Category: Books and articles

Eat Good Fat, Get Fit

I’ve been reading quite a few books helping me in my quest to find a perfect Eating Green model. So far, I’m finding that a little more difficult than I anticipated. My research and experience is showing there is no “perfect model”, but taking a little from each program and expert I discover. Continue reading Eat Good Fat, Get Fit

Reinforcement Versus Reward

It’s strange how inspiration works. For my book club selection next month, I chose an oldie but a goodie, Karen Pryor’s Don’t Shoot the Dog. I chose it for a variety of reasons. It is what animal trainers sometimes call “the Animal Training Bible”. This is a book I grew up reading in my career. It influenced me as an animal care specialist and zookeeper, and it is one of the inspirations for The Zookeeper’s Guide to Fitness (or whatever I’m calling it these days). I was curious how my friends in the book club would appreciate a self-help book over their normal selections of science-fiction, fantasy, and occasional memoir/autobiography. I am writing a self-help book. It’s kind of important for me to know how people will potential review my own book. Continue reading Reinforcement Versus Reward

A Few Of My Favorite Books From 2017

Many of you know how much I love lists. So, to honor the end of 2017, here’s a list of all the fun books I read from the year.

Top Ten Favorite Books Continue reading A Few Of My Favorite Books From 2017

Complexity Involved in Saving Our Seas

If you are going to start a movement, like I am with ZooFit, Eating Green, Experience Nature, and Conservation Fitness, it’s important to get as much information as possible on the topics you are passionate about. When I started reading “Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change”, I also had another book I had borrowed from the library about the fishing issue, called “A World Without Fish”. This book was overwhelmingly helpful in understanding the complexity  involved in saving our seas. Continue reading Complexity Involved in Saving Our Seas

Making Light of Climate Change

Whenever I discuss Conservation Fitness and turn the subject matter over to climate change, I often get feedback that I am too pessimistic and overshadow my program with doom and gloom. Frankly, climate change is a bit doom and gloom, but I understand people wanting a more light and positive approach to the problem. So when I came across a copy of “The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change” at the library, I immediately thought it might be helpful. Continue reading Making Light of Climate Change

Positive Reinforcement for Punishing Situations

I’m reading an interesting book called Triggers: Creating Behaviors That Last, Becoming the Person You Want to Be by Marshall Goldsmith, and I just had the most interesting insight from reading the book. 

When discussing our most powerful triggers, they tend to be one of four specific types- Encouraging triggers (associated with what we want), discouraging triggers (what we don’t want), productive triggers (what we need), and counter-productive triggers (what we don’t need).   Continue reading Positive Reinforcement for Punishing Situations

The Game is Afoot!

The past few weeks I have been engrossed in books with similar theme as A Zookeeper’s Guide to Fitness. I finished Level Up Your Life by Steve Kamb last week, and I’ve started on a new fitness/diet book called The Game On! Diet by Krista Vernoff and Az Ferguson. Vernoff is the executive producer (or is it Executive Producer, I’m asking for a friend) for Grey’s Anatomy, so she has a strong writing background, but I’m not digging her approach with the book. It was a little difficult to adjust to her style, although I understand her process. The book is about really having fun with your fitness, and taking things up a notch by not just turning our fitness into a game, but making it a team-oriented, competitive game as well. Continue reading The Game is Afoot!

Willpower- Part 2

Willpower is having the ability to do what you need to do, regardless if you feel like it or not.  I concede, I falter on this virtue more often than I’d like to admit.  It’s not even things I don’t want to do or don’t feel like doing.  I’ll be super motivated to get something accomplished and the time comes for me to muster the willpower to finish, and I just collapse.   Continue reading Willpower- Part 2