Top 10 Must-Read Books for Women on Fitness, Health, and Happiness

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An Ipad, a fireplace, a blanket, and a couch are the main ingredients to my happy place. I love to read!

I was recently chatting with my friend (a fellow fitness lover), and we were talking about the impact that reading has made on our health and happiness.

“There is nothing more motivating than a good book,” she said. I had to agree.

These books for women on fitness, health, and happiness can help you change your perspective about diet, exercise, and weight loss and help you live a healthier life! | Health and Happy Hour

While an inspirational video or picture is nice, a good book can give you lasting motivation for days, months, and sometimes, even years.

In that spirit, I have decided to share some of the best books around for fitness, health, and happiness. These books have all become best sellers and if you have not read them, you’re missing out.

1. Rising Strong (#1 Bestseller on Amazon)


Brene’ Brown, is widely known for her top 10 Ted Talk that reached over 10 million people and 2 best-selling books. What’s good is that Rising Strong isn’t some feel-good-and-get-over-it cliché. Brene’ Brown is a researcher and scientist, and this book can help you pick yourself back up after you’ve fallen.

Click here to see Rising Strong on Amazon!

2. Eat to Live (#1 Bestseller on Amazon)


The ultimate book designed to help you curb your cravings and turn on effortless weight loss through healthy eating. If you struggle with binge eating and feel like you just can’t stick with your diet, then THIS is the book for you.

Joel Furhman outlines one of the best weight loss plans EVER and teaches you everything you need to know about eating to be healthier and happier.

Click here to see Eat to Live on Amazon!

3. 10% Happier


Dan Harris’ inspiration for this book came after having a breakdown from stress and anxiety on national television. He sought out why this happened and what he could do about it. The result was the book 10% Happier, which is a phenomenal book on managing stress and finding fulfillment in one’s life.

Click here to see 10% Happier on Amazon!

4. The Oh She Glows Cookbook (#1 Bestseller on Amazon)

After a decade of struggling with an eating disorder and subsisting on diet, low-calorie, processed foods, Angela Liddon vowed to get healthy once and for all. Done with feeling sick and tired, she threw out her fat-free butter spray and low-calorie frozen dinners. Instead, Angela embraced whole foods that made her glow from the inside out.

This book is exactly how she did that and is filled with delicious vegan-friendly recipes that will turn your health around and change your perspective on healthy living.

Click here to see Oh She Glows on Amazon!

5. Bossypants


Before Liz Lemon, before “Weekend Update,” before “Sarah Palin,” Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true. This book is crazy inspirational, absolutely hilarious, and just simply amazing!

Click here to see Bossypants on Amazon!

6. The Body Book


The law of hunger, the science of strength, the power of knowledge, and other ways to love your amazing body. Most celebrity workout books are full of garbage and are just a testament to how much of a genetic freak some celebrities are.

However, Cameron Diaz (love her) did a phenomenal job with this book inspiring you to love your body!

Click here to see The Body Book on Amazon!

7. Creativity Inc. (#1 Bestseller on Amazon)


Amy Wallace, a journalist whose work has appeared in GQ, The New Yorker, Wired, Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times Magazine, wrote this book on how to inspire original creativity from ourselves.

There’s tons of enriching and insightful inspiration about how to lead a life of originality and creativity!

Click here to see Creativity, Inc. on Amazon!

8. Practical Paleo (#1 Bestseller on Amazon)

Our great-grandmothers didn’t need nutrition lessons—then again, they weren’t forced to wade through aisle after aisle of packaged foods touting outlandish health claims and confusing marketing jargon.

Over the last few decades, we’ve forgotten what “real food” is, and we’re left desperately seeking foods that will truly nourish our bodies. We’re disillusioned with the “conventional wisdom” for good reason—it’s led us down a horrific path.

This book aims to change that with practical recipes and advice for living a more “real” lifestyle. If you’re currently into paleo or wondering what all the hype is about, you should check this book out!

Click here to see Practical Paleo on Amazon!

9. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead


Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook and is ranked on Fortune’s list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business and as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World.

In 2010, she gave an electrifying Ted Talk in which she described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which became a phenomenon and has been viewed more than two million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto.

Click here to see Lean In on Amazon!

10. 21-Day Sugar Detox

This is by far MY FAVORITE. Killing my sugar cravings once and for all has been one of the most important parts of my development into a happy and healthy lifestyle. This book has easy-to-follow meal plans and more than 90 simple recipes to bust a lifetime of sugar and curb cravings in just three weeks.

Three levels of the program make it approachable for anyone, whether you’re starting from scratch or from a gluten-free, grain-free, and/or Paleo/primal lifestyle.

Click here to see 21-Day Sugar Detox on Amazon!

I hope these books help inspire you on your journey to living a happier and healthier life 🙂

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Hi there! My name is Lauren, and I'm a former vegan and lover of all things health, nutrition, and yoga! The goal of this blog is to help guide YOU through the journey to happy and healthy weight loss!

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