Tie on your big girl shoes and run

Though it often comes as a surprise to friends, family, and even total strangers, I enjoy running. If I were ever to take on a triathlon, the organizers would politely put me in the Athena or Clydesdale category. I, on the other hand, embrace the term fathlete. As you’ve seen from previous posts, I like to eat, but I like being active just as much. While these two things don’t seem to be at odds to me and others I’ve met with similar habits, some ‘healthier’ people can have a hard time not judging a book by its cover. An example: I recently had a yoga instructor at a retreat ask me if I did any physical activity at all when I told her I rarely practiced yoga. Her reaction when I told her I played ice hockey a couple times a week and was training for my third half marathon was worth the sting of her initial derision. Namaste.

This kind of ‘fitter than thou’ attitude is pretty prevalent in fitness literature. For folks like me, it’s hard to find resources that encourage a healthy lifestyle and at the same time don’t tell you how horrible it is to be in your body. So, to throw a bone to all my larger-than-life-fitties out there, I’ve compiled a list of non-judgmental helpful books to help you reach your goals.

The Unapologetic Fat Girl’s Guide to Exercise by Hanne Blank is a body-positive manifesto. Though the early chapters are aimed at motivating individuals who aren’t currently active, there are some nuggets of wisdom that everyone could use. I especially like her points on intent. Many people are active out of a vague sense of guilt that they should be doing something to improve themselves. Blank urges readers to move because they genuinely enjoy the activity, not because they feel it’s expected of them. There’s loads of other info in here about choosing the right activities, partnering up for success, selecting the best gear for your needs, and more.

The Runner’s Field Manual: A Tactical (and Practical) Survival Guide by Mark Remy is a great place to start if you’re interested in getting into running. This guide gives you advice on everything from knowing proper path etiquette, to how to run up an incline, to the proper way to run past roadkill without gagging. I appreciate that the authors and editors took the time to mix useful advice with a heavy dose of humor. The only thing that was lacking was information about proper nutrition while training – thankfully there were two other books ready to swoop in and answer all my questions.

Somewhere in the back of my head there is a vague awareness that what you eat and when you eat it has a major impact on performance and progress. My lack of clarity on this topic probably explains why I actually gained weight while training for my last half marathon instead of slimming down (here’s a hint: it wasn’t muscle building – it was the large pizzas I’d crave after training runs). Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes is a moderately-technical book that gets into the different nutrients found in foods, which ones you need to aid your performance and recovery, and what foods would be the best ones to consume. Nutrient Timing for Peak Performance takes things a step further and helps you figure out how much of what foods you need to consume before, during, and after different activities. My apologies upfront to anyone who dreads math – to use this book you’re going to have to crunch some numbers to figure out what plans are best for your build. I also appreciate the helpful meal plan examples at the end of the book to make things even easier.

Here’s a bonus book for those of you who are gluten-free and head-scratching at all these carb-heavy meal plans. The Gluten-Free Edge provides alternatives to the usual pre-event pasta dinners to help you on your way. Readers are also treated to a whole chapter of gluten-free recipes at the end to help put in practice all that you learn.

Lastly, if you’re just looking to make some lifestyle changes to add more activity and a better sense of well-being to your life, Healthy Tipping Point has some really useful tips. While the main purpose of the book is to get the reader to make healthier choices for his or her own good, the author urges them to accept that thin and lean may not be the healthiest body type for each individual. More emphasis is placed on finding each individual’s healthy weight and physique, rather than trying to shoehorn people into the current popular perception of health and beauty.

Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library.