Dear MFP-veterans...

sophzhr

So I've been a lurker on these forums for a long time...much longer than I've actually been an MFP member. I'm 19 now, and (yes, yes, against MFP 'rules', I know... ) I've been learning about diet and fitness from all of you knowledgeable MFP veterans since I was 15-ish, and you are the reason I'm now in a happy place with my health and my body, despite suffering from EDs throughout my teenage years - so I want to say a heartfelt thanks !

But that's not the point of this thread!

My question is about health and fitness knowledge. I have learned so much from reading threads here on MFP with regards to nutrition, health, and how we function; fitness, lifting, cardio (and even some medical issues!), but I want to branch out and learn from more 'primary' sources.

Which resources do you guys suggest? I'd love to hear about any books, websites, journals, guides etc. which gave you your concise and reliable information.

Thank you

rankinsect

Are you in college? You could always take electives in (or major in) biology, medicine, or nutrition.

Kalikel

Take some classes. Colleges have classes for people majoring in Science things, but they also have science classes that non-science majors can take. Less info, easier tests...but you get some info.

I think everyone should be required to take at least two semester of A&P. That would mean you'd need a little chemistry, though, but even one semester of Biochem would get you through. You don't really need Organic Chem to study the body and it's just the hardest class there is, IMO, so I'd suggest staying far away from that (unless you happen to like Organic Chem, which nobody I knew did. Every single person hated it.)

Nutrition might be fun to take and would certainly serve you well.

If you want, you could go pre-med (which will require Organic Chem, sadly) and learn as much as you can about your body and how it works.

CoffeeNCardio

I'm a big fan of the WHO, AMA, etc sites. I love me the acronym crew. They're no-nonsense, they post FULL studies along with their articles (most mags and sites only post the link to the study summary, which isn't good enough in a lot of cases), and the vast majority of them don't have a financial stake in telling you lies. The WHO is not trying to get you to buy a year subscription to whatever for $29.99. Fitness magazines are.

Caveat: I'm no veteran, nor expert in anything. This is just my nobody 2 cents.

Psychgrrl

I like

• BornFitness http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404445,00.asp--he has lots of great tips and easy to understand info that addresses myths and some yummy recipes.
• FitnessRX for Women http://www.fitnessrxwomen.com/--it has great exercises for the gym and home to change things up ans some terrific recipes with nutritional breakdown. They also summarize perr-reviewed journal articles and provide the info so you can read the whole thing for yourself. Their summaries have always been really credible (they don't misrepresent the info in the study).
• Muscle and Fitness Hers http://www.muscleandfitness.com/muscle-fitness-hers--it has great exercises for the gym and home to change things up ans some terrific recipes with nutritional breakdown.

And here, there are lots of interesting articles posted here. You just need to be able to discern fact from fiction.

I realize classes outside of your major might not be feasible. They can be expensive (the main text book for the entry-level Chem class at my school is $179) and can lengthen your TTD (time to degree), plus tank your GPA if you don't do well. And since many of those classes are "weed out" classes for majors, they are often highly competitive. At least it's been that way on the campuses where I've worked. If you could take a class or two, that'd be awesome, but it might not be the best option for your time or money.

cafeaulait7

Pubmed.com is great, but it's not exactly concise

Check and see if your university has a class studying research design. Even published studies can be shockingly bad*, so it's a great thing to learn if you can.

*And good studies are going to have limitations without tanking the study, too. People can't expect perfection, either. But you'll be able to tell what's usual/good form and what isn't

Kimegatron

I thought this was in regards to Veteran's Day, lol, I was going to be like "Thank you for your service!!"

SLLRunner

sophzhr wrote: »

So I've been a lurker on these forums for a long time...much longer than I've actually been an MFP member. I'm 19 now, and (yes, yes, against MFP 'rules', I know... ) I've been learning about diet and fitness from all of you knowledgeable MFP veterans since I was 15-ish, and you are the reason I'm now in a happy place with my health and my body, despite suffering from EDs throughout my teenage years - so I want to say a heartfelt thanks !

But that's not the point of this thread!

My question is about health and fitness knowledge. I have learned so much from reading threads here on MFP with regards to nutrition, health, and how we function; fitness, lifting, cardio (and even some medical issues!), but I want to branch out and learn from more 'primary' sources.

Which resources do you guys suggest? I'd love to hear about any books, websites, journals, guides etc. which gave you your concise and reliable information.

Thank you

What....you were here as a kid and you never got caught?!

I too thought this was about Veterans day and was ready to make some catty remark about it.....but not now.

I like this database to find peer reviewed medical articles.

AnvilHead

sophzhr wrote: »

...Which resources do you guys suggest? I'd love to hear about any books, websites, journals, guides etc. which gave you your concise and reliable information.

Thank you

Pubmed (already mentioned) is a great site to look up/read research.

Other than that, my three favorite sites are all nutrition/fitness/training guys who are science based and don't peddle woo or BS:

Bodyrecomposition.com - Lyle McDonald's site

Alanaragon.com - Alan Aragon's site

Weightology.net - James Krieger's site


Lyle's site is worth its weight in gold. The number and depth of 100% free articles, research reviews, etc. he offers are priceless. IMO he's gone far above and beyond by sharing so much of his knowledge and research/analysis with the health/fitness/weight loss/training community worldwide. I'd highly recommend that anybody who's interested in educating themselves about nutrition and/or training visit Lyle's site and spend a few (hundred) hours reading the articles there.

Sued0nim

I don't know if I count but I got most of my change in perception from the, occasionally heated, often over my head, bring the science discussions that used to be on here if I'm honest. Unfortunately the boards have changed massively in the few months I've been here, there are no longer enough regular reliable voices to bring the "stretch your brain till it hurts" message... Too many have given up or been banned

I like @anvilhead recommendations particularly Lyle's, google scholar, pubmed on ncbi, sciencebasedmedicine.org, nerdfitness (not so much science)

I think it's more your attitude to what you're reading going in, your openness to reading contentious debate and your ability to appreciate the failings of some published (lots of published) "research" that counts tbh

Machka9

rankinsect wrote: »

Are you in college? You could always take electives in (or major in) biology, medicine, or nutrition.

Kalikel wrote: »

Take some classes. Colleges have classes for people majoring in Science things, but they also have science classes that non-science majors can take. Less info, easier tests...but you get some info.

+1

AnvilHead

Another good site is the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (JISSN) - jissn.biomedcentral.com/.

For supplement reviews, examine.com is a good one. They're an independent, unbiased resource with no product affiliations and don't accept funding of any kind from third parties. If you hear about some new "miracle pill" and want to see if it's legit, examine.com is a good place to start reading up on it. They footnote and reference their findings with scientific support and are pretty comprehensive in their reviews. They also have a great Nutrition FAQ, which is also footnoted and referenced.

I avoid all the sites like Muscle and Fitness (aka "Muscle and Fiction"), Men's Health, etc. - they're magazine and supplement peddlers, and publish lots of junk articles with almost as much woo as Dr. Oz. You get the occasional pearl of wisdom, but you'll have to sift through a lot of questionable garbage to find it.

kshama2001

I thought this was going to be a Veteran's Day thread and was going to say no need to thank me for my service - I got to travel, money for college, and a husband out of the deal.