Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

Mike and I are technically entrepreneurs. We run our own business from our home. I don’t really consider myself an entrepreneur, though. Something about the title makes me think of multi-level marketing and short-lived dreams of making it big. What we do is smaller. In fact, what REAL entrepreneurs do is smaller.

Entrepreneur Magazine put out a diet book called The Entrepreneur Diet, which seems like a recipe for disaster, but instead, it’s an inspiring and HEALTHY way to get your life back in control.

Most importantly, I would say it’s a great diet book for everyone, not just entrepreneurs. Our physical fitness is directly related to how successful we are in our lines of work, whether we are self-employed or not. If you are healthy, strong and fit, you are much more able to deal with the stress of all work situations.

Being healthy will help your career, it’s true. That’s the premise of this book, but it goes beyond it and recommends slow and healthy steps. If you want to lose 25 pounds in 30 days, you might as well go somewhere else. This book gives you down-earth step to change your diet forever.

My only disappointment is that this book uses scare tactics to convince people that they need to lose weight. We all know that obesity aggravates disease. It’s still hard to lose weight, even when we know we should. They didn’t spend enough time talking about the rebel within us that makes us reach for unhealthy food when we have a healthy lunch packed and ready to eat.

The plan that they set out is healthy and very doable. It doesn’t make lofty claims and gives you plenty of ways to follow the diet. If you have ever felt like you didn’t get ahead in the business world because of your weight, this book is for you. It will give you good advice about dieting AND business.

A list of the chapter titles after the break:

• The Fit Entrepreneur: The Business-Fitness Connection, Looking at Entrepreneurs, It’s Your Health Capital – Spend It Wisely, The Business of Fitness, The Bottom Line

• The Quick-Start Action Plan: Quick Start Exercise, Quick-Start Cardio – The Ten-Minute Energy Walk, Quick-Start Nutrition

• Myth Busting: I’m Not Athletic, It’s Too Late, Exercise Isn’t Enjoyable, I’ll Get Too Bulky, Exercise Is Dangerous, It Takes Too Much Time, I Won’t Be Able To Enjoy My Favorite Foods, No Pain – No Gain, I’ll Gain Weight As I Age, I Have To Join A Gym

• Taking Stock: The Ingredients of Fitness, Weight and Body Composition, Cardiovascular Conditioning, Functional Strength

• It’s Time For a Change: All the World Is in a Stage of Change, Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, Maintenance

• Eight Must-Have Nutrition Habits: Don’t Skip Meals, Eat Breakfast, Control Portion Sizes, Consume Fruits and Vegetables, Eat Whole Grains, Favor Healthy Fats, Cut Down on Added Sugar, Aim for Good, Not Perfect

• The Entrepreneur Diet: Adjust the Plan to Your Weight, Know Portion Sizes, Expect to Lose 1-2 Pounds a Week, Time Your Workouts, Stay Flexible, Hydrate, Plan Ahead, Start Small, Give Yourself a Break, The Entrepreneur Diet Six-Week Meal Plan

• Smart Exercise: Weight Lifting Demystified, The Resistance Program, The Exercises

• Cardio Matters: Team Cardio, Growing Stronger, Instant Booster, The Cardio Program, If You Don’t Like Walking or Running, Taking It Up a Notch

• Be Flexible: It’s a Stretch, To Flexibility Program, The Stretches, Extra Credit

• More Energy, Less Stress: Sleep, Food, Movement, Awareness

• Healthy and Fit on the Go: Avoid the Jet-Lag Drag, Make Time for Exercise, Be Prepared for Dining Out

• Healthy Considerations: Cholesterol, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Osteoporosis, Cancer

• Staying Motivated: Do an Event, Take an Active Vacation, Join a Gym, Get Personal

• Appendices: Starting a Workplace Wellness Progam, Calories Burned by Activity, Putting the Taste in Healthy Cooking, Health and Fitness on the Web, Entrepreneur Web Sites