Author Spotlight: Alexandra MacKillop

If you get excited about author debuts and/or nutrition and health, you’re in the right spot! Collaborating with new authors is something I’ve been enjoying so much lately, and I am quite excited to introduce you to another author-friend – and her brand-new book – today.

Meet the Author

I’ve had the distinct honor and privilege of knowing Alexandra since we were in college together. Her zest for life, ready smile, depth of knowledge, and compassionate – and passionate – heart are just a few of the things I love about her.

Since graduating from undergrad, Alexandra has earned her medical degree in functional medicine. Functional medicine essentially means that she looks beyond just the physiological symptoms for a more holistic view of her patients and their health.

One of her passions as a physician is the relationship that women have with food. Because of her own past with food, one of her goals is to promulgate a counter-cultural idea:

Diets aren’t the answer.

In fact, they’re detrimental to our health.

She is so convinced of her viewpoint that she wrote and published an entire book on the subject.

When I first heard her book synopsis, I thought, “Well, that’s not really for me. I don’t do diets anyway.” Although I do love daisies and the color blue, so the cover itself is enough to make me want to read it!

After having read nearly half of the book (so far) through an advanced review copy, I can tell you this: Fulfilled is for just about everyone. True, it’s mainly directed toward women, but really, if you’ve ever:

• struggled with accepting how your body looks
• tried to lose weight
• justified eating dessert to a friend (while still feeling a little guilty about it)
• counted calories

…then this book is for you.

In the first half of Fulfilled, Alexandra walks us through why diets don’t work and why they’re unhealthy, breaking down all of our common conceptions about nutrition with facts and research. She explains what healthy really means by describing God’s design for any body shape or size.

In the second half, Alexandra describes how we can become free from food rules and diets and eat anything – anything – by practicing intuitive eating. Since understanding what intuitive eating is, and how it works, is not a common concept, she defines and explains everything in terms any non-physician can understand and then gives practical steps to become an intuitive eater.

While the book can be a bit statistic-heavy in some places, I think the data does the important job of undergirding her proposal to ditch diets. This idea, as we all know, goes against the grain of our collective psyche and so requires a good deal of evidence to back up her claims.

She also bases her claims on her faith-based understanding of God and his design for the human body. Whether or not you agree with her worldview, I still encourage you to read the book, because there’s a lot of helpful things about nutrition and health that you may not have heard or thought of before.

Plus, I just have to say: every time I pick up this book to read a bit more, I’m simply filled with peace. Alexandra speaks in a common-sense and compassionate tone that is both professional and personable. The joy and satisfaction she has found oozes out of her. It’s delightful.

Alexandra is uniquely qualified to speak on this topic, given both her history with an eating disorder and her experience as a physician: she’s lived and seen the extremes of dieting and a whole swath of in-betweens. Because of this experience, her expertise and insights are particularly valuable.

Listen In!

Want to hear more? Take a listen to my interview with her from last Saturday. We talk a bit about her reason for writing the book, what a “relationship” with food is, what intuitive eating means, and what book ideas she might have for the future.

As we said in the interview, her book was released on Tuesday of this week (March 2nd, 2021). Happy Book Birthday!

I am so excited to help introduce her book to the world, because I truly think this is a message that our Western culture needs to hear. Perhaps it’s one that you in particular need to hear.

If you’re like me, you like the book samples that you can get on Amazon or on reading apps, because it helps you know if a book is for you. If that’s the case…

Click on the image below to download chapter 1 for free 🙂

Where to Buy the Book

If you are wondering where to buy Fulfilled, there are a few places you can get your hands on this wonderful book:

• Amazon – including a Kindle version
• Barnes and Noble
• Broadleaf Books

Follow Alexandra

I also recommend following Alexandra on social media. She gives lots of encouragement for people who are in the process of becoming intuitive eater and also other fun (or at least interesting) facts about health. Here’s where you can find her:

• Instagram: @alexandramackillop
• Her website: alexandramackillop.com
• Twitter: @ACMacKillop
• Facebook: @nutraintuition

Knowing that Alexandra has even more book ideas simmering inside her brain makes me excited! I can’t wait to see what else she brings into the world in the future.

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What do you think of the idea of ditching diets? Have you read any other books on nutrition or dieting that have helped you in the long-run?

Tell me in the comments below!