Listen Up: Listen Your Way To a Better Diet
The battle against the bulge isn't an easy one. Most people
these days are trying to eat healthier but it's tough to keep up
with the onslaught of diet-related information and to stay
motivated to choose nutritious foods. So here's a tip. Listen
your way to a better diet.
There are some excellent audio books available on the subject of
nutrition. Try popping one of these into your car stereo or
listening to them while you're in the kitchen making dinner.
It's a great way to learn more about the impact of food on your
body. It can also help you to discover new foods and recipes
that you might not have been familiar with. And it's a great way
to stay accountable to a healthier diet. Just try preparing a
greasy hamburger while listening to an audio book discussing the
health risks of saturated fats!
A great audio book to start with is The South Beach Diet by
Arthur Agatson. The South Beach Diet isn't as extreme as some
other diets so it's a great way to transition into a healthier
way of eating. You'll still be able to eat a lot of the foods
you enjoy but if you're like many others you'll find that the
foods that you limit (e.g., refined carbs) will help you to shed
pounds quickly.
Another great source of information is the audio books from Dr.
Andrew Weil. Weil has written dozens of books on health and many
of them are available on audio. I find his dietary
recommendations very sensible and enjoy that he views food a
source of pleasure (something many diet book writers
surprisingly fail to consider). A few recommended Weil titles on
audio are Eating Well for Optimum Health, The Healthy Kitchen
(with Rosie Daley) and Taking Care of Yourself.
If you're ready to step it up to a notch, you might want to give
a listen to Tony Robbins' Living Health course. While Tony's
dietary recommendations aren't the easiest to follow, the
alkalinity theory of nutrition that he espouses might well be a
breakthrough in the nutrition world. And you certainly can't
argue with Tony's energy. The guy is a live wire!
A few other audio books that you might to pick up include Diet
for a New America by John Robbins (no relation to Tony), Eat to
Beat Cancer by J. Robert Hatherill and Ultraprevention by Mark
Hyman and Mark Liponis (the co-directors of medicine at the
Canyon Ranch spa). There are also some interesting
nutrition-related podcasts out there such as Tracy Jorg's Vegan
Cooking School podcast. And don't forget about about Eric
Schlosser's best-selling audio book Fast Food Nation. If you're
looking for some reasons to never eat fast food again you'll
find them there.
Immerse yourself in a few of these titles and see how your diet
changes. Once you discover an enjoyable way to eat better don't
be surprised if you never go back to your old ways.