Every Tuesday morning, I review a book that I read recently. If you missed any, you can read past reviews here. This week’s book is Eat Move Sleep: Why Small Choices Make a Big Difference (kindle version) by Tom Rath. I actually read this book back in June, but it releases today, hence the review.

I’ve been fascinated by health and fitness for some time, ever since losing 130 pounds and keeping it off. So, Rath’s book was right up my alley.

Two things that are obvious about this book from the title:

1. Every choice we make matters. They all impact every part of our life. 
2. Tom Rath looks at how to eat, move and sleep so that those choices make the most positive impact in our lives.

As Rath states,

What seem like small or inconsequential moments accumulate rapidly. When your good daily decisions outweigh your poor ones, you boost your chances of growing old in better health.

Now, if you’ve lived a relatively healthy life, watch what you eat, exercise and sleep well, most of what Rath says will simply be a reminder. While I’ve read a lot about weight loss and health, I still found good tidbits I have never heard before and was reminded of some things that are easy to forget.

Here are a few things that stuck out to me as helpful:

• The types of foods you consume influence your health more than your total caloric intake.
• The best performers sleep at least 8.6 hours a day, almost a full hour more than the national average.
• The top performers in every field typically work/practice in focused sessions lasting no longer than 90 minutes.
• Losing 90 minutes of sleep reduces daytime alertness by nearly one-third. If you consider all the things that demand your attention in a day, reducing alertness by one-third is consequential.
• A study of over 80,000 people suggests total intake of fruits and vegetables is a robust predictor of overall happiness.
• When food is served “family style” from large plates, bowls or platters placed in arms’ reach, people simply eat more.
• Anytime someone is hungry and in a hurry, it results in a bad choice.
• The first to order food at a restaurant is an anchor for the rest of the table and sets the tone for what others order.
• We eat based on the size of our plates.
• We are more likely to make a bad food choice when a healthy option is available compared with when no healthy options are available.
• Couples in which one partner has a commute longer than 45 minutes are a whopping 40% more likely to get divorced. 
• The dish you start with serves as an anchor food for your entire meal. Experiments show that people eat nearly 50% greater quantity of the food they eat first.
• People consume 167 additional calories per hour while watching TV.

An overall helpful, quick read.