Happy New Year! Did you make a resolution to improve your health or lose weight this year? Are you looking for resources to help you achieve your goals? I know most people are looking for things right now, so I wanted to put together a list of e-books, books, and online courses/academies that I think are some of the best resources currently available. I have used several of these myself to help with weight loss and health improvement and can attest to their high quality and effectiveness.
Note: I am an affiliate some, but not all, of these programs. Learn more about what that means here.
There is something here to fit every budget, and these are listed in order of least expensive to most expensive, starting with free.
The Primal Blueprint and MarksDailyApple.com
This is a HUGE one. When I made a New Year's Resolution in 2010 to lose weight and regain my health, it was Mark Sisson's website and his book The Primal Blueprint that allowed me to achieve such huge success. It is a tried and true classic, and has helped so many people to reclaim their health. I listed this resource first because the website is free and contains more than enough information to help you achieve your goals. However, I still found that buying a copy of the book was incredibly helpful, too.
It was ultimately the success stories on his blog that inspired me to make the change, and now I am proud that my story is now there, too, as a testament to just how effective Mark's program and advice are.
Flowing Zen Online Qigong Academy
Food isn't everything. While I was able to heal my body significantly just by changing the foods I ate, my body needed something more. That something turned out to be Qigong. I've written several blog posts about my experience with Qigong and how much it has helped me overcome specific ailments (primarily digestion-related). Up until now, all I could recommend to people interested to learn it themselves was to either try to organize a workshop in their home town or travel to attend one hosted by my Sifu, Anthony Korahais. Just this month, Sifu Anthony started the Flowing Zen Online Academy to help bring these arts to a wider audience. Right now, you can sign up for free and learn from some awesome videos how to get started with practice at home. You will be amazed at how awesome doing a mere 2 Minute Drill every day will make you feel, and I bet that once you have a taste you will be excited to learn more to further develop your practice.
Step By Step Paleo
I have a full review for this pending, but I'll give you the short version now. Step By Step Paleo is an e-book by Ruth at Paleo Diet Basics. She took a unique approach with this e-book by breaking the transition to paleo down into gradual a 3 month process where you tackle just one major goal each week. You have two options: you can either download the entire book as one file, or, if you want to prevent information overload, you can sign up to receive 1 chapter per week via email. This option is great to help break up the transition into manageable chunks. Whichever version you choose, you'll be walked through the transition slowly and easily. This e-book is perfect if you have been interested to try paleo but aren't sure how to get started, or if you do better by breaking big tasks down into smaller, easy to handle mini-goals.
Update: Full review is up now! Check it out here --> http://thecuriouscoconut.com/blog/review-step-by-step-paleo
21 Day Sugar Detox
A lot of people have been searching for the 21 Day Sugar Detox recently and reading my series of blog posts about the challenge. What I like about the 21DSD is that it's broken down into 3 levels to make it easy to transition into no matter what your current diet looks like. You can still eat some grains, legumes, moderately starchy veggies, and dairy in levels 1 and 2, while level 3 is low-carb strict paleo. Another nice thing about the 21DSD is that each month, they host a challenge. You can get daily support emails and can interact and check in with the coaches every day on social media during the period. This January, they are starting on the 6th.
Harvest Your Health Bundle Re-Run
The wildly popular Harvest Your Health e-book bundle is going to be re-run from Jan 3 to 6 -- mark your calendars! It is an incredible value and has a TON of amazing books. I strongly recommend that you don't miss it this time around! If you click the link now, you can enter in the MASSIVE giveaway and learn more about the bundle. I'll post again about the bundle once it's on sale, and tell you more about some of my favorite books that are included in this limited time re-run.
This bundle has books and discounts to REALLY help you stick to your resolutions. Everything from inspirational success stories, meal plans, a plethora of healthy recipe books, DIY body care recipes, fitness plans, and more!
EDIT: The sale is LIVE -- don't miss out on it this time, it won't be re-run a second time! http://hyhealth.info/coconut
31 Days to Better Health and Wellness Challenge
Modern Alternative Mama is hosting another 31 Days to Better Health and Wellness Challenge this January. I am one of the contributing bloggers and will be writing blog posts once a week with simple, healthy recipes that anyone will enjoy, but will be extra helpful to people just starting with a whole foods, clean diet. If you have trouble setting and sticking to goals and could use some support and coaching along the way, this is a great Challenge to sign up for, and should be a lot of fun.
Revitalize Your Health Online Course
I have an in-depth review of this course pending, but I'll give you the short version of it for now. The Revitalize Your Health Online Course is by Lydia of Divine Health From the Inside Out. You have probably already heard of Lydia's other successful course, Heal Your Gut. Lydia is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner through the Nutritional Therapy Association, meaning she really knows what she's talking about when it comes to health and nutrition. Basically, the Revitalize Your Health course gives you everything you need for a whole-body reboot. There are currently 12 full courses and 24 mini courses, and she is going to be adding 2 new courses per month over the next year. That is going to be a LOT of content! Topics range from blood sugar regulation, hormonal imbalances, food sensitivities, liver and adrenal health, sleep, and weight loss (plus more).
I've read through almost all of the content of the course and let me say that I WISH I had had access to this 4 years ago when I started my journey to reclaim my health. In addition to the course content, you also get a monthly call with Lydia to have your questions and concerns addressed. Gosh -- that's one of the most valuable parts of the course, I think! I wished I had had an expert to talk to when I was still facing puzzling health problems years ago. Instead, I spent countless hours researching on my own and experimenting. If I had had this course back then, I could've saved myself a lot of money, time, and stress.
Bottom line: If you are interested in learning more about natural ways to improve your overall health with dietary, supplement, and lifestyle changes, this is for you.
