Body Kindness by Rebecca Scritchfield

Scritchfield says body kindness is a self-care mindset based on the belief that health begins by being good to yourself. (2) This book is not a diet book. She says diets fail.

This book has a ton of information regarding personal health, including food, sleep, exercise, and relationships. The idea is to give us the information we need to make choices that improve our health without the goal of weight loss.

It took me a while to accept what Scritchfield writes. It goes against so much of what we have been told to believe about ourselves. For example, she writes, “Breaking news: You can be fit and fat. Inactivity, not fatness, is linked to mortality and heart disease.” (70) We have to let go of the idea that we are trying to manipulate our weight. In fact, she tells us to get rid of our scales.

Scritchfield has much information to help us make healthful choices. She covers just about everything, from food to stress to relationships to goal setting, and much more. She asks us to put self-care at the top of our list.

She recommends keeping a journal to help work through her book. There are many prompts she gives to help us think through what we do and why. She really advocates activity. She helps us get good and adequate sleep. Her section on emotions was great.

I recommend this book to people who are looking for how to develop a mindset that helps make choices based on goals developed from our values. Scritchfield helps us reveal our values and then walks us through creating the life we want. It's all in the book.

You can find out more at http://bodykindnessbook.com/.

My rating: 5/5 stars.

Rebecca Scritchfield, MA, RDN, ACSM HFS, believes that true health is not dependent on one's weight or pant size. Through her mindfulness-based counseling business, Rebecca helps people create better lives without dieting by showing them how to make self-care choices that fir their values, interests, and goals. In addition to speaking, writing, and podcasting about body kindness, she has appeared in over 100 broadcast television, radio, print, and online interviews. She is the co-founder of Dietitians for Body Confidence. She has a master's degree in communication from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor degree in chemistry and nutrition. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and their two children. You can find out more at www.RebeccaScritchfield.com.

Workman Publishing, 297 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.