[sardines]

The Lean Muscle Diet by Lou Schuler and Alan Aragon.

Not glamorous or macho-sounding I know Alan is best known as the online go-to guy for all things nutrition, and spends a considerable amount of time debunking nonsensical fitness claims that otherwise gain traction in the conventional world (Bulletproof coffee, mercola, food babe). I like the book for its detail about diets, including tables of nutritional values of popular foods (giving me easy-to-remember benchmarks), and straight real talk ("there is nothing new under the sun" and "all fad diets work for a while because they tend to cut out an entire food group or through psychobabble promote eating healthier, less processed food") as examples.

While the book is primarily about diet, it has an exercise component. The authors in question are built themselves, natty, and have well rounded lives with families, work, and friends (indicating its sustainable). Consistency is key, so that's what I follow.

Extra bonus - they throw in tips about making certain exercises easier on the joints.