As a plus sized woman with a history of disordered eating, I really appreciated the sense of “body neutrality” in this book. Even though I gave up diet culture a few years ago, I never related to the idea of “body positivity.” I don’t feel positive about my body still. Some days I like or dislike it more than others, but I’ve never felt the way that body positivity says to love your body no matter its size. In I Am More Than My Body, Bethany C. Meyers encourages the idea that your feelings about your body can swing one way or the other, but body neutrality means that overall, you don’t have to love or hate your body. Your body is not all of you. You are so much more than how your body presents you to the world, so you shouldn’t tie your self worth to how you feel about your body.

Although it can seem like easier said than done, I appreciated the tips given by the author and other contributors of how to understand neutrality, and ways that you can try to find more of a balance in your life. You’ll never be perfect, but if you find yourself swinging one way or the other, there are ways you can try to bring yourself back to neutral. I would highly recommend this book for anyone. Everyone has had issues with food and body representation at some point, so the tips in this book can help with your own feelings, and the relationships around you.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P Putnam for an advanced copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this book! It is a quick read and really gets to the heart of body neutrality. I love the discussion questions that were posed throughout the book and can easily see myself thinking through those on hard body days. I will certainly be looking out for more by this author!

I Am More Than My Body is a book about body neutrality not body positivity and thats a very important distinction. I appreciated this viewpoint more than any other book in this genre. It is always hard to listen to the body positivity stuff when you have been so negative about your body for years due to media, perceptions, etc. and just have them say that you should stand in front of the mirror and say "I love my body." It is just not realistic. But this book is. This book is about being neutral about your body, taking the steps towards learning about your body, being ok with just having one to start and then getting towards a space where it is just not negative anymore. It is a more realistic viewpoint and I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my copy of this eARC. This is my honest review.

This book took me some time to get through because of my own struggle with eating disorders. It is a tough, but necessary topic and I think this book is very timely. I liked the voice of the author, but I struggled with some of the interposition of quotes and conversations with others. I think some of the transitions were a bit jarring and it was hard to know who was saying what and why they were suddenly brought up. I think this book would've also benefited from citations to studies mentioned for the reader to do follow up research. Overall, I liked the book and would recommend it as a good stepping stone into body conversations.

This book was a little disappointing. Really thought it would encourage body positivity and guidelines or support on how to go towards a more successful life. If did not do that. As someone who has struggled with ED and body dysmorphia my whole life I was really hoping this book would help. It didn’t hurt. But it wasn’t a very exciting read either. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really loved this book and appreciate the new perspective it gave me. It took me a bit longer to get through than other books but body neutrality is a topic I needed to spend some time on and I have learned so much about. Thank you Net Galley and Penguin Random House for the ARC.

If you need a new perspective on dieting, self acceptance & your body, this is a book you’ll want to read,

I received an advanced copy of this book on Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a must read for everyone. This is a book that I wish I had in high school but I'm glad that I have it now. I particularly enjoyed the section on movement and the different examples of movement the reader can do in their own home.

This book introduces the concept of body neutrality, which is the awareness that no matter how we feel about our body, we can find a way to respect it and in turn feel self-worth. "Some days we love our body, some days we hate our body, but every day we respect our body." Bethany takes us through three steps to help us get to body neutrality.
1) Acknowledging your honest feelings.
2) Exploring where these feelings come from.
3) Reconnecting with your body through gratitude.
There's a lot of information regarding toxic positivity, diet culture and outdated societal standards. All around, everything is helpful in support of figuring out how to find neutral ground with your body.

Deep, meaningful, realistic look on the body positively movement. My own views of my own body align with those of the author. I don't want to get too personal on this site but definitely read this book if you have suffered from body issues, eating disorders, diet culture, etc
Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

The book is an excellent primer for those trying to have a more neutral or even just different relationship with their body. I like the different perspectives from the people the author collaborated with as well as the personal elements weaved into the information. I think this book will help a lot of people.

I really loved this book, despite the homework it assigned, because it offers an alternative to the body positive movement and acknowledges that there are some days where you are not in love with your body. At the heart of this book is a realistic expectation of how to view your body, which is as a vessel to accomplish things, not a product to be replicated and consumed for others eyes. The author treads lightly, and respectfully acknowledges, the difficulties that those with eating disorders have experienced and faithfully addresses this issue without judgement, which I found to be refreshing because the body positive movement doesn’t touch upon this delicate topic in a way that makes someone feel seen and understood. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an alternative way to embrace their body and its service to you.

Meyers gives a good insight into what it's like to struggle with body issues, even if you're what society considers
"normal". She talks about what true body neutrality is, rather than the pseudo body positivity movement that has been going on in society. This is a good read, especially for people recovering from disordered eating themselves.

I loved this book! Beautifully written, insightful, just wonderful. I enjoyed the mix of stories and information in this book, it felt like a nice balance that kept me interested and reading without being overwhelmed with information. I is absolutely an interesting book in the body neutrality space.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I really, truly loved this book. I have always had a tough relationship with my body and struggled with my relationship with food. This book really make me think about the way I think about myself, my body, and with movement. Body neutrality is something I have been working on and will continue to work on every day. I was already obsessed with Bethany after following their journey on Instagram and I knew I would love this book. I have recommended this one to so many people already and I know I will read it again and again. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this early!

This book does what it sets out to do beautifully. Body neutrality is not a new concept, but the author takes this idea and makes it feel more accessible and practical for beginners. I thought that the information was presented in an easily digestible format and enjoyed the thought provoking reflection questions.

I wish more books like this existed. This book takes a very honest, approachable way to addressing topics such as body positivity and body neutrality. The content is easy to read and understand, plus I appreciate that the author acknowledges her own privilege.

I was unfamiliar with the concept of body neutrality before beginning this book. I learned quite a bit from reading it, and I support the idea going forward. I think it’s much better than the body positivity movement. Thanks for teaching me so much!

Despite what my rating may suggest, I do this this is a phenomenal book. As someone who has tried to get past her issues with her body by using body positivity for years, body neutrality was new to me. It seemed counterproductive.

This book does a fantastic job incorporating information and stories from marginalized identities and explaining how our body’s shape and size are not isolated factors regarded how we are treated in society.

Something about the writing and structuring of the book wasn’t for me, but I still think the message was clear and important? And it may be amazing for someone else.

I desperately needed this book. Recovery from an eating disorder is a lifelong journey and something you have to actively work on. Many people don't even realize they have a disordered relationship with food or their body. This book is a wonderful resource for anyone who wants to move away from anti-fat bias, toxic positivity, or diet culture and just live in their body.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publication date 6/27/23

This book is a great introduction to the concept of body neutrality, which is not the same as body positivity. Meyers uses a casual and gentle tone when giving the readers a primer to the concept, and then uses specific examples and suggestions to further illustrate her points.

I had heard of body neutrality before reading this book, but wasn't super familiar with the concept, so I appreciated learning more, especially in regards to eating disorders and exercise. There is a section on pregnancy which wasn't relevant to me personally, but I still found it interesting.

A short, easy read, and I'd recommend to readers interested in learning more about body neutrality. Possible trigger warnings include discussions of eating disorders and compulsive exercise.