Strong Is the New Beautiful: Embrace Your Natural Beauty, Eat Clean, and Harness Your Power

Highly decorated Alpine skier Vonn, in her debut book, imparts accessible and adaptable diet and fitness truths distilled from years of training. She emphasizes getting strong over losing weight, and eating right over eating less. For street cred, Vonn goes over her own challenges with dieting, unhealthy eating, body image insecurities, and almost career-ending injuries, and for added heft cites research studies. Beauty and self-acceptance at any shape are hallmarks of her thinking. Devoid of calorie counting and strict regimentation, the book’s adaptable approach relies on a few dietary principles: eat “clean, healthy, balanced, and whole”; reduce processed foods and refined sugar; and splurge in moderation. Vonn shares her favorite foods and simple recipes, which are measurement-free and minimal in preparation instructions, all with an air of inviting readers to find what works best for them. In the same vein, she urges people to find exercises they enjoy, explaining how she relies on cycling in place of running—which she detests—as her main aerobic activity. A list of “my 65 favorite get-strong exercises” rounds out the book, most requiring no more than free weights or a yoga ball. Vonn has created an inspiring narrative, along with a seductive means of getting healthy and fit. (Oct.)