PULSE.GYMS AND THE PEOPLE WHO HATE THEM: You come home from work frazzled from traffic, tired from a long day at work, and hungry - the last thing on your mind is hitting the gym. A new book, ``I Hate the Gym,'' ($9.95; Simon Spotlight Entertainment) by sitcom writer Jessica Kaminsky, humorously tackles all the reasons for avoiding the gym. With wit and sarcasm, Kaminsky looks at the reality of working out at the gym, from the new membership packages that include a free body-fat analysis (avoid them!) to what your toiletry bag says about you. - Nicole Sunkes AN EXPANDING TOPIC: A new book, ``Fat: The Anthropology of an Obsession,'' ($16.95; Penguin), edited by Don Kulick Don Kulick is professor of Anthropology and director of the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality at New York University. Kulick received his B.A. in Anthropology and Linguistics from Lund University in Sweden in 1983 and his Ph.D. and Anne Menely, takes a look at the fat culture of the world, including the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . In 14 essays, anthropologists and an activist write about their experiences with obesity and how it became an obsession in American society. One essay argues a correlation between Starbucks and Americans' skyrocketing obesity rate. In another, an anthropologist describes her four-year experience in Niger, where girls are force-fed until obese. - N.S. HERE COMES THE BRIDE, DOING WIND SPRINTS: One more thing for a bride to fret over: being slim and trim on her wedding day. ``Bootcamp 360 for Brides: The Few, The Proud, The Fit,'' ($16.95; HarperResource), by personal trainer personal trainer person n → (persönlicher) Fitnesstrainer m, (persönliche) Fitnesstrainerin f Tamara Kleinberg, will get you in shape for the biggest day of your life. Kleinberg was inspired to shape up after she had trouble fitting into wedding dresses. She developed a training regimen, a stress-beating wedding week workout and a nutrition plan to get herself - and other brides - into shape. The book includes those programs, along with 40 quick and easy recipes for healthy eating. The book also includes plan, progress and exercise logs to take to the gym while working out. - N.S. TASTY AND HEALTHY: ``Healthy Dining in Dining in is a formal military function for members of a company or other unit. The practice is thought to have begun in 16th Century England, in the monasteries and early universities. Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. ,'' ($19.95; Accents on Health, Inc.) is a fantastic book for any fat-conscious Angeleno who enjoys eating out. It includes tips on eating sensibly at restaurants and offers a realistic look at restaurant food nutrition. The two most useful sections are Healthy Dining Menus, which includes 240 restaurants' healthy menu items and a nutritional breakdown of each food, and Chef's Recipes, which includes one healthy recipe from each participating restaurant. The book also includes coupons for participating eateries. ``Healthy Dining in Los Angeles'' can be purchased for $16.95 by calling (800) 953-3463. For more information, visit www.healthy-dining.com. - N.S. BARGAIN YOGA: Ah, yoga. It relaxes mind and body but is pretty stiff on the wallet. Sure, a great teacher is worth the $15-per-class fee that most yoga studios charge, but those of us who aren't made of money can, um, stretch those dollars further with yoga DVDs. If you have a basic grasp on how to safely do yoga's primary poses, the ``Total Yoga'' series (Razor Digital Entertainment) by Tracey Rich and Ganga White can expand and enhance your practice at home. And at only $9.95 per disc, they're definitely priced to move. An American yoga pioneer, White in 1967 founded Los Angeles' seminal Center for Yoga. In 1983, he and Rich started Santa Barbara's White Lotus White Lotus Chinese Buddhist millenarian movement that was often persecuted because of its association with rebellion. The movement had roots in 4th-century worship of the Buddha Amitabha, whose devotional cult inspired Mao Ziyuan to form the White Lotus Society, a pious Foundation, where they continue guiding students and training teachers in their style of vinyasa vinyasa (vēn·yäˑ·s flow yoga. From the original ``Total Yoga,'' previously a best seller on VHS (Video Home System) A half-inch, analog videocassette recorder (VCR) format introduced by JVC in 1976 to compete with Sony's Betamax, introduced a year earlier. , through the three graduated discs of ``Total Yoga: The Flow Series,'' Rich and White lead viewers through a vigorous but not punishing practice focused on linking individual yoga poses in a moving meditation of sorts. Another focus of the series is yogic ``ujjayi'' breathing, which can relieve tension and stress. And for those who want to put their giant-screen high-definition TV See HDTV. and compatible DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. equipment to good use, the three ``Flow Series'' discs were all shot in HD, putting you that much closer to the grace and inspiration of these two yoga masters. - Steven Rosenberg Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., (b. 2 August 1940) is a leading cancer researcher and surgeon. He is credited with developing the use of IL-2 and immune cells for the treatment of patients with melanoma. CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1) no caption (book: ``I Hate the Gym'') (2) no caption (book: ``Fat: The Anthropology of an Obsession'') (3) no caption (book: ``Bootcamp 360 for Brides: The Few, The Proud, The Fit'') (4) no caption (book: ``Healthy Dining in Los Angeles'') (5) no caption (``Total Yoga'') |
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