Jen’s Favorite Non-Diet and Intuitive Eating Resources

Today’s post comes from Jen Baum, MS RDN

Beginning to work towards a non-diet, intuitive relationship with food is hard. In a culture that tells us we need to have rules and restrictions with food, beginning to eat intuitively or dropping the diet can often feel isolating or overwhelming. For many, it can feel like swimming upstream against a torrential current of constant weight loss and diet messaging. Because of this, I believe it’s incredibly important to create a daily environment that supports an intuitive eating (IE) and weight-neutral approach to food. Having access to non-diet tools, social media, books and blogs helps most people feel less alone and more empowered as they navigate this unique journey with food. So without further ado, here are some of my most favorite IE and anti-diet resources that I’ve passed along to many clients and found personally invaluable.

Let’s start with books. Most of these come in audio form as well, so if hard copy books aren’t your thing, consider downloading some of these and listening while you walk the dog or do the dishes. First, I’d be remiss if I didn’t start this list with Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. As the two dietitians who literally developed this self-care eating framework, they are the serious OGs of Intuitive Eating. Their book is in its fourth iteration and includes everything from understanding hunger to how to start rejecting the diet mentality. Additionally, if you’re somebody who likes exercises to solidify what you’ve learned, consider also checking out The Intuitive Eating Workbook by the same authors. This workbook has a wide range of activities, many of which will help you integrate the practices of IE into your daily life. And speaking of workbooks, another great one is The Body Image Workbook by Thomas Cash. Cash’s workbook guides readers through exercises like developing a body image timeline, reframing appearance assumptions and mindfully accepting your body image experiences. For those beginning body image work, it’s an excellent choice.

I’ve got three more favorites (for now) in the book category. The first is Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison. I can’t underscore how much I love this book. Harrison’s book explores the roots of diet culture as well as how diet culture impacts our physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing. It’s direct, evidence-based and a highly worthwhile read. Next, is Lindsay and Lexie Kite’s book More Than A Body. The Kite’s are twin sisters living in larger bodies who have focused their career on how to help people cultivate better body image. Their book intertwines personal experience with research-based recommendations about how to rethink our reactions to our body and how to avoid the traps of self-objectification. This book, paired with Cash’s workbook above, are a great foundation for beginning to cultivate body image resilience. Last, but definitely not least, is Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach. While this book is not directly food or body related, it has some amazing concepts that align closely with both IE and body image work. Brach combines her wisdom as a therapist with Buddhist thought and meditation to help move people towards a place of self-acceptance. There is even a chapter titled ‘Coming Home to Our Body’, which is super beneficial for those doing body image work.. 

OK, onto podcasts. My favorite, favorite, favorite (did I say favorite) anti-diet podcast currently is Maintenance Phase.  This witty, well-researched and evidence-based podcast is hosted by Michael Hobbes (a journalist with the Huffington Post) and Aubrey Gordon (an author and activist). Together, they explore a range of topics like where the 2000 calorie per day recommendation came from (spoiler alert, it’s essentially made up) or what research tells us (or doesn’t) about how ‘bad’ it really is to be overweight. You’ll laugh, you’ll learn and you’ll definitely feel supported in your intuitive eating journey. Next on the list is Food Psych hosted by Christy Harrison. If her name sounds familiar, she’s the author of Anti-Diet listed above. Christy’s has some incredible guest hosts and her episodes explore topics like how to rebuild trust in your body, how to eat intuitively if you have a chronic illness and the link between racism and diet culture. Food Psych has over 200 episodes available and it’s definitely worth a listen. The last recommendation I’ll throw out in the podcast category is season two of The Dream on Stitcher. These 10 episodes take a deep dive into the ‘wellness’ industry. The last episode of the season delves into the war between the supplement industry and the FDA, which I found absolutely fascinating. It’s definitely worth checking out..

The last resource I want to mention is another one that is not directly intuitive eating or body image related. It’s called The Waking Up app. A meditation and mindfulness app developed by American philosopher Sam Harris, Waking Up is a treasure trove of different guided meditations as well as conversations with some very famous meditation teachers. The app goes way beyond apps like Calm or Headspace and really makes meditation and mindfulness feel attainable. The reason I included a meditation app is because Intuitive Eating is a mindfulness practice. IE involves paying attention to your body and becoming attune to the communication it provides. Because of this, cultivating and incorporating other mindfulness practices into your daily life can often help IE feel more approachable. 

So, that’s it for now. I’m sure they’ll be a sequel to this post because I still have many I’d like to share and I’m feeling like I barely scratched the surface. Hopefully, you enjoy these as much as I have and find them helpful on your own intuitive eating journey.