A Dietitians Favorite Eating Disorder Recovery Books

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Last updated on January 11th, 2024 at 09:32 pm

Sometimes it is difficult to know where to turn to get support when we are facing an eating disorder. These eating disorder recovery books, social media accounts, and podcasts are an excellent way to stay connected with those that have gone before you in recovering from diet culture.

These recovery resources are an excellent way to practice strategies such as:

There are so many excellent eating disorder recovery books. Each of the books listed below offers unique support and insight into the recovery journey.

Don’t have time to sit down to read? No problem! Eating disorder recovery books can easily be accessed as

  • A hard copy book
  • An audiobook
  • A kindle book

Pro-tip for those with busy lifestyles: You can play audiobooks at 1.5-2x the original speed so you can get the information in half the time!

Keep in mind, if you’re struggling with food but not sure if you’re experiencing the warning signs of an eating disorder, seeking out professional support is critical in addition to using these recovery books for support.

woman with blonde hair and black jacket holding eating disorder recovery book sick enough

My Favorite Eating Disorder Recovery Books

Reminder: The links below are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

All of these books come at the recommendation of numerous eating disorder dietitians.

Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Wellbeing, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating

Dive into the historical and cultural roots of diet culture. A radical, evidence-based analysis to dissect the way that we perceive weight and health and our culture. Learn how dieting starts to chip away at our sense of self, and the pervasive way in which it integrates itself into every aspect of our lives. A new look at the way we view weight and body image.

Audience:

  • Adults (with some intuitive eating experience already)
  • Teens (with some intuitive eating experience already)

Intuitive Eating Workbook

I really enjoyed this workbook as a more hands-on approach to intuitive eating. Intuitive eating can be a difficult concept to grasp at first as it relates to our personal lives. This book has practical activities which will help YOU examine your relationship with your own dieting history. It will help you to resolve fears of gaining weight and eat fearlessly.

Audience

  • Adults
  • Providers (great worksheets to do in sessions with clients)
  • People new to HAES/Intuitive eating

Intuitive Eating Workbook For Teens

This book helps teens struggling with eating to have a hands-on approach to understanding weight bias and fear foods. Evidence-based and offers anecdotal accounts that are relatable to teens. Skill building that doesn’t feel overwhelming for the young.

Audience

  • Teens (ages 12+)
  • Providers (great worksheets to do in sessions with teens)

The Fuck It Diet

One woman’s personal and powerful journey of dieting and recovering from dieting. The author highlights how the diet industry is in the game to make money and keep us feeling inadequate. She goes into some evidence as to why diets constantly fail us. This very direct and comical narrative will help you to explore alternatives to dieting in an easy-to-digest manner.

Audience:

  • Adults
  • Providers

Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia And Bulimia

This book is a memoir of one person’s journey through eating disorder recovery. Honest and heart-wrenching. Open, honest, and heart-wrenching. For anyone that wants to experience a glimpse of what someone with an eating disorder truly endures. This book is excellent for those supporting someone with an eating disorder or those who currently have a disordered relationship with food.

Audience:

  • Teens
  • Adults
  • Triggers: may trigger people with active eating disorders.

Sick Enough

This excellent book is less about eating disorder recovery and more about the actual physical manifestations that occur when someone is suffering from an eating disorder and beyond. It is written by a medical doctor who focuses exclusively on eating disorder work.

Discusses conditions such as the female athlete triad, hypermetabolism, refeeding syndrome, and many more eating disorder-associated conditions in detail.

Audience

  • Professionals
  • Triggers: may trigger those in active eating disorder recovery.

Life Without Ed

This book tells the story of what eating disorder recovery is like through Jenni and her therapist. Humor is included throughout the book making it an easy read. Jenni goes through her journey of recovery describing the voice of ed and the voice of her healthy self. She describes how these two voices compete and the noise it creates. This book also offers simple healing strategies when it comes to eating disorder recovery.

Audience:

  • Adults
  • Teens

Goodbye Ed, Hello Me: Recover From Your Eating Disorder And Fall In Love With Life

A follow-up from Jenni to Life without Ed. This book explores what it’s like to be in a place the author would consider “recovered” rather than “in recovery” as described in her former text life without ED. Humor and honesty carry the narrative.

Audience:

  • Teens
  • Adults

Empty

This book explores one woman’s powerful journey through both restrictive and binge eating. This book challenges the idea of perfectionism and is narrated from a place of raw honesty. Speaks to those struggling with an eating disorder in a voice that will hit the core of the issues.

Audience:

  • Teens
  • Adults
  • Triggers: Some triggering language for those in active eating disorder recovery.

Love Warrior

This book illustrates one woman’s journey in recovery from alcoholism and bulimia. One of the rare finds that combines the recovery journey of two addictions. As substance abuse and eating disorders frequently go hand in hand, this journey illustrates some of the hurdles with both addictions.

Audience:

  • Adults

Eating Disorder Recovery Books For Pregnancy

Eating Disorder Recovery In Pregnancy and Postpartum

This book includes research, humor, and empathy. A benefit for ALL postpartum mothers, but a real gem for anyone that has ever struggled with their relationship with their bodies or food. We can often get lost in the noise of diet culture through pregnancy and postpartum as our body is changing in ways that seem completely unfamiliar and sometimes downright scary. Includes self-care tips to support you on this journey of transformation.

Audience:

  • Pregnant women
  • Postpartum women
  • Women planning to conceive

Mom in the Mirror

Examines body image and beauty standards in an appearance based world during the life transformation to parenthood. Compassion, empathy, personal stories, and professional advice for healing our relationship with our changing bodies is provided in this book. An excellent read for anyone struggling with the body and life changes that go along with becoming a parent.

Audience:

  • Pregnant women
  • Postpartum women
  • Women planning to conceive

Body Image Books

These body image books will help you to stop body-checking and practice honoring your body. Great for those struggling with an eating disorder or trying to make peace with their bodies.

Fearing The Black Body

Excellent and thoroughly researched read about the evolution of fatphobia in our culture. The author explores over 200 years of oppression of females which has its roots in racism. The text explores how the idea that “fatness is bad” did not originate from medical research but rather ties fatness to “savagery” and racial inferiority.

Some parts of this book have heavy research.

Audience:

  • Adults
  • Professionals

The Body Is Not An Apology

This book takes us on the journey of what it means to have radical self-love. This cultural critic examines the way in which we are taught to loathe our bodies, shrink our bodies, and utilize weight stigma as a form of oppression. We are walked through a journey that allows us to learn to come home to our bodies and develop body trust. We are taught to stop apologizing to the world for showing up in our bodies exactly as they are meant to be.

Audience

  • Adults
  • Teens
  • Providers
woman with blonde hair with book the body is not an apology

Self-Compassion Workbook For Teens

Helps teens develop emotional resilience and work through self care practices. Great workbook for fostering body respect.

Audience:

  • Teens

The Body Image Workbook For Teens: Activities to Help Girls Develop A Healthy Body Image In an Image-Obsessed World

Geared to help young girls foster healthy body image and body respect. Engaging activities that will help young girls learn to set boundaries.

Audience:

  • Teens

Being In Your Body (Guided Journal) A Journal For Self Love and Body Positivity

A guided journal to help recognize fatphobia, internalized stigma, and making peace with the body. Thought-provoking writing prompts to help you verbalize inner dialogue.

Audience

  • Adults
  • Teens

Binge Eating Books

These books include topics such as what it’s like to experience a binge, hoarding food, or a binge restrict cycle. They cover the topic of binge eating from personal experience and/or scientific research approaches. All these texts explore binge eating from a HAES, non-diet approach.

Reminder: The links below are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

Questions And Answers About Binge Eating Disorder: A Guide For Clinicians

Science-based book which explores binge eating disorder and binge eating recovery. Written by a physician who walks us through some of the reasons why we binge. Goes through some of the common misconceptions and helpful treatment measures for binge eating disorder. It also goes into detail as to why this disorder is so commonly misdiagnosed.

Audience:

  • Providers

The Binge Code

This book offers unique coping strategies for binge eating disorders, a cultural analysis of dieting, and strategies for making peace with the body. Great tips for navigating negative emotions surrounding food. Learn to enjoy life without a constant food obsession.

Audience

  • Providers
  • Adults
  • Teens
 
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Shena Jaramillo. Registered Dietitian
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