The 10 Most Important Blogs You Should Be Reading…if you care about your health

There is a vast amount of information on the Internet regarding fitness, nutrition, and weight loss. Because of the potential problem of information overload, I’ve boiled it down to 10 relevant blogs for the optimal health seeker. I asked each blogger the question “What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?”

Here is the list, in no particular order, with a quick summary of what they are about and a quote from the author:

1. Robb Wolf
http://robbwolf.com

Robb’s site has both a blog and podcast. I’ve found it to be a great resource for Paleo nutrition.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- The basics of the Paleo Diet.

2- Health and performance benefits of a Paleo lifestyle.

3- How to actually DO the Paleo diet.”

2. Livin La Vida Low Carb/Jimmy Moore
http://livinlavidalowcarb.com

Jimmy also has a blog and a podcast, covering many angles of low carb dieting.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- First, the goal is to offer up encouragement for people who have been discouraged by the gulf of misinformation that’s out there about diet and health. The last thing people need to see on a blog about this subject is more of the same old blame game that it’s your fault if a high-carb, low-fat diet isn’t working. You’ll never find that on my blog.

2- Second, I provide education about what the right way to eat, exercise, and live as healthy as you can. Citing the latest studies, interviewing the experts in the field, and researching all the biggest health headlines to cut through the useless chatter, one thing you can count on when you visit the blog is to leave just a little more enlightened than when you came.

3- Finally, and probably most importantly, I want people to be inspired when they come to my blog. Whether it’s by my own success story or something they read about someone else’s journey, there’s just something about the power of a changed life that can empower others to do it do. Ultimately, everything I do is centered around providing inspiration that will catapult people to produce changes in their life that will make them happier and healthier than before. If that happens, then my mission in this world has been accomplished.”

3. Free the Animal/Richard Nikoley
http://freetheanimal.com

Richard’s popular blog is a great resource for practical information on Paleo/Primal eating as well as fitness and natural movement.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- Visitors to Free the Animal who read through some of the posts there and get a sense of the place should come away with the realization that we don’t advocate a diet but way of eating that satisfies, is delicious and looks appealing (check out the Food Porn category).

2- Second, eating this way has a tremendous positive impact on body composition, energy levels, mood, sense of well-being and sleep.

3- Third, we do things different around here. We’re not afraid of the f-word, or any words for that matter and we simply call things as we see them, sometimes with a bad attitude. So, fourth: you know we’re never lying to you.”

4. Natural Movement/Erwan Le Corre
http://movnat.com

Erwan’s MovNat is light years ahead in terms of natural fitness advice (as it harkens back to primitive times).

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- For now, the take-aways are mostly *perception* (approach, philosophy) and * inspiration*.

2- It is the philosophy that people are universally drawn to. It inspires them to look at fitness with a new angle.

3- But then, MovNat is not just jumping around, it’s how you can effectively, efficiently and safely move naturally (in any setting in fact).”

5. Tom Naughton
http://fathead-movie.com

Tom is the creator of the hilarious and informative documentary Fat Head, and his blog pulls no punches, whether it’s a discussion on nutrition, weight loss, emotions, science or politics.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- The standard dietary advice is a load of bologna, so don’t listen to it.

2- If you want to become healthier, here’s the most important step: no sugar, no grains.

3- Real health comes from eating real food.”

6. Everyday Paleo/Sarah Fragoso
http://everydaypaleo.com

Sarah’s blog is a great resource for Paleo recipes, and planning your healthy, fit life while balancing family life and a busy schedule.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1. Be prepared. Being busy is not an excuse! Planning ahead is imperative when managing feeding a family, taking care of oneself, and fitting in exercise.

2. You AND the kids should be eating healthy – get rid of the junk and get the children involved in meal prep and planning – you will be AMAZED at the foods your kids will eat when they are allowed to help make it!

3. Even a novice can make great tasting Paleo meals and eating healthy is not boring or tasteless but much rather the exact opposite.”

7. Matt Metzgar
http://mattmetzgar.com

Matt’s blog is a unique resource for the Paleo life, including the scientific studies to back up the facts.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- The Paleo model can be extended beyond diet to overall lifestyle. Here you are talking about things like sleep, socializing, child-raising, outdoor activity, etc. Usually the more you can mimic the Paleo times across different aspects of life, the better.

2- Paleo does not equal low-carb. The latest research shows that Paleolithic diets were 39-40% carbohydrate. While some people might feel better or heal on a low-carb diet in the short run, the data shows Paleo diets were moderate carb.

3- I hope readers learn not to just take my word for things. I link to abstracts and studies, and so I hope readers look at things and make up their own minds.”

8. Josef Brandenberg
http://josefbrandenberg.com

Josef is a personal trainer and has great articles based on his real life experiences, both with his own path to health and with his clients.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- The absolute most important thing I want people to take away from my blog is that a healthy human body does not get fat. Portion control is something that should take care of itself. If you have the physiological desire to eat too much, then there is something else going on. Your fat cells are not trash cans that just gobble up whatever swims by in the blood. The first place to look is at your diet – some calories just make you hungry: canola oil, refined carbs, etc. Switch over to real food—meat, veggies, fruit, real fats; and you will find that your appetite is automatically regulated appropriately.

2- The second place to look is at what you do – aerobic exercise simply does not work for fat loss, in fact it might actually inhibit fat loss. Resistance and interval work will get you excellent results, put you at less risk for injury and save you hours and hours per week. It’s all upside and NO downside.

3- Finally, for all of the women, throw away your scale. The numbers on the scale do not reflect how you look with or without clothes. It is entirely possible to drop 2 sizes (like 12 to 8) and not lose a single pound. (Just in case your math isn’t very good 8 is less than 12 – smaller clothes, not bigger because of the extra muscle.).”

9. Art De Vany
http://arthurdevany.com

Art’s blog is a definite must for anyone who wants to learn more about fitness from an evolutionary standpoint.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- The relaxed and sound way to recover the healthy lean body and active, yet peaceful, mind that are our genetic legacy is to mimic, within the limits of modern foods and work, the health-giving activity patterns and diet of our ancestors.

2- The evolutionary model is a filter that helps you screen out conflicting, incorrect, and biased diet and clinical studies so you can make your own choices rather than being influenced by the “latest” study (which is probably wrong—only about half of them stand up even when they are done according to the double-blind, Gold Standard, of research—or shows such a minor effect that it is pointless).

3- Disrupted insulin signalling, inflammation, and chronic stress are the enemies. These are easy to alter if you understand the influence of evolution on the human species.”

10. Keith Norris
http://theorytopractice.wordpress.com

Keith has a lifelong passion for fitness and it shows in his usual comprehensive blog posts discussing efficient exercise.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- I want people to realize, first and foremost, that the realization of, and maintenance of, optimal health need not be an all-encompassing, full-time endeavor.

2- Coupling a Paleo diet with workouts that are brief, brutal, basic and infrequent is key to obtaining top-notch health.

3- It’s not the amount of training that the body can endure that is all that surprising, but just how little high-intensity stimulus is required for optimal results.”

11. Your Recommendation

Which blog would you add, or what blogs do you look at that you find helpful in the realm of getting healthy and staying fit? Please comment below!