About this time of year, we all start to struggle with our New Year's Resolutions. Why did I decide to work out 5x a week? you think. Why can't I just eat these cheetos? you whine to yourself. Why am I still so stressed? you cry. For resolution help from an author who truly understands your problems, check out the titles below.
For
a healthy body:
The
Omnivore’s Dilemma
by Michael Pollan
Famous omnivore Michael
Pollan is the poster child of the local food movement. The Omnivore’s Dilemma
has become a quintessential read for people hoping to reconnect with their food
and find out not only where their food comes from, but quite frankly, what it’s
actually made of. This book made me think more about growing my own food and
supporting local farmers. For a shorter and more practical title from Pollan,
check out Food Rules.
Mindless
Eating
by Brian Wansink
The mind is a terribly complex,
wonderful, and smart organ. Unfortunately, we don’t always tune into what our
brain is telling us. In Mindless Eating,
food psychologist Brian Wansink outlines classic mistakes that we make that
trick our brain and body into eating more food than we need. With topics like
portion sizes, eating while multi-tasking, and the consequences of buffets,
this book truly opened my eyes to being mindful of not just what I eat, but how
I eat it.
Drop
Dead Healthy
by A.J. Jacobs
A sillier take on living a healthy
lifestyle, Drop Dead Healthy follows
a year in the life of A.J. Jacobs, who has decided to live as healthy as a life
as he can for a twelve-month period. He tries all sorts of exercise and diet
regimens, but also focuses on less popular body parts, including ear, heart,
mouth, feet, spine, and lung health. At times this book can get a little bit
ridiculous, but Jacobs has a great sense of humor and also points out the
silliness of trying to live a “perfectly healthy life”- as his title suggests,
it could nearly kill you!
For
a healthy mind:
The
Happiness Project
by Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin began
her year with one simple goal in mind: to end her year an overall happier
person than when she began. She tackled one aspect of her life, one month at a
time, and overhauled changes to improve her home, family, love life, body, and
mind to make herself and those around her happier. After reading, take steps to
create your own happiness journey here.
168
Hours
by Laura Vanderkam
You’ve probably seen
this quote floating around social media and Pinterest: “You have as many hours
in a day in Beyonce.” 24 hours to be exact, and 168 hours in a week. How you
use those 168 hours is almost entirely in your own power, even if it doesn’t
always feel like it. While we might not be Beyonce, 168 Hours helps you figure out how you’d like to spend those hours
in a week. Want to run a marathon? There’s time! Want to write a novel? There’s
time! Want to sit on the couch and watch all 10 seasons of Friends? Might not be the best choice you'll ever make, but there is definitely time. I hope you use your 168 hours in
a productive and happy way, and hopefully Laura Vanderkam will help you do just
that (For my full review of this book, click here).
The
Power of Habit
by Charles Duhigg
Perseverance is not the
easiest trait to achieve. We all have set resolutions or goals in the past and
most likely, we have no achieved every single one. In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg takes a look at why some habits
stick, and how small changes in your life could add up in a big way to
achieving your goals.
For
a healthy wallet:
The
Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke by Suze Orman
Struggling with monthly
rent/mortgage, student loan, cell phone, auto insurance and credit card
payments? Are you resolving to save money this year? According to an article by
the Huffington Post, 31 percent of
New Year’s Resolutions revolve around money. Suze Orman’s read The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and
Broke, or YFBs as she likes to call them, is targeted to twenty-something
females struggling to make their finances work. She offers practical tips
including how to save money, pay off debt, start investing, and make wise money
choices. Let’s be honest, you’re all young and fabulous, but it’d be nice if
you ended the year without the broke title too!
Everything
That Remains
by the Minimalists
Minimalism is a popular
growing trend. What a fascinating concept that people are discovering: if you
buy less stuff, you will spend less money. If you spend less money, you will
save more money. What an idea! Minimalists Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan
Nicodemus were corporate drones until one day they realized they weren’t happy.
They quit their jobs, downsized, sold many of their belongings and sought out a
way to make their life happier without depending on stuff to make that happen.
After all, that’s why we all want more money right? For happiness? Everything
That Remains helped me to take a step back from Target sprees and Amazon
clicking and made me think about how I view money and possessions. Ultimately,
what I do and am is more important than what I have, and this book served as a powerful reminder.
For
a healthy heart and soul:
Yes
Please
by Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler is probably
the best human being on the planet. I love her and Tina Fey with my entire
being. With confidence and humor, Amy Poehler’s memoir Yes Please is a must-read if you are looking for a friend to find the courage within yourself to be who you want to be. Poehler is a real
person and shares her struggles candidly while still giving millions of pieces
of sound advice that everyone should follow. One of my favorites: “The earlier
you learn that you should focus on what you have, and not obsess about what you
don’t have, the happier you will be.” Every girl needs a confident,
self-accepting (and hilarious) role model, and yours should probably be Amy
Poehler.
Tiny
Beautiful Things
by Cheryl Strayed
You’re all probably
familiar with Cheryl Strayed after the bestseller turned Oscar-nominated film Wild. What you might not know is that
author Cheryl Strayed also wrote a column for a website called the The Rumpus. The column, titled Dear
Sugar, became a huge hit, and Tiny
Beautiful Things is a collection of those columns. Cheryl Strayed is a
beautiful writer and an unconventional advice-giver. She has a way of making
you see all sides of an issue, and realizing that following your own inner
light is the best decision you can make. Inspirational, funny, heart-warming,
and powerful, I guarantee you will find yourself written somewhere in this
book, and hopefully you will be a kinder, wiser, more confident person for
finding it.
Good luck with your New Year's Resolutions and stick with 'em!
