What do you think?
Rate this book
Women, Food, and Desire: Embrace Your Cravings, Make Peace with Food, Love Your Body
A holistic health counselor and co-star of the award-winning documentary Super Size Me explores women’s cravings—for food, sleep, sex, movement, companionship, inspiration—and teaches them to listen to their bodies for a healthier, fuller life.
“Desire is the basis for new conception, new growth, new life. We’re born with it. And often talked out of it. When you tap it, you have access to your inner guidance. Women, Food, and Desire will show you how. Sweet.” (Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of New York Times bestsellers Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom and The Wisdom Of Menopause)
Transformational health expert Alexandra Jamieson is a woman on a mission. Having overcome her own food addictions and the weight and health problems these habits caused, she learned something when we listen to our cravings, they will lead us onto the path of deep healing. Since her own personal breakthrough more than a decade ago, Alexandra has dedicated her life to helping other women learn to listen to the wisdom of their cravings and make food their greatest ally as they step into their lives with authentic passion.
With love, deep compassion, and fearless honesty, she calls upon all of us to boldly use food as a tool to cleanse ourselves of the nutritional, emotional, physical, and mental blocks that limit our ability to live full, meaningful, and joyful lives.
In this book she’ll show us how our cravings are the gatekeepers of our deepest longings and desires; how transforming habits set us free; and how detoxing unclutters our bodies and minds so we may engage in our lives with more power and authenticity. She also helps us embrace our sexual selves, trust our instincts, and form a nurturing community that is essential for a vital, healthy, hot life.
“Desire is the basis for new conception, new growth, new life. We’re born with it. And often talked out of it. When you tap it, you have access to your inner guidance. Women, Food, and Desire will show you how. Sweet.” (Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of New York Times bestsellers Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom and The Wisdom Of Menopause)
Transformational health expert Alexandra Jamieson is a woman on a mission. Having overcome her own food addictions and the weight and health problems these habits caused, she learned something when we listen to our cravings, they will lead us onto the path of deep healing. Since her own personal breakthrough more than a decade ago, Alexandra has dedicated her life to helping other women learn to listen to the wisdom of their cravings and make food their greatest ally as they step into their lives with authentic passion.
With love, deep compassion, and fearless honesty, she calls upon all of us to boldly use food as a tool to cleanse ourselves of the nutritional, emotional, physical, and mental blocks that limit our ability to live full, meaningful, and joyful lives.
In this book she’ll show us how our cravings are the gatekeepers of our deepest longings and desires; how transforming habits set us free; and how detoxing unclutters our bodies and minds so we may engage in our lives with more power and authenticity. She also helps us embrace our sexual selves, trust our instincts, and form a nurturing community that is essential for a vital, healthy, hot life.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2015
72 people are currently reading
965 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra Jamieson
8 books33 followersAs the best-selling author of five books including Radical Alignment, Women, Food & Desire, and co-creator and co-star of the Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me, Alexandra Jamieson is an activist artist, veteran coach and mentor, and motivational guide for thousands.
Alex has made it her mission to empower people to slay their shame, and shine their creative unique souls to the world.
Her activist art includes the Abortion Trading Cards and book, and the Fascism Tarot Deck.
Her latest book Radical Alignment, co-authored with her husband Bob Gower, published August 11, 2020.
Alex has developed many interactive workshops, retreats, and private coaching programs.
Her work has been featured in O Magazine, Goop, Martha Stewart Living, the New York Times, CNN, Elle, Marie Claire, USA Today, People, and the American Heart Association amongst many others.
Alex is also an award-winning watercolor painter and loves leaving her laptop to get lost in creating commissioned works for clients around the world.
Alex has made it her mission to empower people to slay their shame, and shine their creative unique souls to the world.
Her activist art includes the Abortion Trading Cards and book, and the Fascism Tarot Deck.
Her latest book Radical Alignment, co-authored with her husband Bob Gower, published August 11, 2020.
Alex has developed many interactive workshops, retreats, and private coaching programs.
Her work has been featured in O Magazine, Goop, Martha Stewart Living, the New York Times, CNN, Elle, Marie Claire, USA Today, People, and the American Heart Association amongst many others.
Alex is also an award-winning watercolor painter and loves leaving her laptop to get lost in creating commissioned works for clients around the world.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
January 5, 2016
This book wasn't what I expected. That's not always a bad thing. I've read plenty of books that weren't what I thought they'd be but gave me an immersive and moving experience. Not so with this book. Its surprises were, in my opinion, also weaknesses.
The title implies a critical approach to women's socialization and the cultural significance of food and desires. These are hugely interesting and important topics! But the book doesn't offer a critical approach and only very superficially touches on the cultural pressures that oppress women. It urges you to "make peace with your body" and reject "unrealistic standards" but also uses "fat" as a negative word and describes "excess weight" as a symptom of unhealthiness and sadness. "Losing weight" is held uncritically throughout the book as a self-evident goal. So the book both tells you to just will yourself out of negative self-image and that being fat is bad and, ultimately, caused by overeating. Setting aside that fatness is not always a result of overeating and certainly not a sign of unhealthiness in itself, I was also troubled that a book whose title is all about the relationship between women, food, and desire provided absolutely no historical context, very little critical analysis, and only the barest and even contradictory discussion of patriarchal capitalist pressures on women. A more accurate title would be "One Woman's Experiences with and Approach to Eating."
The book's subtitle suggests a how-to guide to establishing a good relationship with your body—sorely needed advice in a society where so many women reflexively hate themselves and view eating as a moral or immoral undertaking! But instead of explaining that food is food and that what you eat or how you look don't need to determine your value or identity as a person, the book describes curbing or not indulging food cravings as "virtuous." I don't think this contradiction is deliberate or even self-aware, but viewing food as good or bad—assigning moral values to foods—and describing some types of eating as a virtue and others as a vice directly fuel women's negative image. We need to stop telling ourselves and each other that there's good or evil in nourishing our bodies. No, eating ice cream isn't "bad." Eating a carrot isn't "good." I won't get into bioethics here but equating goodness and badness with healthiness and unhealthiness is unreasonable and leads to very harmful conclusions—such as the idea that fat people are fat out of personal vice while thin people are thin out of virtue. This idea isn't scientifically accurate (people have different metabolisms and different access to types of food!) and, more worryingly, it makes fat people and especially fat women hate themselves. Just stop already.
So, to be fair, I expected something very different from this book based on its title and subtitle. What I did find is a thinly veiled diet book that both claims to reject the idea of dieting through deprivation and encourages readers to eat less in order to lose weight and become happier. This isn't revolutionary and this isn't even logically consistent. Plus, while a personal touch is rarely a bad thing, I found that too much of this book read as memoir—again, not what I signed up for when I checked this book out from the library. And lastly, meaning no offence personally to the author or to anyone who identifies with new age spirituality, the book's misapplying Buddhist and Hindu concepts to Western diet culture and "spirituality" also irritated me. Why introduce sacred concepts that you've taken out of their original context and then give them silly names like "earth mama" that you find "more applicable" to your own belief system? That's a disrespectful way to approach other people's religion, and I don't see why it's necessary or helpful in this context. Also, I'm a size 12. I'm "curvy." And I'm sick of people using bullshit euphemisms like "earth mama" to describe my build. Being chubby doesn't make me primal or maternal. It makes me chubby. Please fuck off.
There's also very little science in this book although the author does sometimes appeal to "scientists," unnamed and uncited, in an attempt to justify some claims. Most of the claims are very inductive—based on hunches and anecdotal evidence, and never tested or examined. I strongly believe people should derive their own meaning and comforts for their own lives whenever they can. Follow your own intuition! Live your life. But I do have a hard time stomaching those subjective truths when they're presented as objective fact for everybody—especially in such an uncritical way. If this book gives you some comfort or help in your own life, I'm sincerely happy for you. But to me, its uncritical, inductive, and contradictory approach made it more a hindrance than a help in my own search for peace with my woman body.
Note: Outside Goodreads, I'd give this book two stars out of five because it's not badly written or structured. I'm using Goodreads logic of one star being "I didn't like it" and two starts being "it was okay."
The title implies a critical approach to women's socialization and the cultural significance of food and desires. These are hugely interesting and important topics! But the book doesn't offer a critical approach and only very superficially touches on the cultural pressures that oppress women. It urges you to "make peace with your body" and reject "unrealistic standards" but also uses "fat" as a negative word and describes "excess weight" as a symptom of unhealthiness and sadness. "Losing weight" is held uncritically throughout the book as a self-evident goal. So the book both tells you to just will yourself out of negative self-image and that being fat is bad and, ultimately, caused by overeating. Setting aside that fatness is not always a result of overeating and certainly not a sign of unhealthiness in itself, I was also troubled that a book whose title is all about the relationship between women, food, and desire provided absolutely no historical context, very little critical analysis, and only the barest and even contradictory discussion of patriarchal capitalist pressures on women. A more accurate title would be "One Woman's Experiences with and Approach to Eating."
The book's subtitle suggests a how-to guide to establishing a good relationship with your body—sorely needed advice in a society where so many women reflexively hate themselves and view eating as a moral or immoral undertaking! But instead of explaining that food is food and that what you eat or how you look don't need to determine your value or identity as a person, the book describes curbing or not indulging food cravings as "virtuous." I don't think this contradiction is deliberate or even self-aware, but viewing food as good or bad—assigning moral values to foods—and describing some types of eating as a virtue and others as a vice directly fuel women's negative image. We need to stop telling ourselves and each other that there's good or evil in nourishing our bodies. No, eating ice cream isn't "bad." Eating a carrot isn't "good." I won't get into bioethics here but equating goodness and badness with healthiness and unhealthiness is unreasonable and leads to very harmful conclusions—such as the idea that fat people are fat out of personal vice while thin people are thin out of virtue. This idea isn't scientifically accurate (people have different metabolisms and different access to types of food!) and, more worryingly, it makes fat people and especially fat women hate themselves. Just stop already.
So, to be fair, I expected something very different from this book based on its title and subtitle. What I did find is a thinly veiled diet book that both claims to reject the idea of dieting through deprivation and encourages readers to eat less in order to lose weight and become happier. This isn't revolutionary and this isn't even logically consistent. Plus, while a personal touch is rarely a bad thing, I found that too much of this book read as memoir—again, not what I signed up for when I checked this book out from the library. And lastly, meaning no offence personally to the author or to anyone who identifies with new age spirituality, the book's misapplying Buddhist and Hindu concepts to Western diet culture and "spirituality" also irritated me. Why introduce sacred concepts that you've taken out of their original context and then give them silly names like "earth mama" that you find "more applicable" to your own belief system? That's a disrespectful way to approach other people's religion, and I don't see why it's necessary or helpful in this context. Also, I'm a size 12. I'm "curvy." And I'm sick of people using bullshit euphemisms like "earth mama" to describe my build. Being chubby doesn't make me primal or maternal. It makes me chubby. Please fuck off.
There's also very little science in this book although the author does sometimes appeal to "scientists," unnamed and uncited, in an attempt to justify some claims. Most of the claims are very inductive—based on hunches and anecdotal evidence, and never tested or examined. I strongly believe people should derive their own meaning and comforts for their own lives whenever they can. Follow your own intuition! Live your life. But I do have a hard time stomaching those subjective truths when they're presented as objective fact for everybody—especially in such an uncritical way. If this book gives you some comfort or help in your own life, I'm sincerely happy for you. But to me, its uncritical, inductive, and contradictory approach made it more a hindrance than a help in my own search for peace with my woman body.
Note: Outside Goodreads, I'd give this book two stars out of five because it's not badly written or structured. I'm using Goodreads logic of one star being "I didn't like it" and two starts being "it was okay."
March 20, 2015
Women, Food, and Desire by Alexandra Jamieson is a 2015 Gallery Books publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher/ and XOXperts group in exchange for an honest review.
If you follow my reviews, you know that self-help books have only made an appearance on my TBR list only a handful of times. I am not a fan of them for a plethora of reasons, but this one caught my eye because as a woman I have struggled most of my adult life with weight issues. So, I thought I would see what the author had to say about dealing with food cravings and understanding why we have them and how to address them.
Naturally, I have binged on chocolate, fast food, cheese and salty snacks during my cycle and have wondered why my body seems to need these foods at certain times and not at others. The author makes a lot of sense when she speaks about the way food makes us feel and how it is connected to our emotional and mental health.
This book does address the particular issues women face due to hormones, stress, life's ups and downs and the effects those forces might have on our minds and bodies which leads to our brains and bodies trying to send up signals and messages. I have no doubt that our lifestyles, hormones, and years of bad habits, and the psychology of women's roles in society, all play a key role in how we address food and react to those intense cravings or impulses we are all prone to at one time or another. Do we try to ignore these cravings? Well not exactly.. instead we find out why those cravings are there in the first place and learn what deeper desires are at the root of those cravings.
If you struggle with food, want to better understand why we do the things we do and how to cope with cravings, break bad habits and address what is going on in your life other than food, then you may find this book quite helpful and an inspiration. It certainly had me thinking about things in a different way. The way the author presents her findings is often very humorous because she relays stories from her own personal experience. This is a fresh approach that keeps the book from becoming a life coach exercise or just plain dry reading.
I agreed with a lot of the author's suggestions, and believe her findings have relevance and might really help people cope with craving impulses in good way, even embrace it as the case may be. However, I am missing the part about where all this is grounded in medical research or if the author has some kind of degree in nutrition or psychology.
So, while I found many things she pointed out to be sound advise, I didn't agree with everything she suggested and I would certainly encourage the reader to use this book as a guide only, or perhaps a motivational tool, but not something to be believed in as the gospel truth. I suggest keeping your appointments with your doctor and nutritionist and if need be seek advise from a mental health care provider.
Overall I think the book deals with the whole person and not just food cravings, is certainly thought provoking and might be just the thing you need to point you in the right direction in improving all areas of your life in order to embrace what it is you really desire and to achieve it. Interesting reading for sure. 3.5 rounded to 4
If you follow my reviews, you know that self-help books have only made an appearance on my TBR list only a handful of times. I am not a fan of them for a plethora of reasons, but this one caught my eye because as a woman I have struggled most of my adult life with weight issues. So, I thought I would see what the author had to say about dealing with food cravings and understanding why we have them and how to address them.
Naturally, I have binged on chocolate, fast food, cheese and salty snacks during my cycle and have wondered why my body seems to need these foods at certain times and not at others. The author makes a lot of sense when she speaks about the way food makes us feel and how it is connected to our emotional and mental health.
This book does address the particular issues women face due to hormones, stress, life's ups and downs and the effects those forces might have on our minds and bodies which leads to our brains and bodies trying to send up signals and messages. I have no doubt that our lifestyles, hormones, and years of bad habits, and the psychology of women's roles in society, all play a key role in how we address food and react to those intense cravings or impulses we are all prone to at one time or another. Do we try to ignore these cravings? Well not exactly.. instead we find out why those cravings are there in the first place and learn what deeper desires are at the root of those cravings.
If you struggle with food, want to better understand why we do the things we do and how to cope with cravings, break bad habits and address what is going on in your life other than food, then you may find this book quite helpful and an inspiration. It certainly had me thinking about things in a different way. The way the author presents her findings is often very humorous because she relays stories from her own personal experience. This is a fresh approach that keeps the book from becoming a life coach exercise or just plain dry reading.
I agreed with a lot of the author's suggestions, and believe her findings have relevance and might really help people cope with craving impulses in good way, even embrace it as the case may be. However, I am missing the part about where all this is grounded in medical research or if the author has some kind of degree in nutrition or psychology.
So, while I found many things she pointed out to be sound advise, I didn't agree with everything she suggested and I would certainly encourage the reader to use this book as a guide only, or perhaps a motivational tool, but not something to be believed in as the gospel truth. I suggest keeping your appointments with your doctor and nutritionist and if need be seek advise from a mental health care provider.
Overall I think the book deals with the whole person and not just food cravings, is certainly thought provoking and might be just the thing you need to point you in the right direction in improving all areas of your life in order to embrace what it is you really desire and to achieve it. Interesting reading for sure. 3.5 rounded to 4
March 5, 2015
I've never written a review on Goodreads before but for this book I'm making an exception. I loved every word of this book so much, it gives me the hope, the strength and the courage I need to start healing myself slowly and steadily. This book is just the right blend of advice and real life stories about food, feeling good in your body, sex and just being yourself. It's such an empowering read that I want to buy ten copies and gift them to all of my friends. I felt so utterly humble reading this book and actually thinking about loving myself and taking care of my body the way nature intended for me to that it made deep emotions bubble up to the surface. Thank you Alexandra Jamieson for helping me realize I am a wonderful person, a beautiful person even. I feel now that I am aloud to desire and fulfill those desires to become the person I deep down always knew I am, on the outside as well as the inside, healthy and happy. I can only recommend this book to any woman struggling with self-love and food related issues and also every man who wants to understand the deepest desires of a woman to be healthy and loved.
February 9, 2017
I ordered a philly cheesesteak and the question crossed my mind - "What is missing in my life that this sandwich is replacing?" I knew immediately that what was missing in my life was a philly cheesesteak.
Side note: Ms. Jamieson shares a lot of her own personnel stories. I want to point out that the title refers to OUR cravings and OUR body - not just hers, which is where her knowledge base seems to stem from.
Side note: Ms. Jamieson shares a lot of her own personnel stories. I want to point out that the title refers to OUR cravings and OUR body - not just hers, which is where her knowledge base seems to stem from.
September 23, 2019
First the author tells us that ". . .Scientists even have a name for this phenomenon---the 'bliss point' which is the high the brain achieves when it receives the trifecta of sugar, salt, and fat. When these three substances are combined, something happens in the brain that short-circuits its ability to identify the high intensity of each substance taken separately." In other words, it's perfectly normal and chemically natural for your brain to get a high from sugary-salty-fatty treats. So then, why does the author try to convince us for the rest of the book that the reason we get cravings is that our lives are lacking in some ways and if we could only identify the missing passion we wouldn't crave sweets. If this were only true, analysis and psycho-therapy would free us all from indulging in Ben and Jerry's and Frito-Lay would go broke.
March 17, 2017
A solid 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up to 4 because this book can do a lot of good for women. This is a liberal, almost edgy approach to desires, passions, etc.
A quote I loved: "This is why diets fail. They don't teach you how to listen to your body. They don't empower you to trust your own excellent judgement about food. They don't, as a rule, teach you to discern which foods make you feel bloated and sluggish. That's because most diets are not a dialogue, they are rule books, and pretty bossy ones at that." (p.127)
I feel that sometimes the author herself is still a bit confused on her position regarding food. For example, she has an incredible chapter about the importance of eating intuitively, and the book talks a lot about listening to your body and its desires. Then on the next page she'll talk about how great it is to finally liberate yourself from sugar, gluten, dairy, etc. She believes diets = deprivation (And I vehemently agree), yet she'll talk about finding the new you through detoxing from "The Toxic Six."
While I do agree that large amounts of sugar, processed carbs, and really anything can make your body ill, I believe in moderation in all things. It seems that Jamieson believes that women either binge on sugar or sneak one little chocolate chip every now and then. How about the in-between? I love sugar, but I don't binge on it. I heed portion sizes (most of the time *wink*). I try to balance my diet with other things (still working on those vegetables). This book seems largely geared towards overweight women who are addicted to junk food and need to lose weight. That was every single case study she gave, anyway.
The language and occasional sex talk puts this book at a PG-13. Definitely worth a read, but not as amazing and life-changing as "Intuitive Eating," where there is no gray area.
A quote I loved: "This is why diets fail. They don't teach you how to listen to your body. They don't empower you to trust your own excellent judgement about food. They don't, as a rule, teach you to discern which foods make you feel bloated and sluggish. That's because most diets are not a dialogue, they are rule books, and pretty bossy ones at that." (p.127)
I feel that sometimes the author herself is still a bit confused on her position regarding food. For example, she has an incredible chapter about the importance of eating intuitively, and the book talks a lot about listening to your body and its desires. Then on the next page she'll talk about how great it is to finally liberate yourself from sugar, gluten, dairy, etc. She believes diets = deprivation (And I vehemently agree), yet she'll talk about finding the new you through detoxing from "The Toxic Six."
While I do agree that large amounts of sugar, processed carbs, and really anything can make your body ill, I believe in moderation in all things. It seems that Jamieson believes that women either binge on sugar or sneak one little chocolate chip every now and then. How about the in-between? I love sugar, but I don't binge on it. I heed portion sizes (most of the time *wink*). I try to balance my diet with other things (still working on those vegetables). This book seems largely geared towards overweight women who are addicted to junk food and need to lose weight. That was every single case study she gave, anyway.
The language and occasional sex talk puts this book at a PG-13. Definitely worth a read, but not as amazing and life-changing as "Intuitive Eating," where there is no gray area.
February 9, 2025
No. No me ha gustado este libro categorizado como "feminine manifesto" porque lo único que hace la tía es hablar de sus experiencias personales (y eso aplica a todo el mundo al parecer) menciona a científicos y estudios como pollos sin cabeza (es decir, que se lo podría sacar del culo perfectamente para fundamentar sus argumentos) y de vez en cuando habla sobre su vida sexual por la cara así que paso
ENCIMA lo he borrado del kindle y se me ha quedado pillado y lo he tenido que reiniciar buuuuuu
ENCIMA lo he borrado del kindle y se me ha quedado pillado y lo he tenido que reiniciar buuuuuu
August 16, 2020
Great reminder to detox and be intentional about what you want for your life. The author makes some great points and inspires a love for engaging with food in a meaningful way.
February 15, 2019
I did not know who Alexandra Jamieson was before I bought this book. I was buying a different book and saw some recommended titles that would compliment that book, so I bought several of them. While reading this book I discovered that I did know who the author was. She was the vegan chef in Super Size Me. I watched that documentary when it came out (2004) and thinking how difficult it would be to be vegan and watch (and smell) your partner eating McDonald's. So I had an empathizing moment with her. Beyond that brief moment 15 years ago I never thought about her nor knew her name.
During the book she does talk about how she was vegan for a decade but realized she was craving meat, dairy, and eggs. She does not spend a lot of time discussing this; the biggest space was a few pages in the last chapter. Being a long time vegan myself, it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. However, she never says that no one should be vegan, nor acts like she is against veganism, so that is a point in her favor. She speaks about cravings, although confusingly, because during most the book she says cravings are bad (example: a person craves sugar and it is harming their body; therefore, they should not eat sugar), but somehow we are flipped on this craving. She did not eat meat, craved it, and gave in. From this example I have to say that her teachings are unclear.
The title I found to not be an accurate reflection of what this book is about. This book is singularly focused on one specific type of woman: the one who is overweight, feels guilty about eating junk food, and struggles with psychological and physical symptoms because of this. Even though this was apparent early on, I continued reading, trying to squeeze out something worthwhile.
Well, on page 73 she quotes herself. I almost gave up reading at that point because that to me is a sign of someone whom I do not wish to know or read. But, trying not to be too judgmental, continued on.
Her recommendations are the most obvious and generic health recommendations: stop eating junk food, nourish your body better, and sleep better. I think every person knows these things. I did not find anything specific, but I think that's her point. She wants business, and this is like a long winded sales pitch. I'm sure if you hire her as your health coach she would be more specific.
Throughout the book she talks about sex many times. I am still unsure how it fits with the rest of the information. Basically, she believes you should masturbate more and that she enjoys kinky sex with her boyfriend. The topic always seemed out of place. Maybe if it was in contained in the chapter about exploring sexuality to become more in touch with oneself, but, instead, it just was random, nonsensical mentions about "hot sex."
She does offer a few statistics from studies that were done, but she never tells your what studies they are. It would only take a few seconds to add a footnote. If you want to be taken seriously as a someone who can help me with my body/mind/health then I need some data and facts that help your position. This is what would build trust, but she neglects to do so.
While written in a casual fashion, the book is written and edited well. It's an easy and quick read. I suppose it is helpful to that one specific type of woman I mentioned above, but I am disappointed in the promises of "honor your cravings, embrace your desire, reclaim your body" as the promises are unfulfilled. I find this an important topic and desperately needs to be addressed more in our society. I feel certain there are other authors out there addressing the topic more fully, and I highly recommend seeking another out. The last sentence is "This is my invitation to you." and I will not be accepting her invitation.
During the book she does talk about how she was vegan for a decade but realized she was craving meat, dairy, and eggs. She does not spend a lot of time discussing this; the biggest space was a few pages in the last chapter. Being a long time vegan myself, it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. However, she never says that no one should be vegan, nor acts like she is against veganism, so that is a point in her favor. She speaks about cravings, although confusingly, because during most the book she says cravings are bad (example: a person craves sugar and it is harming their body; therefore, they should not eat sugar), but somehow we are flipped on this craving. She did not eat meat, craved it, and gave in. From this example I have to say that her teachings are unclear.
The title I found to not be an accurate reflection of what this book is about. This book is singularly focused on one specific type of woman: the one who is overweight, feels guilty about eating junk food, and struggles with psychological and physical symptoms because of this. Even though this was apparent early on, I continued reading, trying to squeeze out something worthwhile.
Well, on page 73 she quotes herself. I almost gave up reading at that point because that to me is a sign of someone whom I do not wish to know or read. But, trying not to be too judgmental, continued on.
Her recommendations are the most obvious and generic health recommendations: stop eating junk food, nourish your body better, and sleep better. I think every person knows these things. I did not find anything specific, but I think that's her point. She wants business, and this is like a long winded sales pitch. I'm sure if you hire her as your health coach she would be more specific.
Throughout the book she talks about sex many times. I am still unsure how it fits with the rest of the information. Basically, she believes you should masturbate more and that she enjoys kinky sex with her boyfriend. The topic always seemed out of place. Maybe if it was in contained in the chapter about exploring sexuality to become more in touch with oneself, but, instead, it just was random, nonsensical mentions about "hot sex."
She does offer a few statistics from studies that were done, but she never tells your what studies they are. It would only take a few seconds to add a footnote. If you want to be taken seriously as a someone who can help me with my body/mind/health then I need some data and facts that help your position. This is what would build trust, but she neglects to do so.
While written in a casual fashion, the book is written and edited well. It's an easy and quick read. I suppose it is helpful to that one specific type of woman I mentioned above, but I am disappointed in the promises of "honor your cravings, embrace your desire, reclaim your body" as the promises are unfulfilled. I find this an important topic and desperately needs to be addressed more in our society. I feel certain there are other authors out there addressing the topic more fully, and I highly recommend seeking another out. The last sentence is "This is my invitation to you." and I will not be accepting her invitation.
March 28, 2015
I seem to be gravitating towards self-help type books lately. Last month I read a book that was about the relationship with your partner, this month I picked up a book that is about the relationship with food. I am going to be honest here, food and weight and making changes are never something I love to talk about or maybe even read about. Why? Because it makes me look in the mirror and ask questions that honestly I don’t want to have to face. I am a bury my head in the sand type of girl and carry the Scarlett O’Hara mentality of “after all tomorrow is another day” and I will deal with it then. But when I had the opportunity to choose a book to read this month for my Gallery Books, #XOXperts read, oddly I chose Women, Food & Desire. It was sitting on my desk with all my other books to read and it just kept screaming at me…Pick me! Pick me! So after much internal debate…I jumped into the book that told me I was going to ‘Embrace my cravings, make Peace with food, Reclaim your body’ with much trepidation.
Color me surprised. I actually really liked this book. I didn’t get a sense that Alexandra Jamieson was taking me to task or pointing her finger at me with a ‘shame on you’ look for actually eating an Oreo Blizzard while reading this book. (again, read today – implement tomorrow) Her voice in this book is one of tenderness and support. I didn’t feel like she was trying to SELL me on her ideas, but more of a let’s take this one step at a time, and I will be your invisible friend and hold your hand while we figure out your cravings and how to turn the negative connotation of food into a positive. Her ideas are simple and basic, and some were quite witty and entertaining. Did YOU know that an orgasm can help relieve constipation? Well I sure as hell didn’t! Her suggestions are attainable. Her examples are easily understood. And her approach is well received.
Walking away from this book, I understand a lot more about the basic reasons why we eat and crave certain foods. I have a better sense of why choosing one healthier food over a not so healthy one is better for my body and not just an issue of calories. I get a better understanding at the process of calming my body and just relaxing. I don’t think anyone of us who has, was or is struggling with their body weight or image can truly say they don’t need some guidance with why we eat the way we do. It’s all about trusting ourselves around the foods we have a choice of eating. It’s about eating what is not only good for our bodies, but good for our soul too.
I encourage everyone to pick up Women, Food & Desire. It is not a book just geared towards people who are overweight or struggling to lose pounds. Even the skinniest and most athletic people would benefit from this book. Because at the end of the day, what Alexandra Jamieson is helping us with through this book is to identify our cravings, fuel our body and mind with the better food choice and attain all things we really desire when it comes to our body.
As I type this review, and eating an apple I will admit, I have some great new outlooks on the choices I am making with food and why. When I sat down to read this book, was that what I was originally planning to get out of it? I have no idea to be honest, but I do feel so much more enlightened on why I have really let food control me and not let myself control the food I eat. So in the end, I am glad I picked up this book and I hope you take the time out to read it as well! Cheers!
Amazon US:http://amzn.to/1xJ5SSF
I received this copy from Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review and as a part of the #XOXperts group!
Color me surprised. I actually really liked this book. I didn’t get a sense that Alexandra Jamieson was taking me to task or pointing her finger at me with a ‘shame on you’ look for actually eating an Oreo Blizzard while reading this book. (again, read today – implement tomorrow) Her voice in this book is one of tenderness and support. I didn’t feel like she was trying to SELL me on her ideas, but more of a let’s take this one step at a time, and I will be your invisible friend and hold your hand while we figure out your cravings and how to turn the negative connotation of food into a positive. Her ideas are simple and basic, and some were quite witty and entertaining. Did YOU know that an orgasm can help relieve constipation? Well I sure as hell didn’t! Her suggestions are attainable. Her examples are easily understood. And her approach is well received.
Walking away from this book, I understand a lot more about the basic reasons why we eat and crave certain foods. I have a better sense of why choosing one healthier food over a not so healthy one is better for my body and not just an issue of calories. I get a better understanding at the process of calming my body and just relaxing. I don’t think anyone of us who has, was or is struggling with their body weight or image can truly say they don’t need some guidance with why we eat the way we do. It’s all about trusting ourselves around the foods we have a choice of eating. It’s about eating what is not only good for our bodies, but good for our soul too.
I encourage everyone to pick up Women, Food & Desire. It is not a book just geared towards people who are overweight or struggling to lose pounds. Even the skinniest and most athletic people would benefit from this book. Because at the end of the day, what Alexandra Jamieson is helping us with through this book is to identify our cravings, fuel our body and mind with the better food choice and attain all things we really desire when it comes to our body.
As I type this review, and eating an apple I will admit, I have some great new outlooks on the choices I am making with food and why. When I sat down to read this book, was that what I was originally planning to get out of it? I have no idea to be honest, but I do feel so much more enlightened on why I have really let food control me and not let myself control the food I eat. So in the end, I am glad I picked up this book and I hope you take the time out to read it as well! Cheers!
Amazon US:http://amzn.to/1xJ5SSF
I received this copy from Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review and as a part of the #XOXperts group!
May 11, 2019
The book started out really well, very intriguing about understanding instead of fearing and shunning our cravings - then took a turn for the worse. In a book that promises to help you find peace with food and your body, the author shouldn’t be implying that the only way to do so is to detox and lose weight. This is so far away from body acceptance at every side that I had trouble taking any advice seriously from the rest of the book around food. The stuff about sexuality was very good, and how the pleasures of food and sex are related, but as someone who is a Nutritionist and Body Image Coach, I hated most of the food part and would never give that advice to any clients.
Too many chapters are focused on detoxing and good vs. bad foods. The advice is very contradictory: she preaches flexibility and no restrictions around food, yet in the same sentence, says you need to shun all “bad” processed foods, and that there are a “Toxic Six”, six food groups that you should avoid completely. Don’t get me wrong, eating processed foods all the time does not promote, however, promoting restriction like this is exactly what leads to binge eating and being stuck in the binge-restrict cycle of shame and guilt around food. Which is exactly the opposite of what the author claims she will help her readers achieve.
Too many chapters are focused on detoxing and good vs. bad foods. The advice is very contradictory: she preaches flexibility and no restrictions around food, yet in the same sentence, says you need to shun all “bad” processed foods, and that there are a “Toxic Six”, six food groups that you should avoid completely. Don’t get me wrong, eating processed foods all the time does not promote, however, promoting restriction like this is exactly what leads to binge eating and being stuck in the binge-restrict cycle of shame and guilt around food. Which is exactly the opposite of what the author claims she will help her readers achieve.
May 24, 2014
This is not the usual diet book, but rather a series of techniques that often revolve around mindfulness and the understanding of our needs and cravings to fulfill our desires and to live and act in a more conscious way, either in the kitchen or in bed.
Questo non é il solito libro sulla dieta, quanto piuttosto su una serie di tecniche che spesso ruotano attorno alla mindfulness e alla comprensione dei propri bisogni e desideri per vivere ed agire in modo piú consapevole, sia in cucina che a letto.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND GALLERY,THRESHOLD; POCKET BOOKS FOR THE PREVIEW!
Questo non é il solito libro sulla dieta, quanto piuttosto su una serie di tecniche che spesso ruotano attorno alla mindfulness e alla comprensione dei propri bisogni e desideri per vivere ed agire in modo piú consapevole, sia in cucina che a letto.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND GALLERY,THRESHOLD; POCKET BOOKS FOR THE PREVIEW!
February 19, 2015
Pretty solid, good read for people trying to lose weight and such. Some of it was just a little...out there? I surely wouldn't tap myself and speak aloud to deal with my anxiety. Maybe you're supposed to find a place to do that privately, but for me, having people know I'm freaking out when I'm freaking out in public would make that way worse.
February 6, 2015
I love this book! I originally picked it up to help me with my clients but I ended up learning so much from Alexandra. She really inspired me! It's not only a book about food but self love and accepting others the way they are. I highly recommend this book for all women!
July 31, 2016
Although the author mentions basic lifestyle essentials, like eating whole foods, sleeping more and exercising, the focus on the false idea of detox overshadows the other issues. Your liver and your kidney detox, diets do not detox.
November 25, 2016
This is one of those "do these natural things I tell you and you will feel amazing!" books. Uh, no. Sorry, buy my migraines aren't going to go away because I become vegan (something that was suggested in the first chapter).
April 23, 2016
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. - Aristotle
September 13, 2016
my hardcover
March 15, 2018
I truly believe that our yearnings come from our emotions. Speaking from my own experience, this book really did describe me. I am a comfort food eater.
Basics of this book are: eat when you feel hungry and not when you crave for certain food, respect your body and stop feeding it with processed food, because bottom line is that most of us eat when we are feeling emotions, not when we are actually hungry. This leads to numerous problems with some people.
We need food to survive but somewhere along the way we started to see food as something that will make us happy. Which leads to many bad choices when you are feeling sad and tired (lets be honest, everyone feels like that today). Man created processed food to earn money. False aromas and lots of chemicals to sell as much as possible for high price and then adding lots of addictive crap that will make us fall for those again and again. We dont even see how much deep we are when at one point you can't get your fix. Morning without coffee, afternoon without ice cream and you become tired, depressed, crappy, anxious.
I would never learn how to appreciate real food if I wasnt diagnosed with a sickness. After going without gluten, coffee, sugar and alcohol for a month I felt like a new person.
But at first I felt threatened, "who are you to take my morning coffee away", "who are you tell me I can't eat fried food?" Then I learned that we eat things that make us feel bad at the end simply because we are addicted to it, we think its going to replace something else that we miss in life.
Now, of course this book is not going to describe 100 percent of people, we are all, after all different. Our bodies are different and are working differently. That's not the reason to grade this book badly because it didn't describe you. I personally don't agree with every sentence of it but if you are emotional eater, this book is for you.
Lots of people feel attacked when someone says being fat is wrong. If you have extra body fat and you feel healthy and your blood work is fine, then you are good. But I am also that person. Wide hips, always gaining muscle and not losing fat, always curvy, because of my disease I was literally storing everything I ate in my fat. My diet drastically changed but i do not eat any less, I workout out only 45 min a day, and trust me you can incorporate that in any schedule if you want to. I needed to do it for my health and weight loss was a nice bonus.
That what this is all about. You live healthy. For most people it means you lose weight as a result. If its not the case for you, and you do live healthy, it means you are where you need to be. Curvy or skinny.
Basics of this book are: eat when you feel hungry and not when you crave for certain food, respect your body and stop feeding it with processed food, because bottom line is that most of us eat when we are feeling emotions, not when we are actually hungry. This leads to numerous problems with some people.
We need food to survive but somewhere along the way we started to see food as something that will make us happy. Which leads to many bad choices when you are feeling sad and tired (lets be honest, everyone feels like that today). Man created processed food to earn money. False aromas and lots of chemicals to sell as much as possible for high price and then adding lots of addictive crap that will make us fall for those again and again. We dont even see how much deep we are when at one point you can't get your fix. Morning without coffee, afternoon without ice cream and you become tired, depressed, crappy, anxious.
I would never learn how to appreciate real food if I wasnt diagnosed with a sickness. After going without gluten, coffee, sugar and alcohol for a month I felt like a new person.
But at first I felt threatened, "who are you to take my morning coffee away", "who are you tell me I can't eat fried food?" Then I learned that we eat things that make us feel bad at the end simply because we are addicted to it, we think its going to replace something else that we miss in life.
Now, of course this book is not going to describe 100 percent of people, we are all, after all different. Our bodies are different and are working differently. That's not the reason to grade this book badly because it didn't describe you. I personally don't agree with every sentence of it but if you are emotional eater, this book is for you.
Lots of people feel attacked when someone says being fat is wrong. If you have extra body fat and you feel healthy and your blood work is fine, then you are good. But I am also that person. Wide hips, always gaining muscle and not losing fat, always curvy, because of my disease I was literally storing everything I ate in my fat. My diet drastically changed but i do not eat any less, I workout out only 45 min a day, and trust me you can incorporate that in any schedule if you want to. I needed to do it for my health and weight loss was a nice bonus.
That what this is all about. You live healthy. For most people it means you lose weight as a result. If its not the case for you, and you do live healthy, it means you are where you need to be. Curvy or skinny.
March 5, 2020
My experience with this book was very much like nearly every time I go on Instagram. It starts out well. (Jamieson says to lean into your cravings, don't feel shame about them, look deeper and see what they're trying to tell you. This feels right to me. I can use this advice.) Then I see something that conflicts with what feels healthy to me. (I have to stop eating all of these foods? By cutting out a food group, I'll gain the self-awareness to realize that no one appreciates me at my job?) Then streams of content lead me to believe that everyone else's perfectly filtered lives soar far above my own. (Jamieson doesn't exercise - she plays [but it might look suspiciously like a group exercise class]. She has TONS of hot sex. She's always been naturally thin. Women with no self-awareness [who weirdly all speak in the exact same voice] suddenly discover who they are through her encouragements. She has an amazing partner [and did she mention all the hot, kinky sex??]) Much like the conclusion of my usual Instagram perusal, I closed this book feeling much worse about myself than when I opened it. I'm glad that Jamieson and her clients found happiness and fulfillment, but the joy wasn't passed onto me as a reader.
March 9, 2023
I wanted to like this book more. I wanted more substance and the book didn’t deliver. I think really where she lost me was when she mentioned the different doshas in Ayurveda healing and living, but instead Americanized/ westernized the entire cultural practice, she instead changed the name of the doshas and monopolies it in the authors own work. It’s like attending a yoga class where they call shavasana ‘corpse pose’ rather than using the true Sanskrit way of describing the stretch and practice you are doing. To me it removes the person from honoring the roots of a practice and being culturally aware of its foundation. Maybe I’m being hyper specific but I’ve just read better books that make you feel inspired. It wasn’t all bad, there were plenty of pick me ups and reminders to love yourself in the body you’re in which is important for women to hear in a world that tries to mold us into forms that don’t fit our unique shape.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2021
Buku ini tepat untuk diriku yang mencari jalan hidup sehat lewat hal-hal yang aku sukai yakni membaca & makanan enak.
Buku ini memberikan cara detoks yang benar-benar menyenangkan. Sebuah pemikiran baru & gaya hidup yang lebih sehat di zaman modern saat ini. Paragraf terakhir dari bab paling akhir menyimpulkan dengan sangat tepat alasan mengapa aku memulai membaca buku ini. Dan jawabannya sudah aku temukan sejak halaman pertama.
Membuatku melihat sebuah persepsi baru akan bagaimana mencintai diri sendiri. Menjadi seorang wanita yang sehat jasmani serta rohani nya, itu poin yang sangat penting.
Hidupku, tubuhku sudah baik. Saat ini hanya mencoba untuk menjadi lebih baik.
Buku ini memberikan cara detoks yang benar-benar menyenangkan. Sebuah pemikiran baru & gaya hidup yang lebih sehat di zaman modern saat ini. Paragraf terakhir dari bab paling akhir menyimpulkan dengan sangat tepat alasan mengapa aku memulai membaca buku ini. Dan jawabannya sudah aku temukan sejak halaman pertama.
Membuatku melihat sebuah persepsi baru akan bagaimana mencintai diri sendiri. Menjadi seorang wanita yang sehat jasmani serta rohani nya, itu poin yang sangat penting.
Hidupku, tubuhku sudah baik. Saat ini hanya mencoba untuk menjadi lebih baik.
July 28, 2021
This book goes through habits and cravings specifically relating to women and their bodies and food. I had high hopes and there were some insightful parts but mostly pretty common sense stuff. When you think you are craving something you need to train yourself to identify what it is you are really feeling: tired, angry, sad, lonely...etc. Sometimes your body is really trying to tell you it needs iron or vitamin D or something else but we have to train ourselves to identify what it is actually signaling to us. Advocates eating whole foods, getting out in the sunshine every day, getting eight hours of sleep at least, and she liked to talk about sex a lot.
May 14, 2017
Instead of trying to deny our cravings, why not lean into them and really examine what they are telling us? By honoring our desires and engaging in self-care, we are honoring ourselves. I loved the author's approach to food and mindful eating.
I didn't learn any earth-shattering new info, but reading this book was like having a conversation with a friend who genuinely wants to see you be your best self, and won't hesitate to give you a kindly kick in the ass if you need it.
I didn't learn any earth-shattering new info, but reading this book was like having a conversation with a friend who genuinely wants to see you be your best self, and won't hesitate to give you a kindly kick in the ass if you need it.
April 4, 2019
There are likely to be useful pieces of information in this book for someone - but there aren't for me. It was heavy on the personal anecdotes and light on research, and it relied far too heavily on a very broad generalization of what "women" want, as if everyone with a uterus belongs to a massive hive mind that just wants to eat and fuck. Probably more appropriately titled "Alexandra Jamieson, Food, and Desire," you can probably take a hard pass on this one and not miss anything.
July 5, 2017
Interesting content - diet, excercise, emotion and physical needs - all addressed to guide physical and mental health and empowerment, without advocating a traditional 'diet' requiring 'giving up' pleasures (calories).
January 10, 2018
Quick and easy read or the authors and her clients personal accounts on self care. Encourages clean eating, understanding what causes our bad habits, embracing our sexuality, and sleep. Good book but wouldn't recommend. No new or profound info.
June 29, 2018
Listened four hours of it. The voice was pleasant, and the book was well written, and there were some interesting ideas, but not that much insight that I would have cared to listen all of it. I think the four hours was enough for me to get the ideas.
January 19, 2025
Refreshing and inspiring new thoughts. If you're at the point in your life where your eating habits are out of control & making you sick & weak, you need help. This book offers up many useful and surprisingly easy ways to get yourself back on track.
March 4, 2017
This book is amazing. Such a game changer for me. I have never felt so connected to a book like I did with this one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews