Food Freedom Forever Book Review

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Last Updated on January 7, 2020

The book we’re reviewing for today’s Healthy Blogger Book Club virtual meeting came at the suggestion of Stephanie, my co-host, and the book is so appropriate as we get closer to making our New Year’s Resolutions. BTW, this is our last meeting of the year! You can see all the reviews I did for 2016 here. My co-host Stephanie and I are working on the book selection list for 2017; you can see what we have cooking here.

As you can see, the book is called Food Freedom Forever: Letting Go of Bad Habits, Guilt, and Anxiety Around Food by the Co-Creator of the Whole30 by Melissa Hartwig.

Are you familiar with the Whole30 program? I’m actually not that familiar with it, mostly because it came on the scene after I had become immersed in the plant-based world.

This book was written by the female co-creator of the Whole30 program and it definitely seems targeted to women who have struggled with dieting and sticking to a healthy lifestyle. It is written in a very conversational, yet well laid-out way, and essentially lays out a strategy to follow the Whole30 program or ones similar. Melissa describes the optimal mindset as achieving “food freedom” and it is something that anyone who has had a disordered relationship with food wants to have.

For me, I found food freedom when I let go of unnecessary food restriction. Melissa even points out that the Whole30 program is probably not ideally suited for those who have a history of disordered eating. However, for the person who really wants to do a program like this one, then you will definitely want to give this book a read. No matter what kind of diet you want to follow, even if you need to do an elimination diet for a short period of time to figure out your food sensitivities, then this book will give you the moral support and practical strategies you need.

I should also say that Melissa comes across as a very kind health and wise health coach; she isn’t about pounding you over the head or using scare tactics about becoming healthier. She does explain that she prefers using the term “reset” over “diet”, and that the overall point of any program is not so much about weight loss, but about finding a healthier you.

I share the overall message that Melissa writes about in this book that health is about figuring out what diet works for you, and finding a relationship with food that is positive, nourishing, and sustainable. The sections about stress management and the various types of healthy resets out there are very helpful. I also like how she talks about the limited amount of willpower we have each day, so that we need to be careful about how many decisions we have to make (instead, she suggests ways to make healthy living easier and more intuitive).

Have you read this book? I would love to hear what you think about the tone, the message, and how it made you feel. Tell me in the comments and be sure to check out my co-host Stephanie’s review as well.

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