Recommended Books for Weight Loss

cristylee12

I am starting over again with trying to lose weight. I’m at my highest weight ever -I’m guessing 215. I have issues with binge eating and have been overweight now for a good 5-7 years at various levels. When younger I was active and never had to worry about what I ate then came kids and life and bam that all changed. I have tried every diet with my go to being low carb but really I think there are underlying issues I need to address to really make lifelong changes. I’m too embarrassed to talk to anyone but would love to know if there was a book that helped you with weight loss. I would love to know the science behind it all or something to help me uncover the real reason I’m failing at this. I tend to start low carb and then switch to CICO but want to figure it out once and for all and finally get happy and healthy for good! Thanks for any recommendations.

sammidelvecchio

Ok....before you judge me for this reco....I am not a fan of any of the Kardashians at this point in time.

But Strong Looks Better Naked by Khloe Kardashian really helped me. I loved it. I still read it and it was released in 2015. It's more in the self-help/motivation for weight loss/healthy life style column, no science, but it helped me and continues to help me.

ceiswyn

CICO is the science. Calorie counting is just one approach to weight loss, but CICO is how all of them actually work.

If your average calories consumed are less than your average calories expended in metabolic processes and exercise, you will lose weight. No book required

It sounds like you might benefit from a therapist to work through your binge eating issues and help get your head in the right place for the long haul, though.

Kathryn247

Hi Cristy! For the underlying issues, a therapist is really the way to go. Whatever you think you'd be embarrassed to tell them, they've probably heard way worse. Therapy helped me immensely.
A book that helped me is "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. It's not about weight loss directly, but it helped me with all of the underlying issues in my life.

Something to be aware of if just going low carb doesn't give you the results you want - low carb will only lead to weight loss if you maintain a calorie deficit. CICO is always true whether you count calories or not. Good luck!

kimny72

More than any book, I'd first suggest these Most Helpful Posts here:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

I've seen these get numerous recommendations in other threads and have them on my "to read" list:

The Beck Diet Solution
Diet Cults

And ones I've seen recommended and I've read myself:
The Blue Zones
The Power of Habit

lemurcat2

Beck Diet Solutions is good if you have issues with binging or emotional eating.

Some not exactly diet books that helped me are:

Diet Cults by Matt Fitzgerald -- talks about how weight loss works and helps if you are one to get stressed or confused about all the different proponents of different diets claiming they've found the one true way.

Losing It by Laura Fraser -- kind of an anti diet (but not anti weight loss) book that I think attacks a lot of the crazy messages about super restrictive eating, super low cals, etc. It actually inspired me to lose.

Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy by Walter Willett -- good general book about what healthful eating entails. (Similarly, What To Eat by Marion Nestle.)

I also like the Blue Zones and the Power of Habit.

A book that has some silly stuff I don't like (body types) but overall I found helpful and inspiring was Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto.

A good podcast is Half Size Me (others that get more into the weeds about different subjects so might not be right for you now are the Fit Cast and Sigma Nutrition).

A fun YouTube dietitian is Abbey Sharpe, you might enjoy her videos.

kshama2001

I am a voracious consumer of books but find the MFP forums more helpful than books.

Oh, you know what's good helping me with denial? Watching "My 600 Pound Life" and seeing them work through their denial and lose weight. Or not, and fail.

If you have a voice in your head that sabotages you, or habits you'd like to change, then do look into "The Beck Diet Solution" which is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) based. It was available from my library system, so perhaps yours as well.