Are you there Blog? It's me, Chloe.

Oh heeeeeyyyyyy.

It's been awhile. I bet you forgot what it looked like when I updated.

Me too.

There are a lot of things to talk about, but in order to get off the ground and running in the great month of June 2009, let's not write a novel. Let's start with a little something more modest... a paragraph on metabolism? And a list of books for you to read.

Paragraph on metabolism:

I've had this lying around in my Google Notebook and I thought now would be a good time to bust it out. A few months ago I came across The Female Athlete's Body Book by Gloria Beim, MD and Ruth Winter, MS (links to Google Preview! Exciting!) at my local library and geeked out a little. The book offers a whole lot of useful information that is specific to the female athlete, as the title implies. It breaks down typical injuries and concerns by sport and has a great section on nutrition. I'll post the nutrition stuff another time, because it's lengthy and all I promised was ONE paragraph.

On metabolism, Dr. Beim and Ms. Winter write:

Men metabolize energy differently than women. Metabolism is the way you process food into tissue elements and into energy for use in the growth, repair and general function of your body. A women's resting metabolic rate (RMR) is 5-10 percent lower than a man's. If you have developed your muscles through sports, however, your RMR will burn increased calories while you are at rest. If you don't exercise and are on a weight-loss diet, you will deprive your muscles of protein and conditioning, decrease the size of your muscles, and lessen your RMR. So commit yourself to regular exercise. It will increase your metabolism and assist you in maintaining a healthy weight.

Here's some more evidence that it's allllll connected. More developed muscles will increase your metabolism making you burn calories more quickly and easily, and exercise not only burns calories, but increases muscle mass. Coolio.

I'd also like to note the language of the last sentence: "... and assist you in maintaining a healthy weight." Not losing weight, but maintaining it. It's an important distinction to make, because this is not a weight-loss advice book, Couch Potato. It is a tool to learn about the magical wonders of your body, Female Athlete.

And a list of books for you to read:

If you're interested in learning more about food issues (not diet foods that will make you skinny and leotarded), I recently came across this list on a listserve to which I subscribe.

To get started:
- Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
- The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Read it! Awesome.)

To continue the education:
- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (see my review @Goodreads)
- Appetite for Profit by Michele Simon
- Closing the Food Gap by Mark Winne (see my review @Goodreads)
- Diet for a Dead Planet by Christopher Cook
- Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe
- Food Politics by Marion Nestle
- Grub by Anna Lappe and Bryant Terry
- Holistic Management by Allan Savory
- Hope's Edge by Frances Moore Lappe
- Mad Cow USA by John Stauber
- Mad Sheep by Linda Faillace
- Safe Food by Marion Nestle
- Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey M. Smith
- Teaming With Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels, Wayne Lewis and Elaine Ingham
- What To Eat by Marion Nestle

I've only read three of the books, but I've been meaning to read the Nestle books for awhile. Anyway, they're all getting added to the ol' summer reading list. Ha! My eyes are always bigger than my stomach (or reading stomach).

Be sure to give your 2 cents about any of the books on the reading list--I'd love to hear any/all comments! Ok! Back next week.