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On fitness & health

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Many find books in the 'health' category a little dry, even boring. They read more like textbooks than page-turning thrillers. But there are some books that are worth your time. They will equip you with knowledge to burn fat, build muscle, and improve your health. You'll even start questioning yourself on your concept of wellness. This week, we have rounded up our favorite reads on the subjects of fitness and health that's bound to get your started on your healthy living journey.

Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?
by Alex Hutchinson

If you ever looked for one single book to answer all the "practical" fitness questions in one volume, this is it. It has it all: Does listening to music hurt my workout? Should I train when I'm sick? Will running ruin my knees? Do I need extra protein to build muscle? Alex Hutchinson, a physicist, award-winning journalist, and contributing editor of Popular Mechanics magazine, reveals the little-known and often surprising truths that science has uncovered about exercise. A book that ranges from cardio and weights to competition and weight loss, here are fascinating facts and practical tips for fitness buffs, competitive athletes, and popular science fans alike. A fun and entertaining read, yet based on real scientific research.

Good Calories, Bad Calories
by Gary Taubes

The argument that eating fat is a good thing reached the mainstream after this book by science writer Gary Taubes hit shelves. Although science began showing the benefits of consuming fats years before, Taubes showed how a diet filled with refined carbohydrates was the real cause of many health issues and how fat, despite being vilified, is a necessary part of your diet. Taubes argues that the key to good health is the kind of calories we take in, not the number. While many of Taubes assertions are still controversial, his eye-opening book is a must-read for anyone who's ever concerned themselves with food. His dietary advice is based on rigorous science, not century-old preconceptions.

In Defence of Food
by Michael Pollan

This book is a celebration of food. By food, Michael Pollan means real, proper, simple food – not the kind that comes in a packet, or has lists of unpronounceable ingredients, or that makes nutritional claims about how healthy it is. By food, Pollan means more like the kind of food your great-grandmother would recognize. By following a few pieces of advice like eat at a table – a desk doesn't count, you will enrich your life and your palate, and enlarge your sense of what it means to be healthy and happy. This book instantly makes redundant all diet books and 99 percent of discussions around healthy eating. If there is one book you should pick up on food and health, this is it.

The 21-Day Yoga Body
by Sadie Nardini

In The 21-Day Yoga Body, renowned wellness warrior and lifestyle expert Sadie Nardini gives you a program to renovate your body, mind and spirit. This fast-acting program, based on Sadie's potent inspirations, real-world recipes and unique Core Strength Vinyasa yoga style will speed up your metabolism, build lean muscle, and burn fat. Nardini outlines 21 days of yoga practice along with various nutritional plans to fuel up your poses. But she also admits to losing her cool in noisy cafes, overdoing it on wine, and Instagraming her steak dinner, and what comes across is her total humanity. Which is important, because if you're going to launch into a yoga practice, you want someone who's funny, compassionate, and, above all, human cheering you on.

From XL to XS
by Payal Gidwani Tiwari

Can you change the shape of your body? Payal Gidwani Tiwari, Bollywood's most celebrated yoga expert, says that you can and tells you how to go From XL to XS. With simple and easy to follow principles and exercise routines, learn how to lose (or gain) weight, stay fit, and transform your body structure. But that's not all. Read the book to learn how to look ten years younger. You will also learn about other invisible factors like stress, sleep, etc. that affect the way you look. There is no need to envy your favorite stars. With Tiwari's help you can look even better. With photographs, celeb workouts, and useful tips by stars, From XL to XS is a must read.

Don't lose out, work out
by Rujuta Diwekar

Through the book, Rujuta tackles pretty much every myth and fad to do with exercise, demystifies exercise for everyone and presents it as not a brainless activity but a science which has the potential to combat all lifestyle disorders including diabetes and obesity. Strength training, Cardio and Yoga get a detailed chapter each along with their pre and post workout meals, an often neglected but crucial aspect. So whether you are a beginner or want to take your workouts to the next level, the sample training schedules and real life workout examples with analysis and modifications will bridge the gap between knowing and doing and ensure that you are in a position to start and/or progress with a sensible, doable and a wholesome exercise plan.

The Body Book
by Cameron Diaz

Throughout her career, Cameron Diaz has been a role model for millions of women. By her own candid admission, though, this fit, glamorous, but down-to-earth star was not always health-conscious. Learning about the inseparable link between nutrition and the body was just one of the life-changing lessons that has fed Cameron's hunger to educate herself about the best ways to feed, move, and care for her body. In The Body Book, she shares what she has learned and continues to discover about nutrition, exercise, and the mind/body connection. The Body Book does not set goals to reach in seven days or thirty days or a year. It offers a holistic, long-term approach to making consistent choices and reaching the ultimate goal: a long, strong, happy, healthy life.

The Smart Sugar Diet
by Anne Alexander

Even if you never eat candy, you're probably still consuming a lot of sugar on a daily basis. It hides in your pasta sauce, bread, yogurt, and probably in just about every packaged food you've ever bought. Anne Alexander argues that sugar is your waistline's worst enemy and the reason why you can't shed kilos, even if you're eating a seemingly healthy diet. Her multi-phase plan involves identifying all of the secret sugars in your diet, gradually eliminating them, and then slowly re-introducing moderate amounts of the sweet stuff. You're allowed to consume up to six teaspoons of sugar a day by the end of the diet, the amount most physicians recommend for good health. This book will teach you to handle your cravings and shrink your body.



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