Fitter. Calmer. Stronger.: A Mindful Approach to Exercise and Nutrition

by Ellie Goulding

Forget prescriptive 28-day plans and fad diets that are sooner or later abandoned. They don't work--and they don't make you happy. Pop powerhouse Ellie Goulding's much sought-after fitness and health philosophy is based around becoming the brightest, strongest version of yourself. This means prioritizing self-care and flexibility and approaching wellness from a perspective that is sustainable--one that doesn't leave you feeling like you've failed and, most importantly, allows room for fun and creativity.

Combining a mindful approach to exercise with delicious, nutritious recipes, this book will help you kickstart healthy habits, develop a positive mindset, and establish clear, achievable goals. Going far beyond diet and exercise, Ellie shares a holistic approach to feeling and being your best. From learning to listen to your body to establishing permanent rituals that work for you, the book encompasses all that improves your relationship with your physical and mental health.

Ellie Goulding has amassed multiple UK #1 singles, Brit Awards, and Grammy nominations over the past decade of her stellar career. Now, after years of inspiring fans with her love of fitness and wellness, in her first book, Fitter. Calmer. Stronger., Ellie shares her favorite recipes, workouts, and training principles. Drawing on her experiences, as well as the advice of friends and experts like Ant Middleton, Fearne Cotton, and Katie Taylor, you can use these tools and techniques every day to build a fitter, calmer, stronger you.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Audiobook, Fitness

272 pages, Hardcover

Published January 3, 2023

Reviews

[Liberty {LittyLibby} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic is the most fitting word I can think of for this book. Ellie Goulding is sweet, but this book would probably be more appropriate for a much younger gal than me, who has not spent her entire adult life working on her physical and mental health and doesn't have much in the way of diet and nutrition and exercise know-how. This book would probably work well for someone needing direction and inspiration toward eating right and basic exercising. The author makes basic points, like "food is fuel."
She cares a lot about the food we eat and the carbon footprint it makes. She's a big fan of boxing as exercise. Included are all the recipes for the incredibly hipster vegan diet she keeps, which is awesome for her, and would work well for an Instagram influencer community who cares a lot about what they're acai bowls look like in their Instagram feed. This isn't a criticism, it's just, well… basic.
It motivated me to go back and listen to the first album I loved of hers though, and that was fun. It did not cause me to rethink the amount of meat I eat, nor did I sign up for boxing classes.

[Annamária · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is in such great quality. I really like Ellie's humor and her tips. It's great that she talks with professionals in that region like for box, yoga and so on, so there is more opinions. There are an amazing recipes and chapters about mental health or friends, which is very important for your health, too. I am very happy and satisfied.

[Melanie Javerliat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful boost if you are already interested in physical/mental health, nutrition and fitness. I found the book really easy to read as a whole and enjoyed it. I know I can go back to exercise routines and recipes whenever I fancy it. A great book!

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not for me. To start off on a positive, the author didn't do her own narration but the narrator was fabulous. Usually that is not the case, but she was a good pick for this book.

Now this was overly simplistic for me and it felt like it was geared towards a younger crowd. Not bad per se, but just not for me. It also moved slow which made it feel overly wordy. Overall, I wasn't a fan, so 2 stars.

[J.t. Kehoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellie's approach to health is so unique and unlike anything I expected in this book. Although, I am a huge Ellie fan I was surprised at how well done this book was!

"Fitter. Calmer. Stronger" is a great guide for those interested in starting to think holistically about fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness. It is very basic and accessible, and she makes it clear that there is not a right or wrong way to go about reaching your health goals. She also dives into various other health and mindful discussions, including fasting, vitamin intake for vegans, boxing, cold-water immersion... the list goes on! Not only does she draw from her own experiences, but she also brings in academics, nutritionists, and trainers for reference and assistance in developing customized programs. I am excited to create my own stretching routine before my workouts. Also, she made recipes?! I made her stirfry recipe and it was delicious - I can't wait to try her smoothies and others!

Very biased review because I LOVE Ellie, but would highly highly recommend this to anyone interested in starting their health/fitness journey, or even those already on the path who want to learn new tips and tricks for their routine.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know too much about Ellie Goulding. I guess Ed Sheeran wrote a song about her. She kinda address that when she talked about anxiety in her “calmer” section of the book… without naming Ed. Good for you.

Anyway, Despite not knowing much about Ellie, I did hear she was a cold plunger and thought I’d check out her book. The cover is actually of Ellie cold plunging… sqwee! But there wasn’t that much about cold plunging. Just that she does it. In the calmer section of this book.

From reading the book, I could tell she was into fitness and health. So this book is kind of about where she is at at this point in her life now that she can afford to pay for personal trainers (Fitter.), therapists (Calmer.) and personal chefs (Stronger.)

I don’t begrudge her for it. If anyone is interested in her fitness routine, she has her own personal trainer notes. I’m not in her spot in her life, so my fitness is not at that level. As for the food and recipes, they looked really yummy. But a lot of ingredients, some kind of niche or hard to find. So I won’t be making Ellie’s açaí bowls in my kitchen. But we have yoga and cold plunging! (Calmer.)

I can see her writing a kids book or baby wellness book in the future as her life changes.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read from an incredible artist! Would recommend to those seeking more mindfulness and a greater sense of internal worth :)

[Kimberly Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this mind + body approach to fitness. As someone who has a foundational knowledge of fitness and nutrition, I found a lot of the suggestions, insights, and recommendations very thoughtful.

However, I think for someone new to the wellness world it could be overwhelming. Some of the concepts were very idealistic, and didn’t take into consideration the level of privilege that goes into certain aspects of health and fitness: access to quality/organic foods, time freedom, and the budget to purchase extras like wearable fitness tech, gym memberships, etc.

Overall, the book was a great fit for me and one I will go back to reference, but may not be a good fit for everyone.

[Ashley Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Some nice positive ideas and recipes. But…unless you have the funds to afford a personal trainer 3x a week plus barre and boxing and yoga and etc… I’d look to a different book for motivation and fitness strategies.

[Emily Mellow · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's fine, and has *some* good information, but it's not terribly interesting and if you're anything like me you will be continually wondering why you are still reading it. The writing also tries to be funny and just isn't.
The bad information includes her recommendation to have vegan "milks" and "meat". Also, she describes herself as an exercise addict when she was only running 30 minutes per day. That is literally the bare minimum amount of exercise the human body requires to be healthy.
I don't know who this woman is, but I guess fans of hers will enjoy the book because fandom, by definition, is a bit blind. She says she is very famous, and also that she is the fittest, strongest person she knows, and can run farther and faster than anyone else as well. Maybe she needs to widen her circle a bit. Maybe pursue that career as a pro boxer she is saving as a backup, which might be a bit of a reality check of how strong people can be.

[Cassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not just focused on diet or claiming to have the best exercises for you to lose weight, Fitter. Calmer. Stronger. is a mindful, holistic approach to overall wellness.

The book is sectioned into eight digestible chapters that beautifully champion wellness as a mindset and lifestyle. It's a great mix of personal anecdotes, expert input, and actionable items (exercises, recipes, and more) that make it easy to subscribe to this mentality. The most important part is that this is a framework to the lifestyle, meant to be tailored and adjusted to your unique needs and goals.

I think the best thread that follows through the whole book is this: the approach you take to achieving a fitter, calmer, & stronger you needs to be flexible. Whether it's adjusting the type of workout you do based on how your day was or allowing yourself to enjoy takeout with friends, flexibility is essential to making wellness sustainable.

There are two ways I felt the book could have been improved:

1. The photos were beautiful but felt like they lacked substance - like I was just looking through a fitness catalog. Because of this, there was a disconnect between the tone of the book and the polished imagery (save for the boxing images/content). I feel more complementary lifestyle and candid photos would have made it feel more down-to-earth and better matched the tone. (Also, I would have liked to have an image of the experts featured.)

2. Visual aids for the exercises described, whether an illustrated guide or photos.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellie’s approach to fitness was great because it was really relatable & sustainable! Not life changing advice, but good guidance for those starting out. She has a couple opinions/ideas that weren’t really relatable to me but still interesting to learn about.

[Maura Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic. The thoughts and ideas are good and right on according to mindfulness techniques but it's mostly stuff I already knew.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

2/19/2023 Surprisingly non-terrible for a celebrity wellness book! Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.

2/21/2023 I'll be honest, I and likely loads of others picked up this book because it has Ellie Goulding's name on the cover. Lights is such a terrific album (I'm listening to it again as I type) and I always thought the media hubbub over her moving on from Ed Sheeran to Niall Horan was overblown. And yes, she does mention it obliquely in the book, and yes, I absolutely agree with her take on things.

But more importantly to fans and readers everywhere, this is a book about how 30-something Ellie discovered how to nourish her best self. She freely admits to having had an unhealthy relationship with exercise, as well as to having bought into the false dichotomies of good and bad foods. Years of research and experience taught her the two most important things she imparts in this book: food should be nourishment for the body and soul, and exercise is about celebrating what your body can do for you, not punishment for eating.

The rest of the book is written with those two key ideas in mind, and is honestly really inspiring. There's some "getting rid of toxins" nonsense, but for the most part the book is grounded in common sense and devoid of silly buzzwords. I think the most valuable lesson this book had for me personally was the idea of exercise as a joyful expression of your body and exploration of its capabilities. Ellie reminds us that exercise shouldn't be about the way you look -- tho she certainly doesn't blame you if you like the way exercise does make you look -- but about the way you feel. Our bodies weren't designed to sit for hours at the computer or on a couch, and we should find the kinds of movement that make us feel most energized.

I was also fascinated by the 1% gains mindset she espouses. It's a very simple thing to do, trying to improve on your last performance by 1% -- whether in pace or difficulty or other metric -- but it's surprisingly meaningful, providing readers with a small new goal for their next training session. I also enjoyed the various different workouts she included in the book, all provided by certified trainers, tho I do wish that there had been more illustrations of the various exercises. I'm usually fine with only text, but pictures are super helpful when trying to show people how to do something. There are a great many photos of Ellie looking strong and healthy tho!

The other main part of this book revolves around food. Ellie is quick to remind readers that eating should be for enjoyment, and anything goes as long as it doesn't make you feel terrible afterward. This means listening to your body, not just when it's sending you "I'm full" signals (or, as I've discovered to my middle-aged regret, when you're on the precipice of full) but also as to what foods work for you and what don't. More people are lactose-intolerant than they care to admit, myself included, and sugar spikes are a real and unhealthy thing.

She also talks a bit about food sustainability, which is a very important topic, and mindful consumption. In fact, mindfulness is the watchword for the entire book, as she encourages readers to be thoughtful about their eating and exercising and taking enough time for themselves. She reminds readers to be as kind to themselves as they are to their best friends, and just gives a lot of lovely, sensible advice packaged together in a way that encourages readers to love themselves.

I will say that I thought a bit about making one of the recipes included in the back, since I cook book-related recipes weekly at my day job. I quickly realized however that the ingredient lists here are a lot more complicated than the ones I usually work with, as they're rather British health-food-store-oriented, and that I'm honestly too tired to shop for all these, much less put them together. The pictures and presentations are lovely tho!

Finally, I just loved the sense of humor and tone throughout this book. It felt ghostwriter-free, almost like a series of letters written to you by your fitter, calmer friend who just so happens to be a global pop star. I do think that she'll revisit some of her material as she gets older, but I look forward to reading more of her books!

Note: In a gesture of solidarity, I deliberately held this review till after HarperCollins successfully resolved the HarperCollins Union strike to the union's satisfaction.

Fitter. Stronger. Calmer.: A Mindful Approach To Exercise And Nutrition by Ellie Goulding was published January 3 2023 by Harper Horizon and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!

[Una Cottrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at just how wise and nature Ellie’s advice & writing was. She’s far younger than me (I’m in my 50’s) but there’s an honest maturity running through the book. I loved how she opens up about her social anxiety and early mental health issues and how she solved them for her. She’s obviously very dedicated to her health routine but she’s inspirational about why she is - she says how good she feels doing it. Even though she’s a good 20 years younger than me, I learnt something. Well, lots, actually. And although I’ve finished the book, I will be using it as a reference book and I know I’ll be coming back to re-read sections as time goes on

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being 37 and have gone through life a little and a lot of self improvement, this book didn’t offer anything I didn’t know. It was a good start, then I felt it got a bit lost; talking about lots of random tips, maybe it synced with the chapters, but it seemed a bit all over the place. I do like Ellie, animals and the environment, but the vegan parts didn’t hit with me. Also not a fan of boxing. Being a soccer player and yogi - I think I’ll stick to the other workouts. Not sure the pictures made sense, they felt like a magazine shoot rather than her interacting with the reader… not sure I’d recommend.

[Julia Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unrealistic. I like Ellie Goulding as a singer but her book make me feel depressed. She describe that if she sit down for 30 min. she has to do some form of exercise, for me that set that person have mental health issues that she doesn't want to deal with. She said that we not a robots but then we need to move all the time, it does not make sense. In real life women don't have nanny's or cook to look after you and your family. In reality women (mother) does all herself. She work, cook, wash, does the shopping and if we have 30 min for herself that achievement. But do running when you do the dishes or do squats when you clean your teeth, sorry but I cannot see it.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as fitness books go, this was par for the course. There were parts that I really enjoyed, parts that I’ve heard before from every other fitness guru/doctor, and parts that were incredibly niche that I just skimmed over. If you are at the beginning of your health and fitness journey, this would be a great book to start with. It’s really a quick read. But, if you have a healthy life or have already immersed yourself in the various health and fitness books, this is one you could skip as there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking. I did enjoy the memoir-ish feel that Ellie injected into the writing.

[MynameisTibby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I agree with Ellie's philosophy regarding workouts, and the book is greatly written, there are beautiful pictures, and some really good advice in there, it did not feel enough of a celebrity/advice/lifestyle book.

I learned things I was not aware of about Ellie, I underlined lovely quotes such as "do not set yourself on fire to keep everybody warm", but it was just missing something for me. Perhaps it was my level of expectation, but it felt like half a book, or maybe it should have been a documentary instead, a more visual experience with video of the interviews with her trainers and dietician.

I would recommend it though.

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't realized who this was by and definitely skimmed it quite quickly. The tone is so conversational it's a bit hard for me to sink into, but the message is good and sweet, and I think it's very cool how strong Ellie is especially as a boxer- femme representation in such a sport is so rad. It had some good reminders I need as someone who can get a bit too addicted to sports, and I would have loved this book when I was a bit younger. Overall it's a book I hope people pick up. 3.5 for me where I am right now.

[Haylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gained a lot from reading this book. It felt good to celebrate the things I am already doing well and grow my perspective in areas where I am not.
I love the sharing of expertise and advice from her team, making valuable health and wellness hacks accessible to readers.
Overall, Ellie’s approach is grounded, flexible and nurturing. It’s all about self love, self trust and listening to your body.
There were some fluffy bits I skipped over but the messages were bang on.
I also really like the aesthetic of the book.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know know who Ellie Goulding (guess she has a big social following) is, i picked this up based of a friend recommendation. Its not a bad book it gives basic knowledge that everyone should know already but most don't follow. It has a few quick exercises broken down during the day and explains how to do them not just telling you how many to do, and includes some recipes most I've never heard of having interesting ingredients.

She repeats she is not a medical professional but these things worked for her as she listens more to her body which makes her mind at peace.

[Love&Lattes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not a page turner for me.

It is probably a really great read for someone new to the health and fitness world. But if you’ve already read over a dozen books to inspire or educate you on the importance of nutrition and exercise, then it’s just more of the same.

I like her personal twist, although not relatable, it’s a good reminder that at the end of the day, celebrities are still people just like us!

[Mia Naccarato · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked this one up from the library. Was in search of some inspiration (and I liked that there were recipes) but this book didn’t really provide me with what I wanted. It mainly outlined information that I already knew, and scratched the surface on a lot of topics involving fitness and nutrition. This book would be better for someone new to the fitness & nutrition world. I also wasn’t enticed to try any of the recipes lol.

[Jenna Marker · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not my usual type of book, so it's a complement when I give something like this 3 stars. The last half of the book was recipes which is nice but for picky eaters/families that all seem like it would be extremely hard to implement. On the other hand, there was some great information in this book as well.

[Markie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a great lifestyle book for those seeking a healthy change. Goulding explores exercise, meditation/yoga, and cooking. I loved how she interviews experts in the field, giving the book more depth.

[mrs rhys · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a long-time Ellie fan, it was interesting to read about a different side to her, even if most of these tips are pretty basic and nothing I haven't heard before. Not even she could convince me to do the workouts or recipes she recommends...unless someone cooks them for me 🤣😋

[Soquel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know who Ellie Goulding was (yes, I live under a rock.) I found her advice to be very relatable and it was easy to understand her mindset. I liked the interviews she did with her trainers and others. I am very interested in trying a Barre class now!

[Donna Francisco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. A good starting point I guess

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good overall but way too many lines (in parenthesis) that can be found on (nearly) every page.