SubscribeWhy on Earth Should You Read Another Weight Loss Book?
This is a guest post from blogger and author Jennette Fulda.
Which can you name more of - recent fad diets or state capitals? Unless you were the winner of your elementary school's geography bee, you probably said fad diets. After all, there are only 50 state capitals but there are 50 bazillion weight-loss books. Well, now there are 50 bazillion and one!
No, wait, don't stop reading! Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir is about how I lost half my weight without losing my sense of humor and I'm going to tell you why it deserves a spot on your bookshelf and not in the remainder book bin.
Reading burns calories
You will give your wrists a good work out because it's a real page turner, and your forearms will be sore the next day because you won't want to put the book down. I've been told by several readers that there are passages in Half-Assed that will have you laughing out loud, which is great cardio.
You may be working on your abs, but don't you want ripped eye muscles too? Scanning the page back and forth will give you sexy eyeballs.
This is not a diet book!
There are plenty of books that will tell you what to eat and how much to exercise. Screw them! I prefer to focus on what it was like changing from someone who injured herself walking up the stairs to being someone who completed a half-marathon. (Hint: The thought of bagels at the finish line helped a lot.)
There are tales of horror from the plus-sized clothing store and stories of cake-stealing that will keep you much more entertained than the latest theory on the effects of saturated fats.
It's a multi-purpose book
When you're done reading the book, it can also be used to level out wobbly tables. The heavy paper makes it a solid weight for smashing bugs, and the shiny coating on the cover makes it easy to wipe off bug corpses. If your air conditioning goes out, just fan the pages back and forth to give you a good breeze. Buy a dozen copies and line them up in stacks to use during step aerobics!
I need the cash
Those lean cuts of meat are expensive! That's probably why meat is one of the most commonly shop-lifted items at the grocery. I promise that a good deal of the money I make off of the book will go right into Whole Foods' and Trader Joe's cash registers. By buying a copy, you are indirectly helping to subsidize the organic food growers of America. You might not be able to do anything to stop corn subsidies, but you can help fund healthy-eating authors.
About the author: Jennette Fulda (aka PastaQueen) is the author of Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir and this post is her tongue-in-cheek attempt at self-promotion.
This looks like a fantastic read, far more my sort of thing than yet another fad diet book.
Just thought I'd point people towards Jeannette's brilliant blog, since she doesn't mention it above:
http://www.pastaqueen.com/halfofme/
and there's also a great interview with her over on Crabby McSlacker's "Cranky Fitness" blog:
http://www.crankyfitness.com/2008/05/pasta-queen-magical-secret-to-weight.html
ReplyAlready got it!
Replyhahahhaha, i love this lady :D
ReplyLOVE HER as well and the book is amazing.
ReplyEvery time I look at that book cover I wonder if she actually kept her old pants or if she had to buy new ones just for that cover.
I would have tossed the old ones out.
ReplyThose are my real pants, Red! They've got the patched inner thighs to prove it.
ReplyInteresting sales pitch ...
Reply"There are plenty of books that will tell you what to eat and how much to exercise. Screw them!"
Nice... very nice! But please, tell us how you really feel about them... don't hold back now :)
Looks like a fun and inspirational read. I'll try and get my hands on a copy.
ReplyThis book may or may not be a good book, but I am uncomfortable with the author plugging it here. This has generally been a blog where people can speak honestly about diets and weight-loss fads. How can I be honest when I am responding directly to the author of a book who is clearly also reading the responses? Very uncomfortable.
ReplyFrankly, the only reason you would be honest if they weren't reading is if you had a streak of passive-aggresive-ism in you. Only speaking candidly behind peoples backs is a good habit to rid yourself of.
ReplyIt may be that she would like to have, let us say, a full and frank discussion of the author's work with the other intelligent and thoughtful members of this community (or even those of us who are less intelligent and thoughtful), without having to worry about hurting the author's feelings.
Reply*shakes head* Try the other one. People who put their work in public light should be fully able to accept honest discussion, whether the opinions are positive or negative. Unless Deirdre intends to personally attack the author (doubtful), there shouldn't be a feeling that censorship is required.
ReplyUse an anonymous post?
ReplyAh, but PastaQueen has been reading this blog for a while. And her book isn't a diet plan. It's a memoir. Definitely no reason not to be honest.
She is hilarious and friendly (and down to earth), and I don't think you need to be nervous!
ReplyI had no problems with Jennette (aka PastaQueen) coming on here and poking fun at her own attempts at marketing a book. PastaQueen has been around for a long time, and I think it was gutsy of her to turn some of her blog memoirs into a full-blown book.
Not all weight loss books are made by big publishing companies looking to make some more cash by exploiting a niche.
I'm sure you can ask any question you like and Jennette will response with sincerity.
ReplyDon't worry, Deirdre! Feel free to trash talk me :) I've been on the Internets for years now, so it wouldn't be a first.
In all seriousness though, feel free to say what you want to. I may be smaller than I was, but I'm a big girl and I can take it.
ReplyI have to disagree. I think its great that the author is a part of this little community and I don't think the book was plugged too much. I bet she relied on good humor from sites like this to write her novel=)
ReplyI'll check it out, PastaQueen! Like you, I also lost a significant amount of weight (I even have a pair of pants that I used to wear that I now fit into one leg of) and I'm always looking to find other people that have had a similar journey. Because, as you know, losing weight is a very multi-faceted experience...it's not just getting skinnier, it's dealing with all the aspects: how your "friends" treat you, how your family reacts, shopping episodes, how your attitude towards food changes, etc. Can't wait to read it!
ReplyI agree with Cheri, her book makes sense in being part of this discussion-plus, she has a pretty entertaining personality.
ReplyIt's very interesting and encouraging to read about an individual's experience in an area that you are working in or challenged concerning. This book sounds like a great read and I bet it will help a lot of people to be successful at weight control.
ReplyWell I lost about 100kg and have heaps of stories and so forth of my own - and swapping stories with others certainly can help along the way. But I have no interest in reading this book at all - yeah, I am sure it's funny and inspirational and relatable and all that. It's nothing against the book or it's author - but frankly, its just not my cup of tea.
ReplyThis seems like an interesting read. I think its good to take a lighter look at dieting and weight-loss once in a while. Sometimes we take ourselves a little too seriously, and this author seems to help lighten the mood.
ReplyI think these are nice stories and very funny too.
ReplyIf your book is as funny as your story here - It must be great!
Allow me to introduce another highly entertaining 'diet book' that has quite a few twists:
ReplyFat Into The Fire - The Missing Links
If you check out the cover - it speaks for itself.
I jokingly say it is a 'psychological thriller' AND a 'physiological thriller'.
State Of Mind.
Fuel.
Physical.
Combine the three links and the 'missing links.'
Ultimate success in goal achievement is inevitable.
It's my impressions that all book authors (or at least the ones who are succesful) go out and do a bunch of interviews and "informational" articles and such in order to promote their books. Then they just "happen" to work in that they have a new book out.
I think Jennette's more direct approach is refreshing and pretty hilarious. (If I ever manage to get a book published, I'm totally going to copy her. In 20 years no one will rememmber anyway.)
And I wouldn't worry about hurting her feelings-- she's been brave enough to go on Fat Acceptance blogs like BFD and she's undergone some rather intense criticism from some of those folks--so I don't think she'd have much problem reading anything people had to say here.
(In the interests of full disclosure: yes, we did interview her at Cranky Fitness and we think she's great!)
ReplyIt's "my impressions"? "Rememmber?" Someday maybe I'll learn to proofread my comments before posting.
ReplyCrabby spake thusly:
Someday maybe I'll learn to proofread my comments before posting.
Naaah. That would take out the spontaneity! (Yeah, try spelling that word without a dictionary around ;)
ReplyJust finished the book and loved it. I highly recommend it. Jennette rightly tells you in the book she does not have the secret to weight loss, but she does educate the reader that weight loss is an individual journey, one each of us have to take on our own, and we must each find the path that is distinctly right.
However, the obstacles that Jennette faced are also obstacles that each of us on the weight loss journey will eventually face. How she dealt with those obstacles does provide the reader with some good ideas.
Some of my favorite passages was from her chapter "The Secret". I was particularly enlightened by the discussion on motivation. "If I waited for motivatoin to do the dishes, I'd have plates stacked on my counter so high that I couldn't open the microwave... People waited for motivation to find them, but they needed to go out and find motiviation... You just have to do it, even though you don't want to. If you saw diet and exercise as optional, you were screwed. It was nonnegotiable."
Thank you Jennette for such a great read.
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