The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image, and Guilt in America

Some of the reviewers seem disappointed this book doesn't have diet advice, or a guide to "healthy" eating, and I think they really missed the point. Diets don't work, except for those who profit from selling them. Go in with a curious open mind and you will be rewarded. Sole-Smith digs way deeper than others have, following the science while keeping the human elements front and center. This book is a striking, elegant examination of a deceptively complicated topic. The stories are told with shocking candor, empathy and grace, and the evidence-based conclusions are artfully drawn. It's so full of heart and humor. As per the headline, if you eat, and you read (and you do both if you're still with me) this is well worth your time.

It was especially eye-opening to read about trying to eat healthy on a restricted budget. Very good book for anyone broadly interested in what has become of our most basic human need.

Sole-Smith begins the book with the story of her baby's traumatic first couple of years, where she actually had to teach her to eat because her aversion was so strong. This book gave me an insight into all the ways a person can relate to food (besides eating too much of it...). I learned a lot. If you've got young kids, this is worth reading.

What an amazing book. I was impressed by the scope of this book, and how it reads like a novel, not a typical non-fiction book while still adhering to the highest journalistic standards. I am recommending this book to everyone. Note that the subject matter can be triggering to those with disordered eating, but the manner in which it is handed did not trigger me, because it is all so respectfully known. Sole Smith knows first hand her subject matter, and chose excellent interview subjects as well. Wonderful!

This book was so insightful and a pleasure to read. I learned so much about my relationship with food and diet culture. Sole-Smith's message isn't preachy or too scientific. The contents of the book flow together so well with the story of her daughter Violet woven through. You could still read a chapter in isolation and connect to the message. I would recommend this book to anyone who has questioned their relationship with food and to those that do not understand other people's relationships with food.

This book was a fast read, yet incredibly thought-provoking. She opens with the story of how her newborn daughter began to associate eating with trauma and refused to eat for two years, and their search for a way to re-teach her to eat. Of course, we joke that "Food is love," but I'd never realized how true that statement really is ... that being held while we're fed as babies is how we learn to form attachments - as the author says, "how we fall in love."This personal story is a perfect setup for the exploration of food and diet culture in the rest of the book. Chapters focus on specific topics like the pros/cons of bariatric surgery and people who only eat a very limited number of foods. The stories and data she shares challenged my thinking many, many times. If someone only eats 10-20 foods but her #s (cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.) are perfectly healthy and she feels fine, is it fair to characterize that as unhealthy? If someone lost enough weight to have bariatric surgery, had the surgery and lost an additional 100+ lbs, and can now do the things she wanted to do and her numbers are good, yet she still weighs twice what would be thought of as a healthy weight for her body ... is it fair to still stigmatize her and expect her to lose even more weight? For what purpose? What is the goal, then? To hit what everyone admits is an arbitrary number on the scale?The revelations about BMI were also very eye-opening and reinforced how arbitrary it truly is. I already knew it wasn't a great gauge of health, since my BMI is technically overweight and yet I'm supremely healthy. But I didn't know the National Institute of Health had lowered the BMI numbers in 1998 in an effort to motivate people to lose weight, which undermines even further the idea that there's any science behind BMI.So without that ... how do we measure "health" and "fitness"? Sole-Smith notes that everyone she talked to wanted to lose weight for 2 reasons: 1) health; 2) to be thin. But "thin" is a moving target. It's like money - how much is enough? It's different for everyone?Ultimately, reading this book changed my thinking about myself and my own body and weight struggles, and also made me vow to reprogram my thinking about others, both "fat" and "thin." I work out every day b/c it feels good and gives me an outlet for stress. But now I want to focus on those reasons and not on getting frustrated b/c I'm not losing weight, too. I want to stop complimenting people when I see they've lost weight.And I'm also rethinking how, as a parent, I approach food with my children. I've always been careful to talk about "health" and not weight, but I think I need to ease up on my demands for more veggies and fruits before they have dessert, and let my children have a bit more autonomy over the choices I give them.

Deeply insightful, masterfully woven explanation of how all our issues with food are related, despite how differently they present themselves. As an American woman who has always looked normal but felt like something was wrong with me around food, this book nailed my story and connected it to those of so many others. I think the author really put great care into her research and interviews to create something special and desperately needed.

If you are a human being that has complicated feelings about food and your body (aka all humans), please read this book, especially if you at any point have also had to feed a baby. It’s an incisive, engaging, and thoughtfully researched analysis of all the ways we punish ourselves for participating in the most important survival and social practice - eating - and how the so-called “wellness” culture has exacerbated this problem. Can't recommend it enough.

Virginia is a brilliant, thoughtful writer and I found this book fascinating and so easy to read. She co hosts a good podcast (comfort food) if you want more wisdom.