This book isn't in the library system. You can't have everything, especially when budgets are tight. So if you want to see this book and others in the system, let your government officials, both state and local, know that you think providing funding for public libraries is very important. Thanks.
That's my public service message for now.
You probably wouldn't guess it by looking at me, but I work out a good bit. I have my own home gym that looks (and right about new, feels) a little like Rocky Balboa's Russian workout wonderland in Rocky IV. My own personal regime follows an affiliate of Crossfit.
My problem is that I likes me my food, particularly bad stuff in sizable quantities. Well, Robb Wolf, the author of this book, used to be the Crossfit diet guru and so I was pretty familiar with his ideas. I had to get this book because I need to make changes.
What causes people to make changes in their lives? I think for many people, and for many changes, the changes are made for them. Losing a job or suffering an illness, for example. For the most part I think people are creatures of habit and we don't like a whole lot of change.
I don't honestly know whether I like change or not. It sure feels like I go through a lot of them and I do know I need to be making some. At the end of April, I will be turning the big 4-0. Right now, I weigh about 280 pounds. My lean weight is around 205 which means I'm running around at almost thirty percent body fat. The combination of age and weight isn't exactly healthy.
I've also been stressed out because of some personal things. Stress, age and weight....not a good combination. I really need to be doing something.
Be that as it may, you have to start somewhere if you're ever going to make headway. I need to fix my diet and fro my experiences, I think Robb Wolf knows about that which he speaks. If I wasn't familiar with Robb, though, I might have chalked this book up as being something along the lines of a Kevin Trudeau book. Wolf bashes the medical community, and while he has a long list of references in the back, he doesn't footnote his research, something I think is pretty necessary when you're trying to refute "common knowledge".
What common knowledge is Wolf refuting? Well, the gist of the Paleo Solution is that our bodies have not evolved to where much of what we eat is good for it. Wolf believes that we should eat more like our early, early, early, early ancestors; nuts, berries, vegetables, meat. Grains, sugars, dairy? Out. Drinking cow milk and eating grains are relatively new concepts for our body evolutionarily speaking.
Much of what Robb espouses is what is touted for those who suffer from celiac disease. Those who suffer from that cannot break down gluten and it causes all sorts of health problems as a result. It's not a stretch to apply the same principles to a "healthy" person.
I know that when I omit grains from my diet, I feel better. The thing is, they taste pretty darn good. Pizza, cookies, all that good stuff which isn't good for you at all - it's hard to want to drop those things (which is why I weigh 280).
The book is largely about the science behind the Paleo Solution, a short chapter on working out (which is only useful for the extremely novice novice), and then it concludes with a 30 day meal plan. The thing is, it's not like eating Paleo is yucky by any means or it feels like you're lacking. As I read through the book, I experimented with the diet and it was great. I felt good, filled, and everything was tasty. But then I had Thanksgiving dinner which is loaded with grains. Then there was the siren call of pizza. It's tough to shake the cravings (and I do think there is an addictive quality to these foods).
I had toyed with the idea of trying to lose weight and getting the library community to support me. Ask folks to pledge a certain amount of money to the library for every pound I lose by the end of April. What do you think? Would you support that? Any interest in joining me? The New Year and its resolutions are forthcoming. Something to keep in mind.
As for the book, well I recommend it because I am a believer in Wolf. I look forward to putting his theories into practice and shedding the excess pounds so that I can look like I work out as much as I do and lead a long, healthy life.
--Jon
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