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Live Nourished: Make Peace with Food, Banish Body Shame, and Reclaim Joy
Reject diet culture, achieve a healthy relationship with food, and nourish your body and soul with this book from registered dietitian, nutritionist, and creator behind the Instagram @TheNutritionTea, Shana Spence.
In Live Nourished , Shana Spence starts by exposing diet culture for what it a patriarchal, capitalist mindset that robs people of their time, money, health, and joy. It’s a systemic belief that equates fitness, health, and thinness with worth and assigns food a moral value. And it’s a belief that pervades our society.
Spence’s arguments will open your eyes to the insidiousness of this mindset and will demonstrate how it’s infiltrated the health and wellness world, how to recognize it in all its sneaky forms, and how letting go of efforts to lose weight or eat “perfectly” actually helps to improve people’s health—no matter their size. Relayed through scientific evidence, case studies, and personal experience, Spence demonstrates why diets don’t work, and provides you with a radical alternative to diet culture, one that prioritizes nourishing the body and soul and looks to bring joy.
To get there, Spence walks you through healing your relationship with food. Touching on concepts like intuitive eating and health at any size, Live Nourished provides you with a roadmap towards eating what works for you and helps you reclaim your body, mind, and life so you can focus on things that truly matter.
Spence’s thesis is If we can learn to separate ourselves and our worth from diet culture, we can learn how to eat when we’re hungry, meet our body’s unique needs, and discover which foods give us pleasure—all while nourishing our bodies and souls in the process.
In Live Nourished , Shana Spence starts by exposing diet culture for what it a patriarchal, capitalist mindset that robs people of their time, money, health, and joy. It’s a systemic belief that equates fitness, health, and thinness with worth and assigns food a moral value. And it’s a belief that pervades our society.
Spence’s arguments will open your eyes to the insidiousness of this mindset and will demonstrate how it’s infiltrated the health and wellness world, how to recognize it in all its sneaky forms, and how letting go of efforts to lose weight or eat “perfectly” actually helps to improve people’s health—no matter their size. Relayed through scientific evidence, case studies, and personal experience, Spence demonstrates why diets don’t work, and provides you with a radical alternative to diet culture, one that prioritizes nourishing the body and soul and looks to bring joy.
To get there, Spence walks you through healing your relationship with food. Touching on concepts like intuitive eating and health at any size, Live Nourished provides you with a roadmap towards eating what works for you and helps you reclaim your body, mind, and life so you can focus on things that truly matter.
Spence’s thesis is If we can learn to separate ourselves and our worth from diet culture, we can learn how to eat when we’re hungry, meet our body’s unique needs, and discover which foods give us pleasure—all while nourishing our bodies and souls in the process.
256 pages, Paperback
Published August 13, 2024
57 people are currently reading
940 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
September 13, 2024
Great information but felt like a long-winded essay/comprehensive summary of her (really great) registered anti-diet dietician instagram page.
March 3, 2025
*Audiobook*
I loved this book! If you are tired of your relationship with food and your body, or if you need a refresher on how to live outside of diet culture…this book is great! I enjoyed the author’s point of view on food, exercise, and body image. Will definitely be recommending this book to patients and their loved ones in the future!
I loved this book! If you are tired of your relationship with food and your body, or if you need a refresher on how to live outside of diet culture…this book is great! I enjoyed the author’s point of view on food, exercise, and body image. Will definitely be recommending this book to patients and their loved ones in the future!
March 28, 2024
I was immediately drawn to the title of this transformative book, and then when I saw the subtitle-- Make Peace with Food, Banish Body Shame, and Reclaim Joy-- I was sold! As a female who is finally letting go of diet culture/madness, this book and the permission that it gives came to me at the perfect time.
The book is divided into two sections: The Diet Culture Trap, and How to Make Nourishment Work for You. I openly admit that I skipped the first part because I've done the experimenting as well as the research and have decided not to focus on that anymore. However, if you are just beginning to understand that diets don't really work, you will find the first section helpful.
The section about making nourishment work for me, is direct, profound, and honest. There have been so many things that I've been struggling with as I begin to learn what it means to nourish myself and, to trust myself, The author brilliantly addresses all of them (and a few that I wasn't even aware of LOL). I feel such a sense of lightness and permission (and self-forgiveness) now and will be reading the book again and again to reinforce all of it!
The writing style is conversational and authentic, as though the author was sitting down with me and having a friendly chat, which makes the book easy to read and digest.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher, for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The book is divided into two sections: The Diet Culture Trap, and How to Make Nourishment Work for You. I openly admit that I skipped the first part because I've done the experimenting as well as the research and have decided not to focus on that anymore. However, if you are just beginning to understand that diets don't really work, you will find the first section helpful.
The section about making nourishment work for me, is direct, profound, and honest. There have been so many things that I've been struggling with as I begin to learn what it means to nourish myself and, to trust myself, The author brilliantly addresses all of them (and a few that I wasn't even aware of LOL). I feel such a sense of lightness and permission (and self-forgiveness) now and will be reading the book again and again to reinforce all of it!
The writing style is conversational and authentic, as though the author was sitting down with me and having a friendly chat, which makes the book easy to read and digest.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher, for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
October 14, 2024
DNF halfway through because I cannot take her seriously. I like a lot of her food content on IG. She really had me in the beginning when she was talking about how the obsession of healthy eating causes so much stress that it can actually deteriorate your health. I appreciate her focus on improving your health and not focusing as much on weight. I loved when she dismantled BMI.
What I cannot take are her constant rants. This book would be 20 pages long without her long winded rants bashing white women (some of whom are your readers!), saying that using the word “obese” is an act of violence (LOL), and constantly giving disclaimers and exceptions (i.e. I know this doesn’t apply to all people who may have experience xyz, blah blah blah). The CONSTANT pandering takes away from the power of her anti-diet message.
She doesn’t recommend IE and other things because it was created by white people. She’s inherently racist herself because she takes every opportunity to tell us how white people are the cause of every evil and how she is so oppressed.
Touch grass, girl.
What I cannot take are her constant rants. This book would be 20 pages long without her long winded rants bashing white women (some of whom are your readers!), saying that using the word “obese” is an act of violence (LOL), and constantly giving disclaimers and exceptions (i.e. I know this doesn’t apply to all people who may have experience xyz, blah blah blah). The CONSTANT pandering takes away from the power of her anti-diet message.
She doesn’t recommend IE and other things because it was created by white people. She’s inherently racist herself because she takes every opportunity to tell us how white people are the cause of every evil and how she is so oppressed.
Touch grass, girl.
July 24, 2025
Refreshing. The author does not sound like many nutritionists. She advocates for loving your body (which works hard to keep you alive!) by accepting it and deciding g to nourish it with choices for health. These choices are not only what we put in our bodies, but also good sleep, hydration, and movement. I have struggled with weight and guilt almost all my life. In my 70’s, I have decided to give my body the gift of acceptance and love. This book helps with that new way of thinking that I am working toward.
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December 19, 2025TL;DR: a good intro book for someone interested in food peace/non-diet culture but lacks depth for readers familiar with the topic
It's important to have books that discuss the roots of anti-fatness and diet culture and their co-production around structures of domination. Spence's work follows in this genre through linking making peace with food (particularly divesting from value judgments on good/bad/moral/immoral food) with celebrity culture, white supremacy, healthism, etc., however, the book doesn't do a good job of going deep enough into any of these topics.
Of the books I've read on this topic, I think that Aubrey Gordon's “You Just Need to Lose Weight”: And 19 Other Myths About Fat People and Da'Shaun Harrison's Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness do a really good job of explaining those histories (there's also of course String's Fearing the Black Body but ya girl has not read that one yet ). Those texts are very successful in creating a cohesive argument that situates anti-fatness as both producing and produced by anti-Black racism, ableism, white supremacy, etc. In the parts about non-dieting...it was also lacking for me. It read like a lot of Instagram platitudes and rearticulations of the Intuitive Eating book with a rather constant (but shallow) critique of how that book and other books about diet culture/food peace/the whole field of dietetics fails to discuss the social determinants of health.
I was also really annoyed that intersectionality was used incorrectly. Spence writes about adding "layers of intersectionality" and "levels of intersectionality" to nuance her discussions on diet culture, but that isn't what intersectionality means???? it's just really distracting tbh bc it feels like she's using the term yet doesn't seem to have read the original text that coined it (Crenshaw 1989) and doesn't understand it.
It's important to have books that discuss the roots of anti-fatness and diet culture and their co-production around structures of domination. Spence's work follows in this genre through linking making peace with food (particularly divesting from value judgments on good/bad/moral/immoral food) with celebrity culture, white supremacy, healthism, etc., however, the book doesn't do a good job of going deep enough into any of these topics.
Of the books I've read on this topic, I think that Aubrey Gordon's “You Just Need to Lose Weight”: And 19 Other Myths About Fat People and Da'Shaun Harrison's Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness do a really good job of explaining those histories (there's also of course String's Fearing the Black Body but ya girl has not read that one yet ). Those texts are very successful in creating a cohesive argument that situates anti-fatness as both producing and produced by anti-Black racism, ableism, white supremacy, etc. In the parts about non-dieting...it was also lacking for me. It read like a lot of Instagram platitudes and rearticulations of the Intuitive Eating book with a rather constant (but shallow) critique of how that book and other books about diet culture/food peace/the whole field of dietetics fails to discuss the social determinants of health.
I was also really annoyed that intersectionality was used incorrectly. Spence writes about adding "layers of intersectionality" and "levels of intersectionality" to nuance her discussions on diet culture, but that isn't what intersectionality means???? it's just really distracting tbh bc it feels like she's using the term yet doesn't seem to have read the original text that coined it (Crenshaw 1989) and doesn't understand it.
August 14, 2024
This is a great book that I think everyone who has ever followed a "welllness" influencer and/or struggled with diet culture should read. Not only does Spence go in-depth into the inundation of diet culture in our society, but also why it is harmful to all of us. The second half of the book goes over how to make nourishment work for you, while also reminding readers that there is no one size fits all, which makes it attainable and a great reminder that there's nothing wrong with doing what we can with what we have available. Truly a book I would highly recommend, and if you haven't checked out her social media The Nutrition Tea, I would definitely advise giving her a follow!
March 8, 2025
Live Nourished is a fantastic primer for anyone struggling with their relationship with food and their bodies. Spence's well-crafted, compassionate first book feels like a talk with a good friend, the sensible and funny one who reminds you about your self worth and personal abilities. A lot of what she writes about here mirrors her Instagram presence and may not tread new ground for anyone with a neutral approach to their relationship with food. However, the sad reality is so many don't. In a sea of "health" and "lifestyle" influencers, Spence stands out, both by being a legit credentialed nutritionist and a skilled, down to earth communicator. Her "what I don't eat" section is hilarious because it boils down to "I'm allergic" or "I don't like it." But remember to always season your food!
November 7, 2024
More of a 3.5 star.
I love her IG account, how she counters diet culture, approaches food with the viewpoint of nourishment & enjoyment, and provides some good prompting questions to look further into your own experience with food & your body.
If this is something you struggle with, I highly recommend and unfortunately just being a woman would probably be reason enough to read. Nothing super earth shattering but I appreciated all of the language offered and ways to shift thinking.
I love her IG account, how she counters diet culture, approaches food with the viewpoint of nourishment & enjoyment, and provides some good prompting questions to look further into your own experience with food & your body.
If this is something you struggle with, I highly recommend and unfortunately just being a woman would probably be reason enough to read. Nothing super earth shattering but I appreciated all of the language offered and ways to shift thinking.
June 3, 2025
I found Shanna on social media, and I loved getting a deep dive into her thoughts and expertise through this book. She breaks down a lot of misconceptions that people have about nutrition and suggests ways to approach food and health more holistically and mindfully. She is very aware of intersectionality, and she often discusses the systems that affect individuals.
August 27, 2024
I really appreciated this book about body/food neutrality, and learning to view food as simply a source of nourishment (physically, but also emotionally and culturally). I liked its intersectional approach - the way it directly called out "wellness" influencers and others for their elitist, ableist, and often racist approaches to "good" food, and the way it touched on (but didn't fully dive into) healthism. I haven't read a lot of nutrition/diet-focused books, but I liked this one for basically saying food - all food - is morally neutral, and that you just need to nourish yourself in a way that is specific to your own body and needs.
January 1, 2025
Challenge your beliefs on diet culture, food relationships, exercise, and weight loss/gain with this book.
January 13, 2025
I'm a fan of Shana on IG and when I saw she had a book I knew I'd like it. I listened to her narrating it.
August 20, 2025
It was mostly interesting to read about her experience in the nutrition world as a black woman. Her advices are good but it’s a little repetitive for me.
September 15, 2024
While many of the messages are needed, the delivery is pretty poor. It’s like a collection of Instagram posts which someone tried and failed to collect into a book. The substance is so thin that this short book still has space for loads of lists, as well as recounting the Minnesota starvation experiment twice. In general, lots of repetition and so many caveats. ‘This not going to apply to everyone’, ‘this doesn’t mean such and such form of oppression doesn’t exist’ - it’s like half of the book was trying to address any criticism before it happens. Anyway, follow her on Instagram where her content is actually good, and for book form, check out Aubrey Gordon.
September 4, 2024
I highly recommend this book! The author does a phenomenal job discussing diet culture in a nuanced way, acknowledging the impact of social determinants of health, culture, and various identities (e.g., race, gender, disability status).
August 21, 2025
3,5!! Finally I’ve finished this book. It was not the books’ fault, but rather completely mine.
Okej jag tar det här på svenska. Jag känner/upplever att den här boken verkligen behöver läsas av dietister - om majoriteten av de har den här förvrängda synen på kost och fetma som beskrivs i boken. Jag upplever å andra sidan, att dietister på sociala medier snarare är väldigt ”Eat the cookie! Eat everything, in moderation” etc. Men det kanske å (tredje) sidan är just de som är mer nyanserade i sitt tänk och förhållningssätt.
Bra bok, men vet inte hur mycket den var till nytta för just mig. Den här boken är för de marginaliserade och utsatta grupperna som diskuteras i boken, och där kvalificeras jag inte.
Med det sagt, ser jag absolut vikten av att den här boken behövde skrivas och publiceras - den är så värd det och jag hoppas att de som allra mest behöver den, får tillgång till den. Läser man boken så inser man dock att de förmodligen inte kommer att få det. Så därför hoppas jag att dietister som är anställda för att hjälpa de som behöver rätt hjälp som allra mest, verkligen har läst/läser den.
Okej jag tar det här på svenska. Jag känner/upplever att den här boken verkligen behöver läsas av dietister - om majoriteten av de har den här förvrängda synen på kost och fetma som beskrivs i boken. Jag upplever å andra sidan, att dietister på sociala medier snarare är väldigt ”Eat the cookie! Eat everything, in moderation” etc. Men det kanske å (tredje) sidan är just de som är mer nyanserade i sitt tänk och förhållningssätt.
Bra bok, men vet inte hur mycket den var till nytta för just mig. Den här boken är för de marginaliserade och utsatta grupperna som diskuteras i boken, och där kvalificeras jag inte.
Med det sagt, ser jag absolut vikten av att den här boken behövde skrivas och publiceras - den är så värd det och jag hoppas att de som allra mest behöver den, får tillgång till den. Läser man boken så inser man dock att de förmodligen inte kommer att få det. Så därför hoppas jag att dietister som är anställda för att hjälpa de som behöver rätt hjälp som allra mest, verkligen har läst/läser den.
October 4, 2024
i've followed shana on instagram for quite a while, and her posts have always been so helpful to me as a sort of logical, refreshing, and intensely needed reality check. i've been recovering from an eating disorder for 13+ years and still struggle a lot with restrictive behaviors and food rules, and i have genuinely never stumbled across another dietician that approaches food and neutral eating in the same manner (and i mean this in a complimentary way!). this book was really informative about the history, racism, and health inequities surrounding so much of diet culture and fatphobia, but i wouldn't say that the bulk of the "make peace with food and reclaim joy" section is much different from shana's instagram content. that's not a bad thing at all; the online/video format just resonated with me better than the written version. still, a book i would highly recommend to anyone trying to work towards a better relationship with their body!
November 28, 2024
A good overview of terms and concepts surrounding body image and eating concerns for folks who are new to the topic. If you are well-versed in this area this book I will feel repetitive. While I think there were some helpful metaphors and ideas and ways to approach food and body image concerns - I found her overall “ tone of voice” or writing style to be off-putting. I was hoping this would be a book I recommend to my therapy clients, however the rants and somewhat negative tone made me re-think that. I appreciate that she shares her positionality as a thin, able-bodied Black woman and how that shapes and in some ways limits her perspective of being able to provide advice for people in bigger bodies. A humble book that demonstrates her journey from believing in certain approaches to being a dietician, learning more about the history and limitations of that approach and changing her mind to a different approach.
June 17, 2025
This book offers an excellent perspective on what it truly means to be healthy—not just in the physical sense, but in how we live, think, and nourish ourselves. What makes it stand out is the author’s ability to weave a factual and compelling history of how America arrived at its current health crisis, without falling into blame or despair.
Rather than dwelling on the past, the book uses history as a foundation to inspire meaningful growth and change. It encourages readers to look beyond fads and quick fixes, and instead develop a deeper respect for the body and its natural needs.
Whether you're just beginning your wellness journey or seeking a more thoughtful approach to living well, this book is a powerful and insightful place to start. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to better understand the roots of our health challenges and move toward a more nourished, intentional life.
Rather than dwelling on the past, the book uses history as a foundation to inspire meaningful growth and change. It encourages readers to look beyond fads and quick fixes, and instead develop a deeper respect for the body and its natural needs.
Whether you're just beginning your wellness journey or seeking a more thoughtful approach to living well, this book is a powerful and insightful place to start. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to better understand the roots of our health challenges and move toward a more nourished, intentional life.
November 4, 2024
This is a wonderful resource on health and diet culture and is written in a down-to-earth and accessible way, where you can synthesize information, relate to the author, take away concepts to apply to your own life, and also don’t feel patronized. Highly recommended.
I bought this book because I love the author’s Instagram content, and I love having this as a long-form reference! It’s very on brand - if you know her Instagram, nothing is a surprise - and is also more long-form and in-depth than social media allows. She also lists sources and references in the back. I’m glad I bought it so that I can flip back to parts I need to re-read without getting sucked into social media!
I bought this book because I love the author’s Instagram content, and I love having this as a long-form reference! It’s very on brand - if you know her Instagram, nothing is a surprise - and is also more long-form and in-depth than social media allows. She also lists sources and references in the back. I’m glad I bought it so that I can flip back to parts I need to re-read without getting sucked into social media!
September 11, 2025
EXCELLENT book if you're looking for a quick read about diet culture's failure to hold up to scientific scrutiny (and some of its history re: intersectionality!), combined with an easy beginning guide for how to un-learn what diet culture wants us to feel about ourselves, what we eat, and how we feel about what we've eaten.
I wish she'd said something more about taking exercise too far ("I go until I feel nauseated! :)" - I hear this alarmingly often), but that's really my only complaint.
Still a book worth recommending, especially for those who may feel intimidated by a longer or more technically-detailed book!
I wish she'd said something more about taking exercise too far ("I go until I feel nauseated! :)" - I hear this alarmingly often), but that's really my only complaint.
Still a book worth recommending, especially for those who may feel intimidated by a longer or more technically-detailed book!
July 28, 2024
I wish I'd had this book 15-20 years ago when I was very ill with anorexia. The author breaks down the fallacies of diet culture and fatphobia better than I've heard before, and does so in a nonjudgmental and intersectional way. She acknowledges the different factors that come into play when someone is deciding what to eat and offers practical advice for finding nourishment on different budgets, schedules, etc. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable this book is; Shana makes reading about nutrition fun. I highly recommend "Live Nourished" for anyone who has struggled with food issues or body image as well as anyone who wants a practical guide to eating well in a world that makes it hard to do that sometimes.
August 24, 2024
This is a book i wish younger me had. So many good tidbits. Also, just a really great way to stop centering European americana and their ideas of health and beauty. So much damage has been caused by that group in particular (feel free to react like a hit dog at that statement)
In any event, i would encourage people to read either an open mind and really, TRULY rethink your relationship to food. So much disordered eating that really if we had just quit early on, we as a society, would potentially be healthier than most are. And as Shana says: DO NOT EAT UNSEASONED FOOD
In any event, i would encourage people to read either an open mind and really, TRULY rethink your relationship to food. So much disordered eating that really if we had just quit early on, we as a society, would potentially be healthier than most are. And as Shana says: DO NOT EAT UNSEASONED FOOD
August 27, 2024
I have ED, anxiety (both generalised and social) and ADHD. For years I've been living with my ED, guilting myself that because I am plus-size, I shouldn't eat XYZ; and if I ate things I loved because I felt like cooking them, or if we ate out my wife and our kiddo, I felt guilty because to me, I did not "deserve" such food because of my weight.
Reading this book has helped me a lot. It helped me with my feelings of guilt. It helped me feel better about the food I eat, made me feel better about myself.
I highly recommend this book for sure!!
Reading this book has helped me a lot. It helped me with my feelings of guilt. It helped me feel better about the food I eat, made me feel better about myself.
I highly recommend this book for sure!!
September 14, 2024
This book offers meaningful perspectives on relationships with food. I appreciated how the author discussed the pervasiveness of diet culture, especially with regard to the problematic efforts of making some other cultures’ meals “healthier.” I also valued the author’s tone throughout the book; I found her writing compassionate, not condescending, toward the reader while also firmly and directly addressing the broader societal issues surrounding food. I am certain this book will benefit many readers.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
September 16, 2024
What a refreshing book on anti-diet, eating disorder recovery, and body liberation. The best part of this book? It is Nuerodivergent friendly and disability inclusive. Allowing for processed foods and pre-cut foods to exist without moralizing foods. I enjoyed the ND tips offered because through my eating disorder recovery I have used these tips on myself and they work! One of the greatest tips for folks with ADHD is yo make sure you eat every three hours and to carry snacks with you. Worth reading
February 22, 2025
I debated between 4 and 5 stars, but I feel like I personally got so much out of this. I just want to rate it 5 stars! There were some interesting things regarding how societal and cultural inequalities affect relationships with food and how we view bodies. I’d have to think more about whether I agree with everything. But I feel like the overall themes and advice with healing our relationship with food and how we feel about our bodies was so good! A lot of the ideas and I do was new to me. It was interesting to look at how much we’ve been affected by diet culture.
March 4, 2025
I am so lucky I got to read this book for my body weight and size inclusivity class. Spence does a wonderful job at articulating why we’ve been so consumed with the way our bodies look and how to shift our actions away from diet culture. Reading this book felt like when you go on Google Earth for the first time and zoom out to see how interconnected everything is. I got to see how diet culture has warped our perceptions of bodies and what health truly is. I’m so happy I can have a book to recommend to those in my life that are constantly robbed of joy by weight cycling or dieting.
November 18, 2024
This book was accessible and written to bring attention that there are so many variables to eat a well rounded diet. One of the major takeaways is the language around "healthy" and how it has been weaponized. I really want to be better about inadvertently food shaming. I think this would be a great book club read particularly for people who want to address their relationship with food and "healthy lifestyles".
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews