BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COACHES: OUR BEST RESOURCES ON HEALTH, HABITS, AND SUSTAINABLE NUTRITION
As nutrition coaches we are often asked - by both clients and non-clients - if we have any nutrition book recommendations. Usually the individual asking the question is looking for books detailing the “best diet” or concrete information on what and when to eat as they venture into the new uncharted territory of navigating their nutrition. While books boasting the “best” diet, fat loss “hacks,” and long lists of “clean” foods exist, they are not what we have found to be the best nutrition information available. In this post we’re sharing the most impactful nutrition books we rely on. You’ll find that they’re far less about diets and more about other aspects of our health, nutrition, and behaviors. They teach us how to build and maintain long term habits and how to eat food we enjoy so that our nutrition is sustainable.
KATE
Atomic Habits by James Clear
This is hands down my number one book recommendation for anyone trying to make changes to their nutrition (or any other aspect of their lives). In fact, it’s so important that it made the cut when we moved to Mexico with only four suitcases and very minimal personal belongings! It takes the complex topic of human behavior change and breaks it down into simple actions we can take in our daily lives.
Clear’s writing is fun and engaging and applies to building habits in any area of our lives. It’s my number one recommendation for any client who is feeling stuck in their habits, feeling like they lack willpower or motivation, struggling to make time for new habits, or who is feeling overwhelmed with where to start.
Bonus: James Clear’s weekly newsletter is one of my absolute favorite things in my inbox!
ZACH
"Food Isn't Medicine" by Dr. Joshua Wolrick
This is one of the best books in understanding how we are made to believe that certain diets or ideas might be more important than medicine. Rather, it's helpful in realizing that nutrition impacts your health and wellbeing, but it does not replace medical intervention. It also helps in showing how toxic diet culture impacts our overall health and well-being.
WHITNEY
Salt, Fat, Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat
This is not a book about nutrition. It's not even a "healthy" cookbook. It's a book about cooking.
Learning to make food that tastes good is such a valuable skill, and can help you develop your own recipes that support your goals. Samin Nosrat's book is an incredible primer on how to make great food. And no matter what your goals are, you should be eating things you enjoy.
TEISA
Eating Mindfully by Susan Albers
This short but incredible book details mindfulness-based psychological practices that help us become more in tune with our eating habits. It’s full of actionable steps and practices that we can utilize in our daily lives to become mindful eaters. It’s a book we highly recommend to clients as it goes hand in hand with habits and behaviors learned while tracking macros and can help us seamlessly transition from tracking to eating intentionally. Just flipping through the chapters can teach you how to be more aware of your eating habits, how to become acquainted with your hunger and illness cues, and how to recognize mindless eating behaviors.
KENNY
Mindset by Carole Dweck
Asking for a book recommendation and being told to read Carol Dweck's book "Mindset" is like asking for financial advice and being told to start maxing out your Roth IRA contribution every year as soon as possible. It's boring and it's been recommended over and over again.
But here's the thing, it is good advice to max out your Roth IRA. Just like recommending the book "Mindset" in order to learn more about developing a growth mindset is good advice; and sometimes good advice needs to be repeated.
This book teaches that those people who have a growth mindset believe that they can get better at something by dedication of time, effort and energy and that the process—not the outcome— is the area to focus your effort when pursuing goals. This mindset shift can help people learn to embrace challenges, persist through obstacles, learn from criticism, and see inspiration in others’ success.
Plus, if you're strapped for time, it's possible to read the first third of this book and come away with a very good idea about how to cultivate a growth mindset.
DIANA
You are a Badass by Jen Sincero
A different take on the typical motivational/self-help book written with a sense of humor, honesty, and in a way that helps you realize that you are, in fact, a badass. "This is about getting mighty clear about what makes you happy and what makes you feel the most alive, and then creating it instead of pretending you can't have it. Or that you don't deserve it." It offers a balance of experiential stories, advice and actionable tips, all of which allow you to start taking steps towards immediate change and encourages you to stop hiding and start living.
CAITLIN
The Jungle Effect by Daphne Miller
This book is a collection of stories from this doctor’s personal experiences and travels, the experiences of her patients, and what she has learned in looking at diets of the western world vs. traditional and more indigenous diets. It details our American food system as a fractured structure and shines light on how, from the soil up, our system is neither promoting our collective health nor any sense of connection to our food.
If you don’t have time to read the whole book, you can listen to a great podcast interview with Daphne Miller on the MindbodyGreen podcast: “How to Grow your Own Food”
Books alone can’t always give us all of the direction and help we need as we work towards our specific goals. For more guidance and support, learn more about our 1:1 Flexible Nutrition coaching here.