Guess what! I’ve got another giveaway. This time it’s a new book, written by SparkPeople.com Founder and CEO Chris Downie. If you haven’t heard of SparkPeople, it’s a huge community of people focused around healthy living and weight loss via lifestyle changes and personal empowerment, rather than the standard quick-fix diet (YAYY!!!). The book, fittingly called The Spark, boasts on the inside cover:
Whether you want to fit into your “skinny jeans,” improve your mood and self-confidence, or reach other health and life goals, The Spark has something for everyone.
I don’t really support many diet books because frankly I feel like many of them miss the boat when it comes to changing the way you think. Many tend to leave out the whole “here’s how to get healthy and you change your life so that you can maintain your goals for the long term” part and tend to take the “here’s how to lose weight, whether that is fat, water, or muscle, and well… let’s not really worry about the long-term right now.” I am generalizing here… but not.
Anyway, this book is different. I like The Spark because the principles of what it teaches coincide with what I believe about fat loss and getting healthy – that the root to all this stuff is really about defining you best life. The overarching driver is happiness.
The phrase “diets don’t work” is almost becoming a cliché. But as with most clichés, it is said so often because there is a lot of truth to it. Yes, you can follow a diet for a short period of time, and the likelihood that you will lose some amount if weight is high. But is the diet mentality going to be sustainable for the long-term? No.
You have to have a long-term plan if you really want to maintain the results that you achieve. It’s a whole package – nutrition, fitness, and essentially, changing the way you think, period. You have to educate yourself with resources that teach long-term principles, and discover how to apply what you learn to you and your body.
We all have a unique path, and what works for me may not work for you, but the principles are where you start. And a community of people who are on the same journey, who think like you, who have similar challenges, and similar victories is a big part of the learning process and lifestyle change.
Anyway {steps down off soapbox} The Spark is one of these tools that can help you to get clear on the basics. One of my favorite parts of the book is that throughout it, it gives countless success stories from the SparkPeople community members.
Who doesn’t love to read stories about people who have traveled the sometimes rocky path before them and come out on the other side in victory!?
So, in honor of helping you define your best life, we are giving away 5 copies of The Spark. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below saying why you think this book would help you in your health and fitness journey, and ultimately, in achieving your best life.
We will be choosing the winners randomly on Monday, January 25, 2010 5 PM PST. Good luck!
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
I'm starting a blog to chronicle my marathon training and races, training, and nutrition discoveries along the way. I think this book would fit perfectly into what I'm trying to do with this blog – I started running a year ago and had no experience with running…in fact, I truly believed that I never would run, I just wasn't a runner. Now I've run a half marathon and am racing my way through 2010!
I have been trying to live the healthy life for years. I exercise regularly and I'm faithful about it. I lack in the area of eating healthy and being able to keep on track with healthy eating. I think this book would get me to the right mind site I need to stay focused when it comes to choices of food!
I've heard so much about The Spark but haven't really looked that much into it… I would love to win a copy of this book as I feel it would be really beneficial to the other people in my life (such as my sister) who are trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle right now.
I've seen this around the net and i would love to be able to read it!! I'd love to read what they suggest for workouts. Nutritionally i love learning new things
I think this book would help me achieve my weightloss goals because it focuses on the mindset. That is the one thing I struggle with very much. I understand that I should eat lean meat, fresh veggies, and smart carbohydrates. But something always holds me back – I lack the motivation
I am trying really hard to stay motivated to workout and eat well but it gets so easy to say one day, "oh its just one day" which then turns into a week of no exercise. I really think this book, especially the success stories, will help motivate and propel me further into realizing my goals.
I think this book would help me achieve a better balance between living healthy and also being happy!
Hi Sheila! The Spark sounds very interesting…as you know, I'm on my journey to continued healthy body and fitness after age 40! I'm still learning and know this book would offer additional insight and encouragement from the stories of others! MB
I just recently heard about this book within the last week. Your post came as a great reminder I should check it out! I decided weeks ago 2010 should be about getting it right when it came to nutrition, exercise and lifestyle. I really want to break the cycle of being "on" or "off", as I think of it. I think it would be great to have the book and join the community in order to both get and give the support that can be lacking in the "real world" so to speak. I am a long time student of learning about health and well being. I think this book would be great to help me along my journey. The ultimate goal for me is to help myself become the best me possible so I can soon help others become their best selves possible.
Real information to help and inspire real people!
I am a recovering anorexic-bulemic and I have been in recovery for almost a year, with therapy that I have finished. Although, some days the battle is still there. The Spark Community and sites like Live 360 have helped me not be afraid of food and to understand how to treat food as fuel for my body. I think this book would further help me on my journey to recovery and respecting the body that God gave me.
I know what to do, I know the science, I know the logic…..but I continually fail in the area of self-discipline to keep healthy eating going for the long haul. I beat myself up every day about this and I am so tired of using my precious energy in this way – it is negative and I know it is defeating. How much better could I be at spinning or salsa jam or weight lifting if I had more energy? It has taken me until 41 years of age to figure all this out and I am just ready to stop the madness once and for all!
After a 3 year struggle after my father passed away, food and exercise has taken a long time to get my head around and i know that there is still so much to learn. I have a strong motivation for august (when i'm getting married) to finally live healthy day to day, month to month, year to year and for the rest of my life. This book sounds like just what i need to keep the "fire" burning to strive to a life where i am consistently eating well and keeping fit. This book will help me acheive my goals this year and beyond.
I've struggled with my weight all my life. I bought the AHB program and my pants are no longer tight…I've never eaten as much food in my life, but I'm bound and determined not to make the program a "resolution" because they start and end, but rather a lifestyle change. I have been eating well and love the changes I'm beginning to see. I love your blog and your "long-term" outlook because truly that is the only way I make changes. I think this book would help me immensely ~ May this year be our best year yet
I am very excited to be on a great journey. All of us need each other to help and be there sharing our individual Unique Gifts and Talents. We are all "threads" who can make a beautiful quilt if we help each other. The Spark sounds great for several reasons to me. I know it will help me on my journey
You guys are amazing! Reading your comments inspires me, and makes me feel so grateful to be able to help support you on your journey.
There is still time to enter, if you haven't already. Keep the comments coming!
Hi, Sheila, I have been receiving Sparks e-mail for quite a while. They are great! I have enjoyed all the tips, guidance, recipes. My job is driving all 48 states and fast food was easy to grab and go. But you, Gaven, Val and Spark have taught me how to change my way of thinking, how to make healthy choices and get my body into shape. The book would be such an inspiration to keep me motivated on my life long journey to be healthy.
I really need this book and would love a copy. I have been a disordered eater and had eating disorders for over 17 years and I just can't seem to ever get the emotional mind part right. I am overweight and struggling with figuring out how to lose weight as it seems like everything I've tried just doesn't work and feel insanely helpless and upset about it. I don't lack discipline, but I think my mind and body are completely wrecked at this point from so much dieting. I just want to be free from this cage that I have been in for way too long. I love your site and you are a great inspiration
Hi, Sheila! As you know well, I have always struggled with my weight! I love reading articles on weight loss and exploring new recipes and strategies to help me overcome my weight. I believe that over the last few years I have grown comfortable and have finally accepted my body. I know it's not perfect, but it is the best it has ever been! I am happy and, finally healthy! Incorporating a healthy lifestyle has become a natural process. Thank you for your website! It often provides that extra support that is needed. I don't say it often, but THANK YOU!! ~Bethany M.
I'm a big fan of the SparkPeople website – it has great content, is entertaining, and makes tracking fitness and health goals fun! I'd love to win a copy of the book.
Bottom line in why my wife and I would like this book…..we are in a rut with our current fitness and nutritional routines. Being a couple of fitness nuts, we are constantly in search of new, refreshing and inspiring ideas from others! I think this book would be a great way to get us back on track!
I've struggled with weight my whole life and have gained and lost, over and over again. the reason why I love livewell360 so much is that the focus of your philosophy is long term personal fulfillment and not just how to cut out 500 calories a day to lose weight. I've heard so much about the Spark and would love to read the book because I need all the help and motivation I can get to create a lifestyle for myself that reflects a higher sense of self-worth and self-love.