Thanks for reminding me. I have the book "When You Eat at the Refrigerator , Pull Up a Chair." I bought it at a time when I wasn't truly ready to take on the challenge of losing weight. Now that I am, I am going to take it off the shelf and read it.
I just finished "Thin Is the New Happy." I was really looking forward to it, but found it boring and drawn-out. I'm reading "The Urban Hermit" right now, which concerns a guy on a diet, and is hilarious. Can't wait for Frank Bruni's "Born Round."
Okay, folks, I just maxed out my holds at the library!
Here are two books I didn't see mentioned yet.
Food Matters by Mark Bittman. It covers the same issues that Michael Pollan wrote about In Defense of Food, but written by a cook. So, more detailed about wht to actually eat than Pollan was.
Finally Thin! by Kim Bensen. The first part is a memoir of her 200+ weight loss. The second part is a structure for weight loss that can be used with any plan (informed by her experience as a WW instructor). The third part is recipes. The recipes use more artificial ingredients than I'm comfortable with, so I ignored them, but the rest of the book was inspiring.
BornToFly: I just finished The End of Overeating by Dr. Kessler and found it helpful. Nothing that new maybe, but put all together, I got this message: The food industry has carefully conditioned me to eat the way I do; I will need to painstakingly recondition myself in order to eat the way I want. He's a bit short on details of how to do that, so I'm picking up other books that are strong on behavior modification.
i browsed the skinny b*tch book. i didnt read the whole thing, but i did read the chapter on not drinking milk. i little too much 'tough love' if you ask me. i dont need to spend 15 bucks to be berated about being fat. i can get that for free in the outside world.
Wow, think I'll pass on that one!
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Originally Posted by Nuxmaga
Beck Diet Solution by Judith Beck--lots of good stuff about sabotaging thoughts that contribute to weight gain. Can be used with any eating plan.
I've heard good things about that one, I shd pick it up!
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Originally Posted by Fox
I didn't like Skinny B****, all I got from that book was how disgusting it is to be fat and how horrible it is to consume animal products and if you're fat you're weak and gross. No thank you!
Whoa! Again, I won't be getting that book! Wow...
I have several unread Diet & Fitness books on my bookshelf that I am ashamed to admit I have yet to crack, one being YOU on a Diet, but I will get to all of them. Just this weekend I've cracked open (again) Bob Harper's, Are You Ready! and I have to say so far I am loving it and I am not finding it so "emotionally" hard to get through as I once had. Also, not a book, but I LOVE reading the Fitness magazine because of all the helpful articales and inspiration I get from it.
I thought thin commandments had good points but I found his rigid stance on his particular diet very off putting. He advocates a highly processed diet trading nutrient dense food for low fat or artificially sweentened foods that are lower in calories.
I don't want to eat fat free hot dogs and fat free cheese (american cheese no less)
And what does he have against red bell peppers
Just a heads up to those that try to avoid plans that have a lot of 'you must eat this cracker, etc'. That really sets off my inner rebel.
That aside, if you scrap the actual 'diet' I think what he has to say has a lot of value. I personally just struggled with focusing on the good while trying to ignore his obsession with laughing cow cheese.
just giving this a kind bump. Would love to get some more books. Been in a rut the last few weeks and need something to get me going again. What books have you read that made you go WOW when it comes to health and weight loss
I'm not reading "diet" books anymore--my "diet" is the way I plan to eat the rest of my life (with a little more chocolate thrown in, basically, once I'm in maintenance).
A book I got out of the library which I plan to buy (and that happens maybe 3x a year) is Food Matters. by Mark Bittman. He lays out a fantastic blueprint for eating whole, unporcessed foods--including a meal plan, how to stock the pantry and cook all kinds of healthy foods.
On the "real life motivation" side I really enjoyed Passing for Thin by Frances Kuffle. She's an amazing writer and even though I have not been fat since childhood, I identified with a lot of what she had to say about trying to adjust to the world as a "normal" person. It was amazing.
This is a fantastic thread--just start reading, you'll find some gems of your own!
What initially taught about weight loss was Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weight Solution a few years back. Then I kinda moved on to Dr. Oz's You On A Diet.
Cookbooks that are helping me are ones by Kathleen Daelmans, Devin Alexander (from the Biggest Loser), Elie Krieger, and also a subscribtion to Healthy Cooking magazine. Also, I love Rachael Ray, so I try to convert some of her recipes into healthier ones by using a bit less EVOO.
I just have to jump in and defend the skinny ***** book. I think it depends on your personality as to whether or not you will like it. I actually LOVED it! I re-read it every now and then. Yes, it does promote a vegan lifestyle... but it doesn't force it on you. One thing you must be prepared for is the very thick sarcasm and straight-forwardness of the book. I am a very sarcastic person and respond better to people when they are just upfront and honest with me. I saw this book in a small book store, thought that's a weird title, picked it up and read the first few sentences only. I fell in love and HAD to have it!!! I bought it, of course, and read it in two sittings. I love to read and these ladies just had me going the whole time. I found it highly entertaining and recommend it to anyone who can take that kind of talk.
If you're looking into buying it, I would suggest you pick it up and read a page or so first. If it's not your cup of tea, you will know right away. However, you could be like me and just love it!!!
One of the books that helped kick start my weight loss journey is "Only Fat People Skip Breakfast" by Lee Janogly. Straight talking and brilliantly simple but sometimes you just need someone to give you a good kick up the backside! Again, this is a book I have turned back to time and time again.
Last edited by MissVitality; 12-22-2009 at 05:29 PM.
I love to read and these ladies just had me going the whole time. I found it highly entertaining and recommend it to anyone who can take that kind of talk. 
