Jennette Fulda

I have been following Jennette’s blog for years, which makes it even more ridiculous that this book sat on my shelf for at least two years before I picked it up and read it. I think I started reading her blog (it was pastaqueen.com back then) when she was roughly 3/4 of the way through her journey. I was immediately drawn to her dry wit and sarcasm, a welcome attribute in the world of weight-loss bloggers, which is overwhelmed by nauseatingly positive people.

As someone who has struggled show more with her weight since puberty, I can’t tell you how many times I nodded my head and dog-eared a page while reading this book. She is often blunt and to the point, and it just makes you say “Yes! It is just like that.”

“And even if I had been the laziest, weakest-willed person on the planet, being fat did not make me a bad person. Fat wasn’t good or bad. It wasn’t a scarlet F of shame written on my elbow. It was just fat. I deserved as much respect as any thin person and I shouldn’t have to live under a cloud of shame.”

But don’t pick up this book and expect a blue-print for success. Jennette isn’t very specific about what she eats (even on her blog), but if you read between the lines you can tell it was South Beach or something quite similar. I think she doesn’t specifically promote it because she’s smart enough to realize that just because that particular plan worked for her, it doesn’t mean it will work for everyone. She does talk about her exercise, and one thing she did a lot of is running. I am envious, because running is the easiest thing to do, but I hate it with the fire of a thousand suns.

I find Jennette’s story to be inspiring, even if it doesn’t have the fairytale happy ending. She doesn’t lose all her weight and then magically fall in love with Prince Charming and move into a house with a white picket fence and have babies. But I believe that reaching this one (giant) goal has given her the confidence to reach other goals in her life, specifically moving out of state and starting her own freelance business. I continue to follow Jennette at her new website, http://www.jennettefulda.com. She has written a second book, which is (unfortunately) about her search for relief from a persistent headache. It’s already on my Kindle and waiting for me. show less

I really enjoyed Fulda's no non-sense and humouristic approach to weight and consequent weight-loss. She's not moralistic, judgemental nor proselytizing. She's sincere and authentic about her motivations, her hurdles and her ambitions. She's also realistic about her future. She is smart about not giving away her secret and in recognizing that everyone needs to find her own secret: it may seem a cop-out but such a transformation must come from within. Her real key to success was her blog that show more kept her forging on. For others, it will be another key.
I wouldn't say that this book is inspiring, but it is definitely refreshing. show less

I was browsing Half Price Books when the title of this book caught my eye, and I picked it up. As someone who has struggled with my weight my entire life, I could sympathize with Ms. Fulda. There were moments when I laughed out loud, and others that made me almost cry, mostly because she could have been talking about my life.
I needed to read this right now as I begin (again) a weight-loss journey of my own. She was honest about the struggle to change her eating habits, talking about the show more times she made bad decisions, her confusion when the scale didn't match her expectations every week, her feelings of isolation and depression before she lost weight, and ultimately her feelings of empowerment when she had lost weight and realized how good she felt. She doesn't claim weight loss made her life perfect, and she acknowledges that there are some problems she blamed on weight that it turns out are still there. She acknowledges that there's no guarantee she can keep the weight off, although she's optimistic about that. In a world that looks for the quick & easy fix to everything, it's nice to hear from someone who decided not to try some magic pill for weight loss, but put in the work to change her eating and exercise habits.

A couple of warnings - first, there is some foul language, not too bad, but the easily offended might want to skip it. Second, if you're looking for a book of instructions on how to lose weight, this is not it. Ms. Fulda does not endorse any particular diet, and she doesn't talk about the mechanics of how she lost weight, except in general terms of exercising and changing her eating habits. show less

Chocolate and Vicodin is a must-read for anyone suffering with chronic pain or those that live with someone with chronic pain. Ms. Fulda will not solve your problems for you but she will make you feel much less alone with your pain and make you smile at the same time. I am honestly afraid of support groups because who wants to be around others complaining. Ms. Fulda is able to explain her situation and all that she goes through without sounding like she's complaining. She just shows you the show more real side of herself and how she is pulling herself through even though she still does not have a diagnosis. I understand the not-knowing. I can somewhat name my problem, though there is still some gray area to mine as well, but to not know at all has to be tough.

The book is written in a real yet a humorous manner. I love when she gets snarky at times (mostly in her mind), that is the same way I feel at times and to be able to get that out would be wonderful. Ms. Fulda proves that you can get through it like she does and there are days when you will be down but sometimes you just have to adjust your reality, change your life to suit it and move on. I think this is the core message. Another things I took away - it is normal to feel alone when suffering from something that others can't see. Like she says - it's easy for someone to see you are in pain when you are curled up in a ball, but when you are going on with everyday life the best way you can, then the pain is harder to see (I paraphrase).

I loved this book, I felt like I was talking with a friend when I was reading it and I saw so much of myself while reading it. I would like to thank Ms. Fulda for this excellent book and for showing me I'm not alone and also for teaching me some ways to express myself around others so they understand what I am feeling. I think she does a great job of showing all the different doctors and procedures she had done just to try and find a diagnosis and giving her real feelings. That is what I really loved.

I think Jennette is an amazing woman, to first lose 200 pounds, run a half-marathon with a headache and to continue to plow through life. She has given me hope that I can continue on as well and maybe one day I will run my half-marathon as I originally planned in 2008. I think her ideas of laughter as medicine is the best suggestion and I will go on trying to find the positive on the tough days and looking to my wonderful husband for laughter on the bad ones.

One quote I loved and could relate to from the book:

I’d read about other people’s experiences at these institutes on the headache forums online. I’d been surprised that people in that much pain had been able to set up and maintain online forums but there they were. I was a lurker on the forums and never posted or interacted with others. I wasn’t sure why I’d never struck up a conversation with my fellow pain sufferers. It was just easier to lurk, read up on the information I needed, and then log off without getting too involved in other people’s misery. When I’d blogged about my weight loss , I didn’t start commenting on other peoples blogs until I’d lost almost one hundred pounds. I wasn’t sure how long I’d have to have my headache before I felt comfortable to raise my hand in front of the class and talk about it.

I often feel the same way - I have lurked on forums for my problems but never post - I just don't feel right for some reason.

Some other quotes that resonated with me:

Not having a name for my disease was almost as frightening as the disease itself. How could I fight something I couldn't name?

My headache no longer seemed like a big deal. I clearly wasn't the only person in the world in pain. I probably wouldn't even make the list of top ten most suffering people in the building. A dose of perspective might not be a cure, but it made me feel a lot better about my own situation. No matter how bad your life was, there was always someone whose life was worse. show less