Diet Book Reviews
They're Not Necessarily About Dieting

These diet book reviews represent only a handful of the books that I consider thought provoking, informative, and worth the read.

Over the years I have discovered that the best diet books are not usually about dieting.

If you think you need to diet because losing weight will solve your problems, then you too are probably on a search for the best diet books and weight loss books to help you accomplish that goal.

Although you may have some limited success with dieting, your real success will come when you recognize that diets don't work and the best diet books are the ones that lead you to examine your relationship with food.

Books That Have Helped Me

The books that have helped me the most are books about body image, shame, perfectionism, and compulsive eating.

My search has always been more about how to get rid of the inner voice that tortured me and I believed that losing weight would accomplish that.

What I discovered is that losing weight is more of a by-product of getting to the real issue - the reason you choose food to make you feel better.

I hope you find these "diet book reviews" useful and that they help you on your journey. Please feel free to contact me if you have book recommendations that other visitors will find useful.

Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How To Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle.
Michelle May. Austin, TX: Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2009.
(398 pages)

In her follow up to Am I Hungry? Dr. Michelle May wastes no time in telling us the purpose of this new book. It is stated clearly and succinctly on the cover. The book is designed to teach you how to break what Dr. May describes as the eat-repent-repeat cycle. The book objective is to teach readers to "eat mindfully" after answering the question, "Am I hungry."

The book is divided into four parts: Think-to help you gain awareness of ... read the full Eat What You Love Love What You Eat Review

Intuitive Eating, A Recovery Book for the Chronic Dieter
Evelyn Tribole M.S., R.D. and Elyse Resch M.S., R.D.
(220 pages)

The foreword to Intuitive Eating sets out its goals clearly and concisely and does a thorough job of meeting those goals.

"This book is a bridge between the growing anti-diet movement and the health community. While the anti-dieting movement shuns dieting and hails body acceptance (thankfully), it often fails to address the health risks of obesity and eating. How do you reconcile forbidden foods issues and still eat healthfully while not dieting? We will tell you how in this book."

The book covers issues that are all too familiar to anyone who ... read the full Intuitive Eating review

You On A Diet The Owner's Manual for Waist Management,
Michael F. Roizen, MD and Mehmet C. Oz, MD
(512 pages)

The premise of this book is that in order to get the body you want you must go a level deeper than just knowing the actions to take. The real secret is understanding your body's biology, in particular how bodies store and burn fat. This book has a little of everything. It includes the biology lessons of course, recipes, FAQ's, discussion about the emotional pitfalls of ... read the full You On A Diet review

eating mindfully how to end mindless eating & enjoy a balanced relationship with food
Susan Albers, psy.d.
(164 pages)

What turns an everyday activity like eating into such an overwhelming process? Susan Albers, author of Eating Mindfully opens the introduction to the book with this question and answers it like this.

Throughout the book, we will return to that question with some answers. But the bottom line is this: To make smart, healthy eating choices, your body and mind work together to send you essential clues about what you need and want to eat. These clues give you information about "how much" and "what" to ... read the full eating mindfully review

The Rules of Normal Eating A Commonsense Approach for Dieters, Overeaters, Undereaters, Emotional Eaters, and Everyone in Between!
Karen R. Koenig, LCSW, M.ED.
(235 pages)

An unhealthy relationship with food, weight and body image can cause scores of irrational beliefs that will affect every aspect of your life. The Rules of Normal Eating targets these beliefs, as well as feelings and behaviors, and points the way toward genuine physical and emotional fulfillment. With humor, compassion, and practical wisdom, this book outlines balanced attitudes and patterns that will benefit ... read the full The Rules Of Normal Eating review

JUST 10 LBS.
Brad Lamm. Carlsbad, CA. Hay House, Inc, 2011.
231 pages.

The introduction to Brad Lamb's book, JUST 10 LBS, opens with a story about a magic lamp and a Genie and wishes. I immediately knew we were simpatico, because one of the recurring themes on this site is that many, if not most, of us looking for weight loss are really looking for a magic wand or a magic pill.

Besides me, he also has Dr. Mehmet Oz in his corner. He wrote the forward.

In the book Brad Lamm, who specializes in interventions, divides people according to six different eating styles. There is a quiz you can take to help you find your style and of course I was all six.

I will tell you from the onset... read the full review of JUST 10 LBS

Volumetrics Feel Full on Fewer Calories
Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., and Robert A. Barnett
(303 pages)

Volumetrics is based on the energy density principle. A food that is high energy density provides a large amount of calories in a small weight (nuts), while a food with low energy density has fewer calories for the same weight (lettuce). Over the course of a day or two a person eats about the same weight of food. It varies by individual but, by and large, the weight of the food you ate on a daily basis last week will probably be quite similar to the ... read the full Volumetrics review

Some Mini Recommendations

Women Food And God
Geneen Roth

Even though I was critical of how Oprah marketed her show with Ms Roth I think this is a great book. There is a chapter that talks about The Voice in your head that is the best I've ever read. This book makes you realize you are a whole person who deserves everything good that life has to offer.

I thought It Was Just Me
Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame, Brene Brown, Ph.D., L.M.S.W.

Very good book about shame not limited to eating or body image. Lots and lots of easy to relate to real life stories from clients.

Fear and Other Uninvited Guests Tackling the Anxiety, Fear and Shame That Keep Us from Optimal Living and Loving
Harriet Lerner, Ph.D.

Excellent book about the anxiety we experience that limits our enjoyment of our own life. Dr. Lerner has other books, in particular, The Dance of Anger that are well worth the read.

Feeling Good About the Way You Look A Program for Overcoming Body Image Problems
Sabine Wilhelm, PhD

This book deals with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and is a how to manual on developing behaviors to regain your life if you suffer from this debilitating disorder.

stuffed an insider's look at who's (REALLY) making america fat
hank cardello

Good read about the food industry from an insider's point of view. Want to learn how the first tv dinner came to be? Read this book.

What To Eat An Aisle-by-Aisle Guide to Savvy Food Choices and Good Eating
Marion Nestle

This comprehensive book answers every question you've ever had about food or nutrition in a pleasant easy to read style. Great reference to have on hand.

Healing the Shame That Binds You
John Bradshaw

This is the book that was most instrumental in my own recovery. When I learned to reach out to others and share the "real me" things really started to change in my life.

It was painful but definitely worth it. I could not give this book a higher recommendation.

OVERCOMING BINGE EATING
Dr. Christopher G. Fairburn

This book is slightly more clinical in nature than most. It gives a lot of helpful background information and recommends cognitive behavioral techniques. This is a good book for those who need structure and want a specific, but flexible, eating plan to follow. The eating plan he recommends has been tested in controlled clinical research.

Dr. Christopher Fairburn has several other books on the subject and writes for both professionals and non-professionals.

the Abs Diet for Women
David Zinczenko

You may be surprised to see this one here. It's not what it appears to be. It is a great primer on what constitutes healthy foods and it advocates a well balanced diet based on the principles of balance, moderation, and variety.

He speaks in a very reader friendly style and even though the title makes you think Jillian Michaels should be on the cover, it is a great book about nutrition and what is good for the body. Check it out. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Smoothy anyone?

Change One The diet and fitness plan
Reader's Digest, Introduction by John Foreyt, Ph.D.

I like this book because it advises you to take things one step at a time (none of that all-or-nothing thinking) and it gives you lots of tools to manage it. It reminds me a lot of the Weight Watcher's approach.

The book has chapters about the eating plan, fitness, lots of recipes, and lots of resources (logs and diaries and charts) to help you follow your progress.

Self-Esteem Comes In All Sizes how to be healthy and happy at your natural weight
Carol A. Johnson

This is a very good book that emphasizes self acceptance and the benefits of living your life now instead of putting off happiness while you are waiting to lose weight or get thin. It includes chapters on style and makeup.

Mindless Eating Why We Eat More Than We Think
Brian Wansink, Ph.D.

This book is a fascinating must read! Brian Wansink is the director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab and he recounts the results of experiments related to the hidden psychology of eating.

It's quite funny but very serious at the same time. Lots of tips about portion control and food triggers. It's one of those books that makes you want to get to the next page as fast as you can because it's so interesting.

The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite
David Kessler MD

This book talks about the American appetite for sugar, fat, and salt and how we cannot resist foods with this combination of ingredients. It puts all Americans in the same category, whether fat, skinny or anywhere in between. We all have these cravings and of course food manufacturers and fast food and restaurant chains are using it to their best advantage.

There is also a brief chapter on his ideas for behavioral changes that will help eaters to resist the temptation.

Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes
Mark Bittman

Mark Bittman is the food critic for the New York Times and I read this book after hearing him being interviewed about his own eating plan. He was my inspiration for the 80/20 rule.

His personal philosophy is to eat mostly vegetables and legumes and grains (healthy stuff) during the day and then for dinner he has whatever he wants. He lost over 30 lbs. doing this.

The book talks about being environmentally conscious in the way we grow crops and raise beef and poultry.

Lots of recipes - the kind that I like. Instead of giving you a specific ingredient list he tells you how to prepare a whole category of food so that you can make a variety of dishes after reading only a couple of pages.

Mind Over Fat Matters: Conquering Psychological Barriers to Weight Management
Lavinia Rodriguez Ph.D.

This is a very straightforward book explaining that eating issues originate in the brain. I was drawn to it because I have always believed that my eating issues were not related to food as much as to my thought processes.

This book just tells it like it is from a psychological point of view, but in very understandable terms. I highly recommend this book.

Intuitive Eating Book Review

You On A Diet Book Review

The Rules of Normal Eating Book Review

Eating Mindfully Book Review

Volumetrics Book Review

Eat What You Love Book Review

JUST 10 LBS Book Review

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