Reading List: Non-Diet Books
I’ve rounded up a list of my favorite non-diet and intuitive eating books to check out if you want to learn more about the topic.
UPDATE: I’d like to link an article by Marquisele Mercedes called “The Unbearable Whiteness and Fatphobia of ‘Anti-Diet’ Dietitians.” Phrases like non-diet, anti-diet, and body positivity have been stolen from the body liberation movement. Movements started by fat, Black women are now being centered on thin, white women instead. It’s something to think about as you consider the books on this list. Everyone is hurt by diet-culture, but it’s origins were to perpetuate the beauty of a thin, white, protestant woman. And now thin white women are profiting off of it. As of now, I still think there is some benefit to these books if they are read skeptically and in this context but I could be wrong on that one. Maybe get these books second-hand or from the library. I’m still learning and open to changing my opinion.
If you heard the phrase “Non-Diet” or have a vague idea of what it it, then check out this reading list of my top favorite intuitive eating and non-diet books! I wanted to share some of the books that have shaped how I think about my own eating habits and practices. I’ve picked up helpful information from all of these books, and while they’re science-based, none of them are too dense to read for the nutrition-science curious!
Intuitive Eating
The original book that describes the concept and 10 principals of intuitive eating. While this book is a good introduction, it’s honestly not my favorite of all non-diet books. As I’ve said before, I really didn’t like the idea of intuitive eating when I first learned about it. That’s because I only had this book and Nourishing Wisdom which was actually awful! This book written to fit in with diet books. It still gives rules while talking about no rules. So, while this book will give you context, it’s definitely not my first choice for the skeptical.
Health at Every Size
This book is another foundational book in the field. HAES discusses how concepts like BMI and obesity have been taken out of context and negatively affected diet research. The overarching theme is weight is not the single determining factor in health. Again, this book isn’t perfect. But, it does provide some perspective on why weight loss shouldn’t be a practitioner’s go-to answer for health problems for a person in a larger body.
Body Kindness
This book is beautiful! The graphics and illustrations are so well done, and it made this book a joy to read. This book is more mental health/ psychology based and discusses your relationship with food and your body. There are prompts included throughout the book to help you dig deeper. This book falls into the self-help realm which may not be for everyone.
The F*ck It Diet
I fucking love this book! If all this look inward, crunchy crap is not your thing, then you must read this book. I would have felt so differently about intuitive eating/ non-dieting if it was presented to me first with curse words! This grittier approach is still filled with science and facts. Plus, it’s a really great intro book if you’re into that kind of thing.
Anti-Diet
This is the newest book I read, and I really liked the way the information was presented. This one falls somewhere between Body Kindness and The F*ck It Diet on the granola to grit scale. It’s kind of heavy on the research, but it’s a really great foundation to understand how damaging diet culture is. I really appreciate the gender-neutral language used in this book. The author acknowledges that not only women, but female-presenting folx that society views as “women” are affected by diet culture. Also, the book discussed how intuitive eating is a privilege, and how things like food insecurity can determine how people eat. All important criticisms of intuitive eating that need to be addressed.
Diet Cults
This book provides a different perspective on the danger of diets, and how people cling to a diet because it’s a group to belong to and an identity. After breaking down how many diets use a cult mentality to suck people in, the author then goes on to give his own form of “agnostic eating” ranking some foods like vegetables and acceptable foods like fried foods. He says their are no forbidden foods which is good, but it could still be to rigid a classification for some. Even though I wouldn’t recommend the agnostic eating framework, I still recommend the book.
Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fatphobia
I saw this book suggested on Instagram recently. It’s a very useful historical analysis of how racism led to “fat” being negative and conversely, religious white women striving to be thin. I would highly recommend it for the historical context of fatphobia and the resulting body positivity movement. There are many valid criticisms of HAES like that it does not include people of color. I agree that HAES is not the one perfect solution. I am always looking to make my work more intersectional, and this book provided some good background I was unaware of.
These books are one place to start if you are interested in learning more about the harms of diet culture and how an anti-diet approach could be helpful. I’m always looking for new books to check out, and I’d love your suggestions!