Everything Is Better With Dragons

Blurb

The anti-diet bible that calls time’s up to poisonous beliefs about food, weight and worth.
DIETING DOESN’T WORK
Not long term. In fact, our bodies are hardwired against it. But each time our diets fail, instead of considering that maybe our ridiculously low-carb diet is the problem, we wonder what’s wrong with us.
But it’s time we called a spade a spade: Constantly trying to eat the smallest amount possible is a miserable way to live, and it isn’t even working. So f*ck it.
Caroline Dooner tackles the inherent flaws of dieting and diet culture, and offers readers a simple path to healing their physical, emotional, and mental relationship with food. What’s the secret anti-diet? Eat. Whatever you want. Trust that your body knows what it is doing. Oh, and don’t forget to rest, breathe, and be kind to yourself.
Irreverent and empowering, The F*ck It Diet is call to arms for anyone who feels guilt or pain over food, weight, or their body. It’s time to give up the shame and start thriving. Welcome to the F*ck It Diet. Let’s Eat.

My Review

Thanks to the publisher, HQ, for sending me a copy of this book. It’s much appreciated.

We’ve been told by the media and diet industry that we need to bee skinny and not eat, and if we just follow this diet or take this supplement we’ll be thin and happy and finally worthy of love and success. *Head-desk*

You may have noticed I’m fat. and yet I’m not diabetic, don’t have high blood pressure or cholesterol, and until my accident in 2012 I could shoot a bow all day, walk or swim for miles without rest, then get up and do it again the next day. Strange that. I should be a couch potato who never leaves the house and should be dead if not severely ill from ‘weight-related conditions’. And yet, I’m not. How odd.

Well, not really. Genetics and epigenetics has a lot more to do with our weight and health than a lot of things we do. Social beliefs can affect our bodies, and their reaction to food. Restrictive eating makes us obsessed with food because the body is in famine mode – we need to eat to survive and starving ourselves makes our brains go ‘must find food, now!’ until you eat – binge – and then you feel like crap. Been there, done that.

I have a history of dieting and binging, and have tried to stop it often but I still get into restrictive, punishing habits. These aren’t good for me. Mentally, I get obsessive, and physically, as I discovered reading this book, my body goes into famine mode, and I get obsessed with food. And I was always hungry! Seriously, Weight Watchers was seriously bad for my mental health

This book is the result of a moment’s existential misery and years of self-care, writing and reading. The author strongly supports the HAES movement and science-based health, and fat activists.

Caroline Dooner has written an easy to read, entertaining and thoughtful (if sweary) book about not dieting, anti-dieting. It’s probably good for your mental health to give it a read. I found parts of the book brought up some of my own struggles and I cried now and then.