Eat to be Fit: A Book Review

Eat to be Fit by Mike Foley was worth reading but it was not as useful to me as I thought it would be. For somebody that is looking to lower their body fat percentage or for somebody that is looking to lose weight, then I think it is a great program and the book would be helpful if you can’t get to Maine to actually have sessions with the author.

I am sure that if I wanted to pay Mike for some sessions that he would be able to help me achieve my goals and get me into even better shape. The book, however, did not let me know anything that I was not really aware of already. First, it is aimed towards the fat-loss segment, and does not have any example programs for somebody that wants to gain weight. Also, it pretty much ignores the why of doing something and focuses completely on the what.

There is no scientific evidence for anything; you just have to take it on faith that the author knows what he is talking about and is relaying it successfully. Having a smattering of knowledge of the sciences, I like to know why eating something at a particular time of day in relation to my sleep or workouts is going to have such and such an effect, and not just that it will. Of course, not everything is defined even that loosely; sometimes it just says “here is what you aught to do”.

The first third of the book is all corp-speak. There is little to no substance other than telling the reader what a great program Mike has with a few nuggets here and there that tell you that you need to eat regularly and that you need to exercise in order to be healthy (read: not obese). Throughout the book there are sidebars that repeat some of the text that is in the main narrative verbatim. That text, however, is generally not the important point that needs to be made. I also wonder at the choice of using the cover picture 3 or 4 times throughout the book.

There were some interesting bits to it though. I will definately be looking over the appendices at some of the food options and to try to pay more mind to what I put in me (which is generally not too bad given that I don’t really care for sweet foods and have already eliminated caffeine from my diet). There was also a comment that a lot of the time when people get hungry and eat something, they are not really hungry at all but are thirsty, instead. I already drink at least a gallon of water a day.

There was one note describing how weight lifting should be done before cardiovascular exercise because it prepares the body to begin burning fat for fuel instead of using the carbohyrdates that are stored in the body for quick energy and which take about 20 minutes to burn through. What the book doesn’t tell you (and which I verified with the author this morning) is that you want to lift first also because weight lifting does not use fat for fuel anyway and you are cheating your weight lifting session if you burn off the majority of the fuel that you could be using during your workout before you start lifting.

So while I was disappointed with Eat to be Fit, I believe that it will be useful to some of the folks who might frequent this site. If you are trying to lose weight and want some tips on how to lead a healthy lifestyle, give the book a read. If you prefer to know a bit more of what processes are happening when you eat and workout, and why you should be doing certain things, then you might just want to peruse the book quickly or find another one.