seems to be on everybody's must buy list - mine included. Not only will Kenji guide you in making incredible food (including beautiful pictures and careful step by step instructions of the techniques required to master a dish), but he'll review the scientific process he applied to perfect each and every one. The book's a monster, and it's a great buy for home chefs new and old (and if you're buying it as a gift, consider buying yourself one too - it's that good).

Here's an here's an Amazon link for the US, and here's an Amazon link for Canada.

The Pleasure Read: Dr. Mütter's Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine, by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz

(Cristin and I share the same incredible literary agent (Yfat Reiss Gendell) and agency (Foundry Literary and Media) and I was sent a free copy to read. Shortly after I started reading it however, I elected to purchase a Kindle copy)

Dr. Mütter's Marvels is an engrossing read. It tells the tale of Dr. Thomas D. Mütter, a surgeon who practiced his craft just before, and just after, the dawn of anesthesia. Mütter exemplifies what it means to be a caring physician, and reading it left me feeling humbled and awestruck by Mütter's skill, compassion, and genius. The history recalled is amazing - from the fact that nitrous oxide was originally promoted by its inventor as a hangover cure, to the ushering in of its use in anesthesia with the observation made by Massachusetts General Hospital's John Collins Warren, "Gentlemen, this is no humbug".

Aptowicz brings her long dead characters back to life, and in so doing, gives us a glimpse at what might have been with us, had we not the fortune of being born 150 years later. Many of Mütter's quotations resonated with me. Here's one on surgery that might as well be about nutrition,

"It is a surprising as well as humiliating reflection, that even with all this energy and vigor, with all the lights of modern science to guide us, with all the accumulated facts, false as well as true, of the crowd of laborers in the field, there should exist such diversity of opinion on subjects of the most constant observation."

And this one on life as a whole,

"This world is no place of rest. It is no place of rest, I repeat, but for effort. Steady, continuous, undeviating effort."

Here's an Amazon link for the US, and here's an Amazon link for Canada.

The Coffee Roaster: FreshRoast SR500 Automatic Coffee Bean Roaster

(I was given one of these as a birthday present 3 years ago. Have been roasting my own coffee ever since)

I love coffee. Years ago I made the switch to black coffee and along with it, to roasting my own beans. Though there's definitely an investment in buying one of these roasters (they'll run you between $150 and $200), if you've been grinding pre-roasted beans at home, it'll rapidly pay for itself. I buy one 50lb bag of green coffee beans a year (green beans can be stored for up to 3 years before going bad) from Toronto's Green Beanery. By buying in bulk I'm paying, depending on the bean, somewhere between $6-$9/lb - markedly less than the pre-roasted beans I'd be buying - savings that more than cover the cost of the machine within a year of purchase. If you do decide to home roast, buy some bean samplers and play around with times and temperatures. For US readers, Sweet Maria's is a great green bean wholesaler and there's lots of terrific FAQs and how-tos there as well.

Here's an Amazon US link (sorry, no link for Canada but you can buy at Green Beanery or use the US Amazon link which does ship to Canada).

The Portable Speaker: FUGOO Tough - Portable Rugged Bluetooth Wireless Go Anywhere Speaker Waterproof Shockproof Mud-proof Snow-proof

(Received this speaker for my birthday this year)

I love this portable speaker. The battery life is a ridiculous 40 hours, you can buy an accessory handlebar bike mount (I received one with the gift), it's loud, sounds great, and is virtually bomb proof. Biking with it on my commute to work I'm able to hear both the music and the world around me. We use it at home for impromptu dance parties with the girls as it hooks up via Bluetooth to my smartphone which allows me to stream their favourite songs via Youtube videos. I also use it as an internet radio as once connected to my smartphone, via the free app TuneIn radio, I can listen to radio from anywhere in the world.

Here's an Amazon US link and here's an Amazon link for Canada

The Ultimate Workout Headphones: Jaybird X2 Sport Wireless Bluetooth Headphones

(Received these as a birthday gift two years ago)

I'm so taken with these headphones that I'm reviewing them here a second time. I tried for years to find workout headphones that were comfortable, delivered great sound, and actually stuck in my ears regardless of how hard the workout or the amount of sweat. Then I got the Jaybirds. Not only did they meet all my needs, but they also were Bluetooth headphones that allowed me also to take calls. Truth be told, my experience with the calls feature hasn't been stellar - some connections are great, others less so - but friends who have these headphones as well have told me they've never had a problem so perhaps mine are a bit wonky. At two years old mine are still going strong, but were they to break, I'd spend my own money buying them again in a heartbeat.

Here's an Amazon US link, and here's an Amazon link for Canada.

The Smartphone Sport Armband: Grantwood Technology's TuneBand

(I've bought one for each new smartphone I've ever owned)

If you're looking for a stocking stuffer for the exerciser in your life, or the perfect accessory to go with the Jaybird headphones consider the TuneBand. It's a simple silicon sleeve that securely houses your smartphone while its easily adjustable velcoro armband secures your phone to your arm. I've used one since my first smartphone (the iPhone 4), and I'll likely keep on buying them as phone shapes and sizes change.

Here's an Amazon US link, and here's an Amazon link for Canada.

Book Review: Dr. James Beckerman's Incredible Heart to Start

Full disclosure: Jamie's a friend, a colleague (we were both speakers for Trench Talks), and he sent me a copy of Heart to Start way back when for me to blurb (which I did), but then I got a new iPad, lost all my annotations, and had to find the time to read it again before I could review it. The good news though - the information in Heart to Start is timeless.

The full title of Jamie Beckerman's latest book is Heart To Start: The Eight-Week Exercise Prescription to Live Longer, Beat Heart Disease, and Run Your Best Race, and he wrote it both as a tribute to his late father-in-law, and as a labour of love for his patients. Having already written The Flex Diet (which I reviewed here), I've no doubt Jamie could have had Heart to Start published traditionally, but rather than go that route, Jamie chose instead to have his hospital publish it so that he could donate 100% of the proceeds to the Play Smart Youth Heart Screenings program that he founded in the name of providing a free service to screen children for asymptomatic heart conditions in order to prevent tragic and sudden cardiac arrests.

The book starts off with Jamie recounting the event that forged his career in medicine. He was a third year medical student spending some time with his then girlfriend and her family at their summer cabin, when in the middle of the night she woke him up with the words,

"I think my dad is having a heart attack"

An hour of compressions later and the paramedics arrived, and though her father didn't make it, his death and that experience changed Jamie's life. Jamie made two promises that day, the first to devote his career to the prevention of heart disease and the second ... you'll need to read about it in Heart to Start's acknowledgments (but I'd bet you might be able to guess what it was).

Jamie's compassion and enthusiasm shines through Heart to Start which is designed to serve as a coach not just to those looking to prevent illness, but more importantly, to those who have been given a cardiac diagnosis, or are at great risk for one - a population that may quite frankly be afraid that getting moving might be the end of them.

First Jamie introduces you to a simple fitness test to determine whereabouts your starting line lies, and then along with a thoughtful and engaging summary of the research behind them, he helps to guide you from couch to action. He takes you through the quick sitting-rising test and reminds you that those with the lowest scores have been found to have lifespans three years shorter than those with the highest scores. Next is the 6 minute walk test which very simply looks at how far you can comfortably walk in 6 minutes. Those in the lowest 25th percentile of the test had 4x the rate of cardiac events as those in the highest 25th percentile - and if that fact's not enough to make you want to find out where your score lands you, Jamie reminds you that every additional 100m increase was associated with a 30% lower risk of cardiac events!

In briefly covering diet, Jamie explains that

"the purpose of exercise is not to burn calories"

and that,

"the cheesecake stands alone"

What he's getting at is something I've written about extensively - that while on paper a calorie burned is the same as a calorie not eaten, we don't live on paper. We're not research subjects in metabolic wards, and food serves us in roles other than just fuel. We comfort with it, we celebrate with it, and not only is that ok, it's important! Jamie insists that exercise should never be approached as penance for a piece of cheesecake as if you approach exercise as a punishment, you might be less likely to see it sustained in your lifestyle.

Next up is Jamie's Heart to Start Exercise Prescription which in turn could serve as a stand alone cardiac rehabilitation program, or as an adjunct to one that was established and hospital based. It starts off with an estimation of something called your V02 max which in turn serves to figure out how quickly you ought to be coming off that starting line for what will amount to be an 8 week "cardiac reboot" which covers both aerobic and resistance training. His program has no need for fancy equipment (running shoes and some dumbbells (if you're looking to buy some, check your local online buy and sell style marketplace)) and the workouts he prescribes are accessible, straightforward, and time-tested.

And once rebooted, if you're so inclined, Jamie wants to teach you how to run. 12 weeks to go from rebooted to a 5K.

Jamie is the kind of doctor that makes us other doctors wish we were more like him. Here's hoping that his book becomes required reading at cardiac rehabilitation programs the world over, that Heart to Start groups spring up like weeds, and that as a consequence of his passion, lives will be lived not just longer, but also better.

At the end of the day, if you or someone you love has been diagnosed with, or is at risk of heart disease, following Jamie's $9.99 book will prove a far more powerful medicine than any pill any doctor has ever prescribed.

If you want your own copy of Jamie's Heart to Start, here's an Amazon Associates link.

Book Review: Eat Like a Champion (A How To Feed Manual For Active Kids)

Today's guest post is by our office's own Rob Lazzinnaro who will be reviewing Jill Castle's Eat Like a Champion (which she sent me for review).

I work with families on a daily basis who are troubleshooting around how to provide proper sport nutrition for their kids - kids who are often also faced with weight issues. So when I was given the opportunity to review Eat Like a Champion by Registered Dietitian Jill Castle, I jumped on the chance as I'm also a big fan of Jill Castle's previous co-authored book Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School, and currently enjoy following her blog Just The Right Byte.

Jill’s new book, Eat like a Champion, focuses on recommended dietary approaches for young athletes. From high level athletes to gym class, the book is meant to be resource for any child that engages in regular physical activity. The question of what to feed their active kids is one I hear often in my office from parents regarding nutrition around sports, but parents soon learn that it is more complex than just the “what.” In her new book Jill Castle does dedicate a well deserved portion of the book to the “what” but also tackles the difficult food environment for athletes and how paying attention to a multitude of factors around eating can ingrain healthy habits in your young athlete for a life time.

The book is divided into ten chapters:

1. The Growing Athlete Body and Brain
2. The Starting Lineup: Major Nutrients
3. The Second String: Vitamins and Minerals
4. The Relief Pitcher: Fluids and Hydration
5. Game Plan - One, Two, Three Meals
6. Take a Time Out - Top Off with Snacks
7. Foul Play - Supplements and Performance Aids
8. Getting Off the Bench - Healing the Body with Food
9. The Special Diet Dilemma
10. Changing the Youth Sports Nutrition Landscape

And of those, five really stood out for me.

Matching Calories for Growth and Sport

Every person who picks up this book will have a child with different needs and energy requirements - there is no one size fits all when it comes to eating. The key is not to become overly obsessed with these numbers but hopefully use them as rough guidelines to help assess whether you're offering your child too little or too much - peace of mind really. Of course, the parent would have to loosely track the child's intake for 4-5 consecutive days (hopefully w/o the child knowing) to see where they are landing. The author also includes a useful table for changes in calorie requirements depending on the sport played.

Busting the Myth about Carbohydrates

Apologies Paleo adherents and wheat haters but this chapter focuses on evidence, which points to carbs not being inherently evil and how they can be a joyful part of our dietary lives. An excellent overview of choose most often carbs compared to choose less often is detailed here as well; aka, not all carbs are created equal. Finally, in children with high activity levels, carbohydrates can become vital for peak performance, as children are limited in their ability to store carbohydrates.

Foul Play - Supplements and performance aids

This section is a vital resource for parents wondering about the safety and efficacy of performance supplements. Hint: most supplements are not worth anyones time or money; and many are detrimental not beneficial to health. Good reference charts on supplements provided here.

Diets, Dieting and the Young athlete

The most important chapter in this book. Young athletes can set themselves up for a lifetime of dieting, body image issues, and eating disorders with the wrong information and ideas about ideal weight for sport and how weight is managed. In this chapter the author helps bust myths about the efficacy of popular diets and presents, more importantly, the dangers that come with a dieting mentality

Changing the Youth Sports Nutrition Landscape

I was absolutely thrilled this chapter was in the book because the field has become the tipping point around the normalization of junk food. We have all had the after game Slurpee, ice cream, or other frozen treat, and it was great when those items were indeed treats that we had less often. Nowadays when kids are playing sports 2-5 days a week and being offered treats after every game (these on top of the treats likely offered for every other event however small in their daily lives) they have become excessive. Point is, the exercise = food reward is not a positive behaviour we should be teaching our kids.

And there are also a few themes in the book that I struggled with:

1. Chocolate Milk

Throughout the book chocolate milk is recommended as a high protein healthful snack. Regardless of whether or not your children are elite athletes or just regular organized sport lovers, chocolate milk is a treat, and I fear that providing it to a child under the guise of it being a good fuel for sport may provide the wrong message. p.s An 8 oz glass of chocolate milk has 12 g or 3 tsp of added sugar - a 500ml carton - 25g or ~6 tsp added sugar.

2. The Focus on Micronutrients

I feel the chapters around the vitamins and minerals might be useful for an RD, but I wonder whether or not they'll provide much utility to the average family or child athlete.

3. Protein Supplements

There is some vilification of protein supplementation. Truth be told, I am not a strong advocate of protein supplementation, but there is no evidence that I'm aware of that would suggest unadulterated protein powders are unsafe for children to use, e.g. to balance a fruit smoothie with. If said protein powder is adulterated and has a sketchy wt.loss or endurance supplement added to it, then yes, please steer clear.

In summary, Jill Castle has once again provided a valuable resource on child nutrition, whether you are reading it as a health professional or as a curious parent. The book lays down a solid resource on what to eat and how to fuel yourself within varying degrees of activity. However where I found the most value was in the closer look at how we eat, supplementing safely, the dangers of dieting, and the treacherous food environment that all child athletes must face these days. Just in time for the school year, go Dillon Panthers! ;)

If you're interested in your own copy, here is an Amazon Associates link for Eat Like a Champion.

Cookbook Review: Save with Jamie: Shop Smart, Cook Clever, Waste Less

Today's cookbook review comes from our office's stellar RD Rob Lazzinnaro, and for disclosure, Rob chose on his own volition to take Jamie's book out from the library and I asked him if he wouldn't mind writing a review.

Save with Jamie: Shop Smart, Cook Clever, Waste Less

Jamie Oliver is not only a talented chef but also one of the most outspoken ambassadors for home cooking, healthy eating and getting healthy food into schools. Recent example being his petition fighting for food education and his creation of the food revolution day and campaign. Jamie’s many television shows and campaigns around food in school and getting folks in the kitchen are inspirational, and his first cookbook back in 2000,The Naked Chef, even helped me to tackle new recipes outside of my comfort zone for the first time. More recently, with his good friend Gennaro Contaldo, he helped me rediscover some Italian classics that I had eaten frequently as a child. You can imagine my excitement when I ran across his book Save with Jamie, which was published a couple of years ago, while looking for cookbooks with budget in mind. All praise aside: I promise to do my best to review this cookbook as I do any other, without bias and guided by the four questions I ask in reviewing any cookbook.

1.Are nutrition facts included?

The calorie count per serving is indicated in clear view beside each recipe, as well the book has a five page rundown in the index of the fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, and sugar for all of the book's recipes. I would have appreciated to see protein, fiber and sodium in the rundowns as they are key when choosing a well balanced recipe. *p.s. Jamie, if you need a consultant for your next book you know who to contact.

2. Are the recipes accessible and well balanced?

Absolutely! The general theme of the book is how to save by cooking in batch, cooking with cheaper proteins, using your freezer, and using every last bit of any food item. I give preference to recommending recipes that have a good balance of healthy protein, carbs/fiber, and fats which most of Jamie's dishes achieve. It is worth noting that some recipes may be too calorically dense to be eaten regularly, but all depending on your caloric requirements of course.

3. Is it free from nutrition myths and non-evidence based diet recommendations?

It is very important to me that any book providing nutritional recommendations beyond nutrient breakdowns try to do so through a nutrition professional. The author/chef may have good intentions but their advice needs to be guided by evidence. What I love about Jamie’s cookbooks and his general brand is that he focuses on what he does best which is creating delicious and accessible meals, the healthy aspect is that you cooked it yourself from scratch. He does not preach about certain diets or health fads; refreshing. The cookbook sticks to basic cost savings, stretching ingredients, using every last scrap, meal prep & storage, and delicious recipes.

4. Are the recipes engaging and delicious?

Absolutely! This is of course where Jamie’s cookbooks shine. All of the recipes have very beautiful and enticing photographs with easy to follow instructions. In Save with Jamie, he essentially pulls and then re creates classically delicious comfort dishes from around the world, which makes for one of his most culturally diverse cookbooks to date.

I highly recommended this cookbook as it is a stand out in Jamie’s Collection.

To buy your own copy, here is an Amazon Associates link from Canada (looks like the US stock is gone)

Book Review: 100 Days of Real Food (Guest Post)

Today's post is a guest post cookbook review from our office's fantastic RD Rob Lazzinnaro.

100 Days of Real Food

Full disclosure: I was provided a free copy of Lisa Leake's 100 Days of Real Food by Dr.Freedhoff to review, and I have no ties to the author.

I tend to review all cookbooks with two guidelines:

1. Are the recipes attainable, nutritious, and is nutrition information provided.
2. If the cookbook has nutrition tips (which many do these days) is the information accurate and would I be comfortable recommending it as a registered dietitian.

Let’s start with praise. Overall this is an excellent book with a great message and some excellent recipes. Its central message is one we all still desperately need to hear, which is to cook more, eat more whole foods, and rely on highly processed foods less.

The message is stated clearly from the book’s get-go - we eat too many highly refined and ultra-processed products. Why is that significant? In depth, eating more processed food often means consuming portions deceptively high in calories, ingredients that are proven harmful to our health (trans fats), and foods that are often devoid of essential nutrients.

Leake’s definition of what REAL food is:

• "Whole food that typically has only one ingredient…
• “Packaged foods made with no more than five unrefined ingredients. (based on Michael Pollan’s food rules).
• Dairy products like whole milk, unsweetened yogurt, eggs, and cheese.
• Breads and crackers that are 100 percent whole grain.
• Wild-caught seafood
• Locally and humanely raised pastured meat products like chicken, pork, beef, and lamb
• Dried fruits, nuts and seeds
• Naturally made sweeteners including honey and maple syrup
• More a product of nature than a “product of industry”. "

The Meal Planning Tips and Recipes Section; Chapters 4-5 & Part Two:

The book shines in its practical “how to” managment tips, and particularly in the chapters Getting Your Family On Board” and “Food Budget Tips and Meal Plans. The last half of the book includes the 100 recipes, and the majority are enticing, and more importantly, not intimidating . Without question most parents will especially enjoy the lunch box recipe ideas for kids. With respect to nutrition within the recipes, Leake is not a believer in counting calories or macronutrients, but I am, so I put some of her most indulgent recipes to the test.

If you had a serving of the Quinoa and Sausage Stuffed Peppers on pg. 242 you would consume:

~455 Calories/18g Protein/400mg Sodium/5g Fibre

Pair it with a serving of Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing on pg. 214 you would consume an additional:

~347 Calories/16g Protein/591mg Sodium/2g Fibre

Essentially, what that means is that the book’s most indulgent meal would be ~800 Calories. The rest of the recipes tend be much less caloric and fall somewhere between 200-300 calories per serving. For me this hammers home two points.

1. When you cook at home from whole ingredients the majority of your meals will naturally fall within a reasonable calorie range and consequently tracking calories isn’t as necessary as it would be were you to be assembling boxes and hitting restaurants rather than cooking.
2. Not all meals are created equal and just because they are cooked from scratch some meals will still fall into the eat less often category and so if your recipe sounds indulgent, it may be worth crunching the numbers.

The Nutritional Information Sections, Chapters 1-3:

There is some very solid advice in these sections ranging from what are whole grains, healthy oils/fats, label reading, not aiming for perfection and the problem with added sugar which Leake covers succinctly,

“The problem with sugar is honestly not sugar itself, but the quantity in which it’s being consumed”

Unfortunately, Leake’s solid nutritional advice is at times followed up by non-evidence based statements. As many in the real food (whole food) movement are, Leake seems guided in part by natural fallacy - the belief that only something “natural/real” necessitates healthy and good; everything else is a compromise. I worry that this false construct and focus may lead some to ultimately struggle as not everyone has the budget, access or interest to cook the majority of their food, let alone do so with organic, grass fed, and speciality ingredients. I can’t help but wonder whether some of the fierce attacks on home cooking of late by journalists and bloggers as being elitist, aren’t bolstered some by recommendations that in a sense, put too many rules on home cooking.

At the end of the day this is a great resource for those looking to eat and cook with more whole foods; keeping in mind that it is perfectly fine if you choose to cook/bake with white flour once in a while ;)

If you'd like a copy, here's an Amazon Associates link to pick one up.

Diet Book Review: James Fell & Margaret Yúfera-Leitch's Lose it Right

Before I get to the review I have many disclosures. I've known James for years and have worked with him on many stories in his job as a columnist for all sorts of folks including the LA Times, the Chicago Tribune and Chatelaine. We share a Canadian publisher and editor. I received a review copy of his book a while ago (and wrote a cover blurb for it), and he recently wrote a very kind review of my book The Diet Fix. I'm featured a bunch in Lose it Right. But wait, it gets even more conflicted. James is also one of those folks who by means of us working together on all sorts of stuff led us to even touch base outside of social media. James is a friend.

So, now that all that's off my chest, I'll tell you a bit more back story. When I first "met" James he really lived up to his moniker at the time of, "In Your Face". That he was. James has a very in your face style of writing, but what became clear rather quickly, an in your face style of living. He's never short of an opinion, nor is he ever shy about sharing his with you. And that's not a bad thing, it's just James. When our shared publisher reached out to me to consider writing a blurb for James' book (and he mine), I was actually hesitant. My worry was simple. While being a huge fan of his writing style, and while it certainly seemed from what I'd read of his that our opinions were in line with one another, I worried about not liking his book. I didn't think it would be awful or anything, but given our long working relationship and our shared publisher, I wondered what I would do if I didn't love it.

I needn't have worried.

Despite my extreme familiarity with the subject matter, and despite having read truly dozens and dozens of diet books, I can honestly state that I have never had more fun reading one than I did reading Lose it Right.

Its subtitle does it justice, "A Brutally Honest, 3-Stage Program to Help You Get Fit and Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind" as that's really what it's all about. No bullsh*t, just straight shooting laced with James' humour and Margaret's evidence base. Their 3 stages are straightforward. The first is the background they feel will help to inspire your lifestyle changes. The second are the preparations you'll need to enact those changes. The third are the whats and the hows of the changes they're aiming you at.

There aren't any real time frames attached to how long each stage will take, nor are there any nonsensical inflexibilities in their guidance. The crux of Lose it Right is that exercise, while not in and of itself useful in burning a whole boatload of calories, is essential in inspiring, fuelling and sustaining healthful lifestyles. They get into what they call the "virtuous cycle" whereby their theory is that exercise, "enhances ability to make wise food choices and makes you crave healthy fuel", and that said healthy fuel, "increases energy and positive attitudes about being active". And that definitely fits both with an evidence base that states that those who exercise more score higher on surveys of healthful living behaviours, and with my experiences working with literally thousands of patients trying to change their lives.

Ultimately Lose it Right is a doable healthy living business plan (James is an MBA grad) that lays out not only what changes you have to make to open your healthful living business, but also the return you can expect on your investment, as well as the blueprints for how to enact change, and it's a plan I can honestly endorse.

Should you want your own copy, here's an Indigo link and here's an Amazon link (its publication date is April 1st). So far it's only available here in Canada, though I'm guessing it'll ship wherever you might be.

You can also read James on his blog Six Pack Abs, and Margaret on hers Psychology and Appetite

[And FYI - while I was asked to write a blurb for the book, I was never asked to write this review, nor is James or our shared editor aware that I'm writing it.]

Diet Book Review: Darya Pino Rose's Foodist

[Full Disclosure: Received a free copy of the book from Darya and have been a contributor to her blog Summer Tomato in the past]

Darya Pino Rose has a PhD in neuroscience and a passion for healthy eating. She first married her inner scientist to her inner foodie with her blog, Summer Tomato, which was named one of TIME Magazine's 50 top websites back in 2011. This past year she took it one step further and published her book, Foodist: Using Real Food and Real Science to Lose Weight Without Dieting in which she details her personal journey to a style of eating and living that she has termed being a "Foodist".

Citing science when science is available, Rose explores the impact of dietary choice on health and weight, and then cites her own personal examples to support how to implement what she refers to as, "Eat More" habits. Those Eat More habits - they're her recommended starting blocks - respect the fact that life change works better if you don't start by trying to eliminate all the bad stuff, but rather try to first increase the good. A stalwart of farmer's market's, Rose encourages readers to cultivate love affairs with their kitchens - as it was her own love affair therein that led her not only to the publication of Foodist, but also to the design of her funky custom purposed Mercado farmer's market bag.

For those who aren't yet living a cooking from fresh whole foods lifestyle, this book is a great place to find some inspiration. With tips on shopping for fresh produce such as remembering that farmer's market fruits will indeed be exceedingly expensive compared to a supermarket's but that farmer's market vegetables are often comparable in price, to some of Darya's favourite recipes, to a list of "mouthwatering" words that Brian Wansink's work would suggest will heighten your family's enjoyment of their meals if used to describe them, Darya entices us all to use our kitchens more frequently.

As to whether or not you'll lose weight, as Darya puts it, and with a reference to Chip and Dan Heath's fabulous book Switch,

"By educating yourself more on the issues surrounding food, you can fuel your elephant's determination to take the high road and keep the noble course. You might even lose some weight in the process."

Ultimately I think Foodist's focus is placed much more directly on healthful eating, than weight management, but that's not a bad thing as regardless of the impact improving the quality of your diet might have on your weight, its impact on your health will markedly mitigate the risks of weight in the first place.

Like any great love affair, the more you put into yours, the more you'll get out of it. A Foodist's lifestyle is no doubt a healthful one, but no doubt too, there's not an insignificant amount of effort and the joint luxuries of time and means required. I also have no doubt the payoff is worth it, but I do look forward to reading a hopeful future edition of what might be titled, "The Family Foodist", when Darya's family grows and she finds new and innovative shortcuts to Foodist style living.

If you'd like your own copy, here's an Amazon Associates link.

Diet Book Review: Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle

[Full Disclosure: I received my review copy directly from Tom and we share both a literary agency and a publisher. I was not asked by any of them to write this review, nor have they seen it before you.]

Tom Venuto is a larger than life kind of guy - almost kinda literally as he most assuredly walks (and lifts) his talk. I had the pleasure of meeting Tom the last time I was in New York, and I was impressed by his passion and his knowledge - not just on training, but on health and nutrition as a whole. We originally "met" via Twitter 4 or 5 years ago, and not being involved at all in lifting or the training community at the time (my loss as I've since learned it's a vibrant and incredibly supportive and engaged one), I wasn't familiar with Tom's motivational empire. His websites, Burn the Fat Inner Circle and his Burn the Fat Blog have huge followings - and I can tell you, huge followings in the training community aren't built off of hype, they're built off of trust, knowledge and integrity, qualities Tom has in spades. Being basically a toddler in weight lifting myself, and keen to read Tom's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (the original e-book of which has sold over 250,000 copies), I was excited when asked if I'd be interested in receiving a copy of his first ever hardcopy edition.

Up front I'll tell you that Tom and I have one distinct philosophical difference. Tom loves number goals. Whether they're body fat percentiles, pounds on a scale, or other performance based metrics, Tom wants you to pick one, take aim, and with the help of the program he lays out, nail it. Me? I think I come at this having never been a physical competitor, and I think therein might lie the basis of our difference. You see I am, and always have been, painfully uncoordinated. I would get picked last even after injured kids when teams were picked in school. Even today, though I'm certainly fit, I'm not what anyone would call athletic, and when I run triathlons I generally place, even with my best efforts, in the bottom 30-40th percentile. I have had to learn to value my personal bests as great and not get caught up in whether or not I hit some particular number - as my friend and author of The Flex Diet Jamie Beckerman says, for me, "the road is the goal". Consequently in all of my endeavours and teachings, I try to help people shift their focus away from wanting to reach a particular body fat percentile or number on a scale and instead focus them on the behaviours they truly have control over - on the stuff they'll need to do in order to have a hope of hitting those number goals. To put this another way, yes an A+ is the best grade you can get in school, but really as a student you can't guarantee one, all you really have control over is whether or not you go to class, do your homework, and how much you study. And if you really want to try to hit that A+ then you might decide to hire a tutor or join a study group. And if you're looking to cultivate a gym-inspired, health-focused lifestyle - well then Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle may well serve as your ace-in-the-hole tutor.

Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is an evidence-based trip through the gym and the kitchen. Tom clearly understands that the inconvenient truth of healthful living is that it does indeed require effort and that there are no shortcuts. In discussing the popular use of supplements in both weight lifting and weight management he minces no words,

"The majority of so-called fat-burning products available over-the-counter are worthless and have no scientific evidence validating their use.",

and then he explains how miracles are really formed,

"If you want to see a real miracle, try training hard and eating real food consistently for a few months."

Tom is all about you pushing your limits, and in fact I think it might be safe to say (he can correct me if I'm wrong), that he wants you to rid yourself of the notion that you have any. I do agree with him in that on the one hand, you can force yourself to attain any weight, body fat percentile or clothing size that you might want, but my experiences, albeit with a very different patient base, is that if suffering is a prerequisite to reaching your goal, than suffering is likely also a prerequisite for staying there, and while no doubt the human spirit can overcome it, it can usually only white-knuckle its way through those limits temporarily. I wish there were such things, but in healthy living efforts, there are no finish lines - the race keeps going, and if you've ever run before, you know that sprinting might indeed get you to a finish line faster, but if that finish line is no where in sight, sprinting's probably not a great race plan.

Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle provides personalizable templates both for diet and training where the basis of each come from a mix of what works (the experience of Tom as both a champion body builder and the lessons he's learned during his decades of training, teaching and competing) and best evidence. It's a great mix as sometimes what an expert knows works, isn't supported by a study - and herein is why if you're looking for lifestyle advice, it's best to get it from someone who truly works with people - rather than from a researcher or writer who presents their theoretical though evidence based viewpoints, as the application of the evidence base doesn't always mesh with the realities in the trenches, and as mentioned, sometimes what's working in the trenches has yet to be proven in the ivory towers.

Reading his sections on nutrition, there's no doubt Tom gets it. From even the preface Tom hammers home the truly crucial fact that its kitchens that matter more than gyms when it comes to weight. His dietary recommendations and his discussion of macronutrients and nutrition in general echo those of my own and aren't stuck in any particular one-size-fits all mantra. They provide a great foundation of what someone hoping to simultaneously lose weight and build/preserve muscle would need and all without cutting calories out at your knees. Going through his training sections, whether your a beginner, an intermediate or an expert, there'll be something here for you and I think in reading them I'm going to follow Tom's recommended "periodization cycle" designed to get the most out of my lifting.

At the end of the day I have zero doubt that if you follow Tom's advice, you're going to dramatically change your health, your weight and your body. If you're the type who thrives on goal setting and numbers - this might very well be your healthy living bible and really the perfect New Year's Resolution tome. If you're a bit more like me, more comfortable with the goal of doing your best and moreover comfortable with the fact that your best might not be as good as someone else's best, the only thing you might want to consider going in is that it might be safer to use the various numerical metrics as means to track your progress - using them (as Tom also recommends) as a means to troubleshoot the impact of changes to your strategies, rather than as a means to determine if you've succeeded.

Want a copy? Here's an Amazon Associates link.

Guest Post: Book Review - Food To Eat (for Eating Disorder Recovery)

Today's guest posting comes from our office's RD Rob Lazzinnaro who reviewed fellow RD Lori Lieberman and her co-author Cate Sangster's Food to Eat: guided, hopeful & trusted recipes for eating disorder recovery. Truthfully I've had this book for a very long time and realizing that my pile of books seems to be getting taller, not shorter, I asked Rob for his take.

Eating disorders are a highly sensitive topic. As a Registered Dietitian determining how to approach clients struggling with an eating disorder can be difficult as the disorder can essentially destroy one's relationship with food, and the road back to healthy eating can be long. For many, food becomes a source of anxiety, social tension, fear, and sometimes can be seen as the enemy. Food to Eat is a combination of practical tips on rethinking and changing how one eats, paired with a large selection of recipes.

About the authors: Lori Lieberman is a Registered Dietitian with 26 years of experience working with eating disorders, while Cate Sangster has struggled herself with an eating disorder for over 20 years; the combination of their two perspectives proves invaluable.

A few items from the book that I really enjoyed:

1. The “outsmart your eating disorder(ED) voice” question & answer snippets placed throughout the book. Truly they provide valuable insight into possible fears and concerns about the topics addressed. I imagine these questions accumulated during the author’s many years of both clinical and personal experiences.
e.g.

• “So why would I take in fats, then, when they’re highest ounce for ounce (or gram for gram)?” [p.42]
• “But I’m not hungry so why should I eat?” [p.46]
• “But once I eat I get hungrier!” [p.46]
• “Why butter? Shouldn’t I use a healthier fat or none at all?” [p.68]

(you'll have to read the book to discover their answers)

2. In the segment called “putting it all together” [p.45-46] the authors provide recommendations for meal structure and timing, e.g. how often to eat. This brief overview provides an important starting point for addressing hunger. In my opinion it may be the most important segment of the book but as I point out below, I wish it were longer.

3. Some great recipes are included! Plenty of variety, textures, and cultural options with simple instructions that are accompanied by many of those fantastic ED voice Q&A’s. Also, the authors deserve a high five for including scratch dessert recipes in the book. While some might find their inclusion odd in an eating disorder book, in my opinion treats are a necessary part of any well thought out meal plan (though if your eating is disorganized and irregular, controlling them thoughtfully may prove exceedingly difficult).

A couple of items from the book that I think are important to flesh out:

1. I would have loved to see a longer discussion regarding the types of hunger that drive us. For many, reducing or eliminating physiological hunger through careful dietary organization can be a key factor in keeping emotional, environmental and social hunger cues at bay, which is why eating every 2-3 hours and not skipping meals may be one of the most powerful tools in the fight against eating disorders. That said, no doubt the content of what you eat may affect your hunger as well, which brings me to my next point.

2. Many processed and packaged food items are seemingly addictive in that they are designed to be difficult to resist, and our individual response to these items is not addressed in this book. Those struggling with an eating disorder may find it helpful to know that many foods items have been designed to be “triggers”. I am referring to processed food items that can send you in to a tailspin with just the right mix of sugar, fat and texture, and often leaving you hungrier after consuming them. I wonder the impact a shift from the highly processed world to a from scratch whole world might have on those struggling with eating disorders and dietary control issues?

Overall, the book proves to be an excellent initial guide for anyone personally struggling with an eating disorder. I also believe it can serve as a solid resource for clinicians.

If you'd like your own copy, here is an Amazon Associates link for purchase.