FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD: The real reason you avoid change, the problem with gluten-free, and how to actually stick to an exercise habit

For the Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup. 

This week the real reason you avoid change, the problem with gluten-free, and how to actually stick to an exercise habit.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• Stop Lying: How Painful Realizations Can Unlock a Healthier Life <<One of the best articles I’ve read in awhile about the psychology behind making difficult change. Hiding is always and option. So is growing. Choose to grow. (Nerd Fitness)
• The Face Everything Technique: Why Avoiding Difficulties Doesn’t Work <<On a similar note, Leo Babauta notes that we avoid almost all difficult things unconsciously, but this is a habit we can (and should) change. (Zen Habits)
• How Accurate Is Your Wearable’s Calorie Count? <<Fascinating new research compares the accuracy of activity trackers’ ability to measure calorie expenditure. Not surprising: they aren’t that accurate. The good news: they aren’t that bad either, and more importantly they are consistent. I stand by my assertion that the calories aren’t actually as important as tracking movement in general, which the trackers are pretty great at. (Runner’s World)
• Exercise Tied to Lower Risk for 13 Types of Cancer <<While I suspect the conclusion here to be mostly true, this isn’t the best study. It’s about as useful as saying “healthy people are healthy.” (NY Times)
• The Harm in Blindly ‘Going Gluten Free’ <<I know far too many people who conflate “gluten-free” with “healthy.” This is far from true. (The Atlantic)
• New Reasons Why You Should Keep a Food Journal <<I’m a big fan of journaling, whether it’s for getting honest about what you’re really eating each day or finding your most impactful Home Court Habits. Journaling brings awareness, and as G.I. Joe would say, knowing is half the battle. (WSJ)
• Is eating at your desk really so bad? <<The so called “Rules” can be broken, so long as you understand the reasoning behind them. Consider this permission to be reasonable. (Nutrition Over Easy)
• Have Trouble Sticking To Your Workouts? Here’s How To Make Them Permanent. <<Michelle Segar’s book No Sweat, is one of the best I’ve ever read on making exercise a permanent habit in your life. Here’s a nice summary if you’re curious, but seriously though buy her book anyway. (Huffington Post)
• 9 Ways You Might Be Ruining Your Knives <<Great advice, although I would add that you shouldn’t put your knives in the dishwasher not because they bang around, but because the high heat can make the steel brittle. (Serious Eats)
• Lentil tabbouleh <<I dare you to click over and see how good this looks. I double dog dare you. Oh, and happy Food Revolution Day! (Jamie Oliver)

What inspired you this week?

from Summer Tomato http://summertomato.com/for-the-love-of-food-the-real-reason-you-avoid-change-the-problem-with-gluten-free-and-how-to-actually-stick-to-an-exercise-habit
via Holistic Clients