Countdown to Fitness

Last year after reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan, I searched for a local farm that supported community-supported agriculture (CSA), which he explained in the book.  I wanted to find a local farm which grew organic produce and, possibly, raised pastured animals.  My family would pay a fee upfront, and in return we would share in the risks and rewards of the farm, receiving a certain amount of farm products each week or so.

After finding several local CSA programs on the Internet, in July I chose Three Rivers Community Farm in Elsah, Illinois, and sent an email requesting the farm put me on the waiting list for 2010.  The farm appealed to me for various reasons: the price, the products, the 8 to 12 pounds of produce each week, the location, the very informative archived newsletters (which let me see the types of information and products the farm produced), and the information about the husband and wife who are farming the land. (more…)

Do you want to lose weight or understand the causes of obesity?  Are you interested in knowing which calories are good and which are bad?  Do you want to know why the mainstream thinking on nutrition may be causing more obesity and other illnesses?  Are dietary fat and cholesterol really causing obesity, heart disease, and other problems?  What is the contradictory evidence, and why is it omitted?  You might be surprised by the history, politics, personalities, and science (or lack-thereof) behind the current nutritional recommendations and by the possibility that the current “wisdom” on nutrition is wrong.  This book is one of the most important books I’ve read in my life, and I couldn’t put it down. (more…)