My Body's Superpower: The Girls' Guide to Growing Up Healthy During Puberty

Do you hesitate teaching your adolescent daughter healthy habits for fear it will hurt her relationship with food and her body? Do you instead say nothing hoping she will figure things out?

In this first-of-its-kind book, family nutrition expert Maryann Jacobsen teaches girls healthy habits through the principles of a positive body image. The result is a win-win: Girls feel better about their changing bodies and are more motivated to make healthy habits part of their everyday life.

Utilizing a fun and relevant Superpower theme, My Body's Superpower helps adolescent girls see their bodies in a positive light. Girls learn what is happening inside the body during puberty (Super Knowledge), how to decode and respond to body signals (Body Talk), and "time travel" when making decisions. The book introduces 9 superpowers based on the research of puberty, nutritional needs, emotional health, sleep, physical activity, intuitive/mindful eating, motivation, media literacy, and body image.

The book teaches girls to:

My Body's Superpower helps build a foundation for lifelong health during a critical time of development. Meant to guide parents and educate girls (and bring them together), it takes the guesswork out of promoting health to girls going through puberty.

Please note: The paperback version is in black and white and the hardback is in color.

This book is based on the idea that knowledge is power--knowledge about pre-adolescent female bodies, that is. It's a book that every parent with daughters should buy and every girl should read, covering everything they need to know about body changes approaching puberty and how they affect pre-adolescent females. The descriptions and pointers in this book are especially important because puberty can be a confusing emotional and physical time. As an eating disorders therapist, I can attest to the fact that this is when many eating problems arise because of fear of weight gain and scary hormonal changes regarding sexuality. The superpower of this book is that it can prevent problems before they begin. -- Karen R. Koenig, LCSW, MEd, author of The Food and Feelings Workbook.
 
As the Family Body Confidence Consultant, I can't recommend this book highly enough. I've yet to come across another text that speaks to all aspects of puberty in such a positive, fun and empowering way. This book is sure to have a deep and long-lasting impact on the life of any young woman who reads it. It's the book I wish I'd had, and it's the book I'm so glad is available for my daughter. -- Emma Wright, Body Confidence Consultant

My Body's Superpowers does a great job of helping young girls understand the confusing changes that happen during puberty by describing what will happen and why. If you want your daughter to understand this stage of life, move through it with confidence and ease (and without collateral damage like poor self-esteem or unhealthy habits), then give her this book! -- Jill Castle, MS, RDN, childhood nutrition expert, co-author of Fearless Feeding, and author of Eat Like a Champion, Try New Food and The Smart Mom's Guide to Starting Solids. 

This is the first body guidebook I’ve seen that talks openly about why weight gain during puberty is so important — and teaches girls to think about food as a way to nourish their growing bodies, rather than something to fear or restrict. Jacobsen’s framework for honoring hunger, cravings, and fullness is the perfect antidote to the dangerous diet culture messages our girls are currently bombarded with. I can’t wait to share this book with every girl in my life.— Virginia Sole-Smith, author of The Eating Instinct and co-host of the Comfort Food Podcast