Fat Chance is, in my opinion, the best book out there (besides my own, of course!) on the science of food addiction and the reasons why long-term weight loss is so hard. I love Dr. Lustig’s research and am excited that Bright Line Eating picks up where his work leaves off.
The End of Overeating is one of several books I assigned every semester in my college course on the Psychology of Eating. It’s a fascinating romp through the science of over-consuming hyper-palatable foods. Dr. Kessler’s credentials are impressive, and his book is, too.
I read The China Study in February of 2012, and it rocked me to my core. I immediately started choosing plant-based instead of animal-based protein sources. I highly recommend this book, for many reasons, as an introduction to plant-based eating.
People often ask me what I think about supplements, and I refer them to this book. I resisted letting go of my vitamins for so long, but after reading this book I stopped taking them in one fell swoop. I now support supplementation only in cases of deficiency or body imbalance. Generally speaking, our basic nutrients must be supplied by our food. This book explains why.
Although Ellyn Satter and I disagree on the biology of food addiction in adults, we agree wholeheartedly on the psychology of feeding children. As a mother of three little kids, I’m so grateful I found Ellyn Satter’s “Division of Responsibility” when my oldest daughters were still infants. I pass along her research-based wisdom to parents who ask me how they should be feeding their kids.
For many years, I taught a college course in Positive Psychology. I believe this book is necessary reading for anyone who is interested in how to be happier, healthier, and live a more meaningful life. The “PERMA Model” is my favorite go-to framework for self-actualization and happiness.
Reading the book Willpower changed my life. In fact, the name “Bright Line Eating” came to me in my morning mediation not long after I had read the small paragraph on bright lines in this book. A lot of Bright Line Eating philosophy is based on the research Baumeister presents here, and it’s a fabulous and fascinating read. I highly recommend it.
I love Barbara Fredrickson’s book and recommend it every chance I get. I lecture a lot on the science of love and human connection, and the work coming out of her PEP lab (Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology lab) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, leads the field. Love 2.0 offers a radical new view on what love is from a scientific perspective, and I think it’s right on.
I often speak of people I know who’ve been following the four Bright Lines of sugar, flour, meals, and quantities without a single deviation for 20, 30, even 40 years. Their stories are immortalized in this book. Most of what we know about what works and what doesn’t work in recovery from food addiction comes from these pioneers. If you have an interest in the 12-Step origins of the Bright Line Eating program, this book is a must read.
Not all digital scales are created equal. This one is my favorite by far. It doesn’t shut off too quickly when you’re adding ingredients to a big salad, and the extendable faceplate allows you to see what you are weighing, even if you have a huge bowl or plate on top. Trust me, this is the best scale on the market.
This smaller and lighter version of the OXO digital food scale has all of the great properties of the larger one, but is light enough to travel. When I’m on the road, I keep one in my purse.
Research out of Cornell University shows that viewing a graph of your weight history after you step on the scale is the most effective way to keep your weight where you want it. This bathroom scale wirelessly transmits your weight each day to an app that shows you a graph of your weight trajectory. It’s a pretty snazzy device and I recommend it.
I have been writing in my Five-Year Journal every single night without exception for over five years now. I recommend this practice to every human being on the planet. This is my current recommendation for a five-year journal, but the truth is I think we can do better. In the future, I’ll create a Bright Line Eating Five-Year Journal. But for now, this one’s pretty cool.
Meditating each morning is a big part of the Bright Line Eating way of life, and I am a huge fan of using this gorgeous timer to mark my meditation sessions. It chimes to the sound of Tibetan singing bowls and has wonderful features that allow you to demarcate different segments of your meditation practice, if you’re into that kind of thing.
My meditation practice floundered and fizzled for years and years before I discovered the magic of sitting on a meditation bench. This bench is incredibly comfortable; it tilts the pelvis at just the right angle to have a straight back and comfortable joints. I love this meditation bench so much, I can hardly stand it. The folding legs are indispensable. I take it in my suitcase with me when I travel. Seriously.
A Persian woman with impeccable manners once told me that she was taught to eat like every bite was the most delicious morsel of food she had ever tasted. Slowing down and enjoying food is one of the bounties of life. Created and designed by someone in our very own Bright Line Eating community, this tableware can help.
Pulp Fiction is my favorite movie ever. Nearly every word is quotable. It’s hardcore to the max, for sure, but, hey, I roll like that. The brilliance woven into every scene and the full-circle storyline just gob smack me. So frickin’ brilliant. There will never be another movie like this. Total classic.
Funny enough, my second favorite movie in the world also came out in 1994, the year I got clean and sober, and beat out Pulp Fiction for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Forrest Gump is similar in so many ways to Pulp Fiction, with one of the most memorable screenplays ever. I frequently can be heard spouting quotes from either Forrest Gump or Pulp Fiction. How can two movies be so very similar and yet so entirely different?
Ask anyone who went to grade school with me and, almost guaranteed, the main thing they will remember about me is my hardcore Prince fangirl status. I love all of his albums, but if I have to pick one as a favorite, I pick Sign ‘O’ the Times. Soulful, timeless, brilliant, like the man himself. Love you, Prince.
One of my best friends turned me on to Snatam Kaur a few years ago, and I became enchanted. When I want to use music to lift my soul up to the heavens and memorialize a moment in eternity, I play the song “Ong Namo.” It’s a spiritual experience waiting to happen.
The debut Indigo Girls album is woven into the fabric of my coming of age. I remember walking the streets of San Francisco with headphones on, striding with a bounce in my step on a sunny day, just loving life, and feeling so connected to the sisterhood. “The less I seek my source for some definitive, the closer I am to fine!”
At the age of eighteen, I was introduced to Joni Mitchell, and Hejira was the first album I devoured. The opening song, “Coyote,” strikes me as featuring some of the most brilliant lyrics ever. I’m a huge Joni Mitchell fan and love so very many of her albums, but Hejira will always have a special place in my heart.
Box Set is a local band from my native San Francisco, and I spent my late teenage years and early twenties standing front row as a groupie at their concerts. Jeff and Jim are now dear friends, and this CD assembles the best of the best, showcasing what I love about this band so much. We invited them to play at the First Annual Bright Line Eating Family Reunion, and they brought the house down. Box Set is now part of BLE culture for good.
Ani Difranco is another one of my all-time favorite artists. So unique, so fiercely herself. I love this woman, and especially love experiencing her live performances. Living in Clip is one of my favorite albums because it contains all of my favorite songs, but delivered in that way only Ani can achieve when live on stage.
When it comes to novels, this one stands out to me. Man, I love this book! It’s a classic time-travel mind-warp with really powerful lessons about the trajectory of our lives, what matters and what doesn’t, and how we affect each other. My favorite books combine deep meaning and a twist of plot that make my jaw drop. I friggin’ loved this book and I heartily recommend it.