The Best Books on Weight Loss

These are the books that taught me how to eat and how to finally lose weight and KEEP IT OFF. Here are the best books on weight loss.

As an avid reader, I’ve read so many books on weight loss, diet, and nutrition. I wanted to share my favorites, the ones that helped me form the way I eat today.

At 58, I finally understand my body and how to support it with food in a way that I get the most nourishment from everything I eat and also have a strong lean body.

To me, being thin without looking at the nutrition angle just doesn’t make sense. I am not a fan of complicated diets or eating plans. For me, simple makes the most sense.

While, I definitely have my nerd side, I don’t have a science background. I like books that are written by scientific or medical people that are reasonable easy for a lay person to understand.

So here are my favorite best books on weight loss. I’ve read most of these at least twice and refer to them often. Enjoy!

If you want to take a shortcut and read posts about the information, be sure and check out my Guide for Losing Weight After 50.

The following contain Amazon links. I am an affiliate there. If you purchase through my link, I receive a small commission. Read full disclosure here.

THE BIG FAT SURPRISE

This should be required reading for everyone. The author, Nina Teicholz spent nine years delving into all the research that formed the diet industry from the sixties until now.

The research never backed up that low-fat was healthy or good for humans. In fact, with more than 50 years of being the standard for diets, there is more obesity and diabetes than ever.

The Big Fat Surprise explains why dietary fat is not the bad guy in weight gain and what really is. It is a fascinating read to really get a glimpse into the research. Though a discussion on the science of weight loss, it is written for us regular people.

For way too long, we’ve been told that fat is bad and we need to count calories and watch our fat. Our weight and weight loss is way more complicated than that.

Most women need to eat more healthy fats, not less.

THE OBESITY CODE

The Obesity Code explains the power and effectiveness of fasting. It also explains how hormonal imbalances as opposed to calorie imbalances affect our weight.

Dr. Jason Fung, asks the question about obesity, “What causes it?” He goes on to explain that while most people think they know the answer, they obviously don’t since obesity is an epidemic.

Why We Get Fat–Explains that fat is not what makes us fat. Science writer Gary Taubes wrote this book for us non-science people in a way that is easy to understand.

He explains that it is certain types of carbohydrates that cause us to gain weight and not fat or excess calories.

BEST WHOLE30 BOOKS

It Starts with Food is the original Whole30 book and gives a great introduction to what is real food and why we need to eat it. This book was life-changing for me.

While this book has some recipes in the back, it is really the how-to-do Whole30 and the one I recommend the most.

I also like Whole30, the 30-Day Guide to Health and Food Freedom. Can you even imagine FOOD FREEDOM? Freedom from cravings and unhealthy food responses ruling your life?

It is possible with Whole30. You can retrain your brain to actually like REAL FOOD.

THE 10 DAY BELLY SLIMDOWN

The 10-Day Belly Slimdown–This is a bone broth book.

I used this diet for 10 days in summer of 2019 and lost 7 lbs. With bone broth, I never got hungry. I’ve been making my own bone broth for years. But you can buy it already made through Dr. Kelly’s site.

WHEAT BELLY

About 7 years ago, I quit eating wheat because I wanted to see if it was the problem for my chronic and long-standing digestive problems.

Within a few days of removing wheat from my diet, every digestive problem I had, cleared up. I credit Wheat Belly with showing me how problematic wheat is for most people.

I did not lose weight by eliminating wheat, however, I felt better than I had in YEARS. Digestive symptoms I had for years cleared up within days.

THE BONE BROTH DIET

I’ve been making my own bone broth for over five years. I think it is part of the reason that I look better at 58, than I did at 48! This was the first book I read on the subject and where I learned to make the broth from. Dr. Kellyann’s Bone Broth Diet

I continue to make and drink my bone broth and now I use it to help maintain my weight.

The Secret Life of Fat

This book introduces you to your fat, your body fat. Most of think of our own fat as something to hate.

However, your body fat is a complex organ with its own intelligence and is designed to keep you alive. It is vital to our health!

Instead of hating it, you need to understand it and well, love and care for it.

The Secret Life of Fat is by Sylvia Tara, who a Ph.D. in biochemistry.

Cook Books

I’m including my favorite cook books that promote eating real food.

These are what I consider to be the best because they are written beautifully, the recipes are not too difficult, and they are aligned with a diet based on real food.

Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans

Everything from Nom Nom is so good! The author , Michelle Tam, is a working mother, who makes everything taste delicious.

Well Fed 1 and 2

The Well Fed series of cookbooks is probably my all-time favorite. I used these over and over.

The ones I use the most are Well Fed: Recipes for People Who Love to Eat and Well Fed 2.

One of the things I really like about these cookbooks, is that all the recipes have variations and she tells you what to serve with what.

Plus, the author, Melissa Joulwan, provides clear directions for everything. In addition to recipes, she has so many foundation recipes. 

Whole30 Cookbooks

The Whole30 cookbooks are all well done.

Whole30 Fast and Easy is on my bookshelf. Well actually it’s on my desk for easy reference.

The Whole30 cookbook is also excellent.

The Best Books on Weight Loss

Losing weight is a journey and not just about getting thin. The books I shared here, all promote a healthy way of eating that supports your body’s essential functions.

Diets have been shown to be ineffective in the long-term. That’s because diets always end and when you go back to your normal eating, you gain the weight back.

Instead learn to eat real food and understand the science about why your body works the way it does.

Instead of hating your fat, you can learn to optimize your fat metabolism and lose the extra fat you’ve been carrying around because of your current eating practices.

If you need more help, I coach women on stopping overeating and in weight loss. Check out my coaching page.