Recommended Books, Articles, and Sites
The Hacker's Diet, by John Walker, is the free book that inspired the PhysicsDiet.com. When I read this book I knew I had to create software that I could use to implement the ideas in The Hacker's Diet. After using an early version of the PhysicsDiet.com to lose 60 pounds in 3 months I knew I had to share this software with the world. Read this book. It costs nothing and it will help you understand how you can use the tools on PhysicsDiet.com to lose weight and then maintain your weight loss for the rest of your life.
Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy is the best nutrition book that I have read. It is well researched, well reasoned, and well written. Dr. Walter Willet is a scientist not a Guru. He doesn't have an axe to grind like many self-proclaimed nutrition experts. This book does not contain a single piece of advice that isn't supported by overwhelming evidence. If you only have money for one diet or nutrition book, this is the one you should buy. And if you don't have the money to buy it, go to your local library and check it out.
Bill Phillips outlines a 12 week plan for transforming your body. The plan is simple to understand, but it requires true dedication to follow. Bill does not does not like counting calories. Instead he recommends you count portions. He also recommends you eat six small balanced meals per day. The exercise program he recommends is simple to understand and will help you get into the best shape of your life. You just have to do the work.
Critics of the book say that Bill spends too much time selling the nutrition products of EAS, a company he helped start. I didn't find that to be the case. He only recommends you use nutrition supplements for convenience. The Body-for-Life program does not require the use of supplements. The book contains all you need to know to create a balanced diet without the use of any supplements.
The book is full of inspirational stories. I'd recommend it on that basis alone even if it didn't contain solid nutritional and fitness advice. As good as the book is, it doesn't dive too deep into the subject. If you've read one of the other books recommended on this page you probably won't learn much about nutrition. But you can learn a lot about exercise.
Eating for Life starts out where Body for Life left off. At least where nutrition is concerned.
Body for Life contains a list of approved foods and leaves it up to you to figure out satisfying ways to combine those foods. Eating for Life contains a wide variety of recipes using the approved foods in interesting and satisfying ways. It also includes a sample two week meal plan. Bill Phillips highly recommends planning your meals a week in advance. This book will help you do that.
The recipes are easy to prepare. They don't include exotic ingredients or require complicated cooking techniques. There are a few recipes that sound a bit strange - Fudge pops made with cottage cheese - but for the most part the recipes are health takes on old favorites.
My favorite thing about this book is the pictures. It never ceases to amaze me how many cook books are produced without including high quality pictures of the prepared recipes. Eating for Life doesn't make that mistake. Every recipe is beautifully pictured. Most recipes even include pictures of the ingredients that make up the recipe. That may sound hokey, but it actually helps you judge how much work it will take to make each recipe.
Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle is an eBook that outlines a sound nutrition and exercise program to help you achieve a whole new level of fitness.
It was written by Tom Venuto. Tom is a world class natural body builder. He walks the walk. He maintains a single digit body fat percentage by combining good nutrition and exercise.
The core ideas in Burn the Fat are similar to Body for Life. But Burn the Fat digs much deeper and provides a lot more background on the subjects of nutrition and exercise.
One major difference between Burn the Fat is that Tom believes that it is impossible to maximize your results if you don't know how many calories you are eating. He feels that counting portions is not good enough. I agree. I think counting portions, along with daily weighing and monitoring your average weight, is a great way to maintain your weight once you reach your goal. It is certainly less work then weighing your food and counting calories. But if you are trying to get the maximum results from your diet than you really need to understand where your calories are coming from.
Tom also recommends that you focus on long duration medium intensity cardio if you are trying to burn fat. After you lose most of your excess body fat you can then focus on increasing calories and building muscle. He feels that it is almost impossible to lose body fat and build significant muscle mass at the same time. Instead he recommends that you focus on maintain your existing muscle mass while losing body fat. Again, I agree.
Burn the Fat is based on years of research and personal experimentation by Tom. But it is not a heavily footnoted. I read through a lot of the research that is available online before I read Burn the Fat. If I hadn't, I might have been disappointed by the lack of references to the research.
If you like the ideas presented in Body for Life but you want more specific recommendations on the number of calories you should eat, the ratios of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats that you should eat, and the specific exercise routines to follow, then you should read Burn the Fat.
Richard A. Muller coined the term Physics Diet in this entertaining article about how he lost weight by obeying the first law of thermodynamics.
CaloriesPerHour.com is a great site with lots of information about calories, Body Mass Index, and metabolic rates.
NutritionData provides nutrition facts, Calorie counts, and nutrient data for all foods and recipes.