Reading for a Reinvention

August 31, 2009 2:49 PM

I've decided to make some big changes in how I live. Things like exercising more, eating better, dressing nicer and so on. Things are going pretty great now, but I am looking for some useful reading (magazines, books, websites, blogs) to help me stay motivated and generate ideas. Further info...

I'm a guy so I'd prefer suggestions (especially anything relating to style, fashion, & health) that are unisex or male-geared. Some examples of what I currently read are:

NYTimes Well blog
Gimmie20.com
ExRX & StartingStrength
Uncrate
A.Continuous Lean
Lifehacker
Triathletes Training Bible
Runner's World

I was also thinking of getting a magazine subscription to like Men's Health. Any thoughts are appreciated

posted by cuando to health & fitness (13 answers total)

Oh and I forgot any iPhone app recommendations! Thanks.
posted by cuando at 2:50 PM on August 31, 2009

Styleforum for men's style.
posted by meowzilla at 2:53 PM on August 31, 2009

Must reads
http://www.esquire.com/
http://www.menshealth.com
posted by Theloupgarou at 2:57 PM on August 31, 2009

For style:
GQ Style Guy
Dressing the Man
Men's Style: The Thinking Man's Guide to Dress
The Sartorialist (pictures of well-dressed people on the street. My personal favorite.)
posted by chalbe at 3:03 PM on August 31, 2009

Also, if you live in NYC, there's no better guide to men's fashion sales than The Choosy Beggar.

And one last awesome blog, devoted to manhood in general, the Art of Manliness.
posted by chalbe at 3:06 PM on August 31, 2009

I stay on my diet by using Livestrong.com's daily plate. The weight loss chart with calorie data is pretty damn motivating and rewarding. The calorie info for every imaginable exercise and food is pretty handy too.

They have a wealth of other info that I largely ignore because I work largely on a hacker diet understanding of use more energy than you consume and you will lose weight level but it seems to be an aggregation of what you are looking for. It also tells you how much of your daily amounts of stuff you have had.

I'd suggest avoiding men's health. They come up with all kinds of stupid exercise programs because they have to have something new every month. It is more likely to distract you than motivate you because it takes more than a month for a workout to really take hold.

If you do subscribe to men's health do it for the lifestyle stuff and ignore the fad diets and workouts.
posted by srboisvert at 3:06 PM on August 31, 2009 [1 favorite]

The Sartorialist is a great resource for examples of how clothes should fit on your body (take note of pant leg lengths, suits, jackets).
posted by wiretap at 3:10 PM on August 31, 2009

Seconding Livestrong and the Daily Plate that srboisvert recommended!
posted by misha at 3:17 PM on August 31, 2009

oops, should have previewed.

Also, LookBook is another good resource to see how clothes should fit on your body (side note: copious rich and beautiful youngins inside. No need to copy their *style*, but I think seeing examples of good FIT are super important).
posted by wiretap at 3:18 PM on August 31, 2009 [1 favorite]

The best iPhone app I've seen for this is called Lose It! You don't necessarily have to use it to lose weight, but I find it useful to keep track of exercise and to look up the calorie content of name-brand or restaurant foods.
posted by mattbucher at 3:19 PM on August 31, 2009

I recommend you take it slow, do one thing at a time. After you succeed at one thing it is easier to succeed at others. There is no better inspiration than biographical movies and books. Spend some time in the biography isle at a book store, something will stick out at you.
posted by bigmusic at 5:03 AM on September 1, 2009

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'd love to see more. Especially in re: to workouts & health
posted by cuando at 7:03 AM on September 1, 2009

Seconding the Sartorialist. And yeah, get a subscription to Men's Health. It will keep you motivated and maybe give you some ideas to keep your workouts fresh. Also check out the workout videos on Crossfit.com for motivation, especially when you don't feel like working out. I don't know how anyone can watch someone do 100 bodyweight squats in a row (that's squatting the equivalent to your bodyweight on your back) and not feel like you can go knock out 3 sets of 5.
posted by AceRock at 7:41 AM on September 1, 2009 [1 favorite]