The best books to cut through the insanity of diet culture

This book changed my life. Discovering Roth’s wisdom was nothing short of a life raft when I was drowning.

After the birth of my third child, I struggled with very disordered eating. Trapped in an obese body and perpetual cycle of failed dieting attempts, I read and reread this book and slowly began breaking free of my own.

Roth’s common-sense wisdom and understanding of the root causes of emotional eating helped me, for the first time, to begin to understand my own disordered eating patterns. She was integral in helping understand the why behind the behaviours.

And spoiler alert—I wasn’t hungry for food! If you have ever struggled or questioned your relationship with food and your body, Geneen Roth is essential reading.

I carry Michael Pollan’s decree close to my heart, and his wise words guide my choices around food, moderation and common sense to this day. 

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Words to live by, if ever there were any, and for this recovering emotional eater, Pollan was a much-needed voice of common sense. A great reminder to avoid industrialised, heavily processed foods, and get back to experiencing pleasure at the dinner table, enjoying whole foods that my grandparents would have recognised.

Pollan’s decree guides my decisions in the supermarket and my kitchen constantly. Another essential book discovered along my healing journey as I reclaimed my health.

Yeo’s book has been fundamental in my growing understanding of my own body, as it relates to nutrition, digestion, and how we extract energy from food. 

I have learnt that the measurement of a calorie is simply false—a crude tool at best. For myself, in a perpetual maintenance phase this past-decade (post massive weight-loss the old-fashioned way), this book was also essential reading. Not only is calorie counting overly simplistic; it’s actually pretty useless.

I haven’t once looked at food the same way after finishing this book.

This book is written by a man who is both a foodie and a scientist—always a good thing when I’m seeking sound, common sense advice by someone who also refuses to live a life that doesn’t include espresso, sourdough and the occasional glass of red. Love it.

Thanks to this terrific book, I now have a decent understanding of what my gut microbiome is, and just why eating a ton of different plants every week helps me to feel happier, more energised, and less likely to die. Given my passion for health and maintaining my substantial weight loss forever, I remain indebted to Tim Spector and his very useful book.

James Clear’s infinitely practical book continues to assist me in refining my daily habits as they relate to my health. I only regret that I didn’t discover this book sooner, such is the usefulness of the advice contained within!

I was reminded that identity change is the most powerful form of change. I am not someone who hikes; I am a hiker. I had to become the person I wanted to be, and Atomic Habits reminded me of these truths.

Clear also taught me to focus upon building systems to help achieve my goals in this perpetual maintenance phase of weight loss rather than focusing on the goal itself (which—turns out—it’s largely useless on its own). After all, without actionable habits, a goal is nothing more than a wish. And I sure as hell knew that I was going to need more than a wish if I was to continue to fit into my pants.