I love nothing more than a good diet book, but Healthy as F*ck gave me more than I bargained for. Rather than the run of the mill - eat this, don't eat that this book challenges the reader to take charge of their own health, wellness and diet by focusing on habits that go beyond the usual.

Certainly the most entertaining health and fitness book I’ve ever read. The author’s voice is very fun and it was an easy book to read. There are also a lot of perfectly actionable and great ideas that would work for a lot of people, myself included. And I liked the emphasis on “no you don’t want a thin/buff/whatever body, you want the feeling you think that body will give you” and “it’s ok to decide you don’t want to lose weight”...

But. Every health and wellness book I read from now on is getting compared to Anti-Diet, and although that book didn’t sit completely perfectly with me, none of the comparatives are doing any better. I don’t know, I just wish we could find a way to balance this super gung-ho YOU CAN DO IT attitude with the gentle, holistic (but sometimes smothering) Anti-Diet assertion that trying to control what we eat to any degree is ultimately harmful.

I guess if this book and that book had a baby? It would probably be the closest thing to a perfect book about how humans eat.

Bottom line, I did get a lot out of this book and enjoyed reading it to boot. I just take some of it with a grain of salt (and no, I am not making a joke about limiting sodium intake, because that would be annoying.)

Let’s cut to the chase: in a world with no shortage of advice on healthy living and every faddy diet under the sun, this is *the* best book on the topic I think I’ll ever read! It’s no-bull common sense, written clearly and with a great deal of humour – and, as the title may give away, a lot of swearing. As long as you don’t have an issue with the latter, then this book is genuinely the only one you really need to read on the topic.

I absolutely love the dismissal of any and all faddy diets. The industry does not work, people, or we wouldn’t be growing grossly fatter as a population! And yes, the slant is a little more towards weight loss, but I actually picked this up looking for all-round healthy living ideas – and that’s exactly what the book is aiming at.

Why do you want to lose weight, the author asks? To be skinny? Why? To be fitter, healthier? Why? What do you imagine you’ll feel like when you hit that ‘magical’ number on the scales? Oh, happy. Well, why don’t we just start there – why not look at how to be happy first, because odds on it will make the weight loss stuff easier. Nothing good comes from a place of self-loathing. And before you think otherwise, the difference is made clear between long-term ‘happy’ and short-term pleasure e.g. eating more doughnuts.

There’s a great deal of joy in the no-nonsense approach. Part one is titled “Get your head out of your ass.” It is so true that we get to choose the balance of effort we’re willing to make, for the result we want to get. In other words, six-pack toting supermodel is a nice dream, but be realistic: do you *really* want to put in that much effort – because you’d have to rejig your entire lifestyle. And on the flip side, if you’re unwilling to stop buying and scoffing family-sized packs of biscuits, there’s no point in bemoaning the layer of blubber.

Duncan pushes for the approach of setting up healthy habits that become second-nature, thus removing all the aggro and wasted mental space of ‘dieting’. It’s a good follow on from previous reads I’ve enjoyed, such as Tiny Habits. She also tells us to avoid the ‘perfectionism’ trap, and just work on slow and steady improvements.

I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who’s remotely interesting in improving their lifestyle, including but not just losing weight. It’s such a tonic from all of the ridiculous fads – keto, or gluten free, or whatever is this month’s marketing trick – and I love the simplicity of it. The focus is psychological, and yes, eating more vegetables. But this is the first time I’ve read a book like this and gone ‘yes!’ rather than ‘hmm (I wish that kind of nonsense worked/wasn’t more harm than good in the long term)’.

Reads like a pep talk and has some practical information. I think I'm a little over the swearing fad but that's on my because I can clearly read the cover of the book and still chose to read it haha.

I've been with Oonagh's fitness group for over a year now and it's great to have her philosophies in book form, as well. I enjoyed it so much I also bought the audio version (because she can be annoying when she gets in your head but it's ultimately game-changing)!

Oonagh is an amazing motivator and this book is a great resource for anyone interested in healthier living.

Healthy as F*ck is hands-down the best health and wellness book I’ve ever read. Author Oonagh Duncan is funny, relatable, and smart in her approach to wellness. The secret to weight loss isn’t a magic pill or a quick fix or an extreme diet. It’s all about the habits you form, the small changes that will ultimately shape your behavior and help you lose weight. Ms. Duncan provides simple guidelines that are easy to follow, but before you get to those I highly recommend doing the very few exercises she asks you to do on finding your why. Trust me, it’s something I would normally roll my eyes at but it was a far more powerful motivator than I could have imagined.

Ms. Duncan’s approach is the most commonsense one I’ve seen in a long time. Her conversational writing style is also incredibly appealing – she talks like my friends and I do. I’ve read Healthy as F*ck twice already and her voice is what draws me in from the start, making me more at ease and open to her ideas. That being said, if cussing bothers you then you may have a hard time with this book. As for me, I loved everything about this book. It has been the most helpful book on getting healthy I’ve ever read and Ms. Duncan’s writing is a joy to read. So if you’re looking for an approachable, motivational, commonsense approach on how to meet your long-term health goals, you cannot go wrong with Healthy as F*ck.

Refreshing take on how small changes can have to long lasting benefits. This isn't some fad diet but a true alternate to changing how to think and behave to live a healthier lifestyle.

This book is amazing! I loved all the tips and had so much fun reading it. IT was as though the author knew what I needed help with in my life.

Ok I am going to be in the minority on this one. First of all, I am getting a bit tired of "the must use curse word in title" fad. I have nothing against cursing, I curse often, but really? I don't understand why it's necessary in this case. It just feels like a ploy to get attention.

Ok now that I have that done. I have nothing against this book particularly, the author was nice, funny, enthusiastic, down to earth, and relatable. Her advice is sound and makes a ton of sense. Much of it wasn't new to me. It's things I've read in many, many other books: tie it to your values, make it a habit by anchoring it to some trigger and reward, think proactively, plan for it, give yourself grace.

But here's the deal, even as she tells you to make something a habit and not a "diet" I feel like it oversimplifies how hard this really is. She tells you not to put food in good vs bad categories but then really tells you not to eat a bunch of stuff. Developing a new habit is hard. Let alone 7 new ones she recommends. I know she knows it's hard too and this book was very motivating. And there are several ideas I liked: one around not being hungry vs being full and the difference between pleasure and happiness.

But in the end, besides liking her voice and tone, I didn't really learn anything all that new from this book. If this area is new to you, I think you will love this book. It's funny, heartfelt and no-nonsense all at once.

with gratitude to netgalley and Sourcebooks for an early copy in return for an honest review.

I liked the execution of the information in this book. As someone who has read a lot of books giving advice on being healthy I liked this approach a lot. Oonagh was no nonsense, but also completely understood the struggle that is out in the modern world. For those tired of diet/nutrition books I would give this one a try. It just might turn your outlook around.

Being Healthy as F*ck is hard. You have to change your habits. You have to change your mindset. You have to put your big-girls panties on.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. This book attempts to straight talk you into actually changing your habits—but only the ones that provide the most bang for your buck. Nothing here is original: eat more veggies, eat less protein, sleep more, drink less alcohol, etc. It is the way the book seems to speak straight to you that is new.

If you are ready to make some uncomfortable, but not painful, changes to your lifestyle, Healthy as F*ck is a great motivating tool—like a blunt, foul-mouthed cheerleader in your corner. You gotta love a diet/fitness book that uses Einstein, Grover, and Mr. Burns for examples. Again, as you can tell from the title, this book holds back no punches with its honesty but also its underlying support of the reason you want to get healthy. We all want to feel good about ourselves and this book might help you get there. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!

Thanks to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
A hilarious take on dieting and weight-loss that helps you accept your body and live healthy at the level you're comfortable with, not at the sake of your happiness. Because what's the point of being society's definition of thin if you're miserable. I absolutely love her take on fighting your bad habits and keeping your willpower and motivation while accepting your limits.

Welcome to a refreshing and gloriously unapologetic conversation about health, fitness and habits. Award-winning trainer Oonagh Duncan cuts through the wellness clutter to drop some truth bombs: it might not be six-pack abs you’re looking for -- it might be happiness, confidence, and acceptance. But if losing your belly is what you want, don’t let anyone -- including yourself -- stop you from going after it. And she’ll show you how to make it happen.

There’s only one major difference between those rare unicorns who have managed to lose weight and the rest of us: their habits. When you acknowledge that following a diet is not getting you anywhere, and you make a few small changes to your everyday routine, you’ll find yourself happier and healthy as f*ck.

I loved this book, not only were there excellent tips on becoming healthy but it was one that boosts your confidence and helps you get motivated! It was like talking to a friend and had lots of humor. There is quite a bit of swearing, that some might not like, but I found it humorous.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the arc of Healthy as F*ck by Oonagh Duncan
Pub Date: 17 Sep 2019

A very enjoyable read, full of interesting ideas and humour.
I really liked this book and I recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Nothing I haven't read before, but author is real and funny! Very enjoyable read! Looking forward to reading more by this author!

Healthy As (You Know What) is a very good motivational book that contains a lot of common-sense information about ditching the diet mentality that keeps so many of us struggling with extra weight and focuses on the one thing that will, ultimately, make a difference on whether we keep off or regain the weight that we lose over the course of our lives: the cultivation of healthy habits.

However, as much as I enjoyed the information in this book, I found the author’s gratuitous use of profanity quite distracting.

The end result? Four out of five stars for what could have been a five out of five star book.

I am not sure this book has any new information for many people who are looking to lose weight or simply live a healthier life. What this book does better than many others, however, is offer the kick in the butt some people may need. I thought Ms. Duncan did a good job of balancing motivation and personal responsibility. The message here is that changing habits is not always easy, but it is possible if you are committed to making those changes. Some health books make this point by telling you it is all up to you and if you can't achieve your goals it is because there is something wrong with you - that is why I loved the "half-ass" it section of the book. If you can't muster up the energy or motivation for the big goal, strive for something smaller that you can achieve. That way you don't lose your momentum by taking a day off. I also think orthis book does an excellent job of getting you to seriously think about why you want to lose weight so that you can use that as your motivator and reminder for what you are working towards. What I probably appreciated most was that her 'after' pictures of some of her clients were not skinny toned women, but women you were simply healthy. I think this book also gets you to rethink how you talk about a weightloss journey and how sometimes we think someone is offering us a compliment (you don't need to go on a diet, you look great) but really they are sabotaging our efforts rather than backing us in our decision to live a healthier life.

My only problem with this book is the same problem I have with all self-help and dieting books - it offers up a lot of general advice but doesn't offer any specific suggestions. It makes it sound so easy to completely change your diet but doesn't seem to take into consideration food allergies or physical injuries that may impede progress. For example, there is a recommendation to use almond milk in a recipe, but I am allergic to it so it is not a viable dairy substitute.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and was able to take away a lot of good pointers and advice to incorporate into my everyday life.

Was unable to read as it couldn't be downloaded properly.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Book had some great tips for eating better. About halfway through the book I began to feel like this book wasn't for me. I'm looking for small doable step for a better way of eating. The title seems a little gimmicky.

I absolutely loved the message and voice of Oonagh's Healthy as F*ck! I found myself re-reading entire sections to my husband, who more-or-less has no interest in my obsession with these kinds of books, but found he'd crack up and agree with Oonagh's writing, too.

There were a lot of great suggestions/methodologies to learn from and that I plan on applying to my life. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review. I would (and will) highly recommend this to those I know who could benefit from it!