Frances Kuffel

I read this book a long time ago, but I have never forgotten it. I think it's because the author described going to OA (Overeaters Anonymous) and following her food program, which was nothing but salads. Okay, it can't have been nothing but salad--definitely salad was a major component. So every now and then I am haunted by the idea of having to eat nothing but salad, and I feel cold all over. Anyway, this book brought up a lot of imponderables for me about the nature of food show more addiction/eating disorders, and how can folks in OA face the tiger three times a day, and how can HAES and loving your body intersect with a 12-step program. I'm a friend-of-a-friend of Bill and I have so much admiration for 12 Step recovery, but I really HATE diet culture and food restriction, but ALSO Kuffel's experience suggests this is different/necessary/etc and we all know there can be an addiction to ANYTHING. So basically this memoir was very thought-provoking and I sometimes wondered, whatever happened to that woman? Did it really work out for her to follow this program forever? Luckily, it turns out she wrote some additional memoirs, so I can find out.

Oh, and as far as a proper book review, I thought this book was interesting and well-written. The description says it's comic, but I don't remember it being funny at all. I guess the spectre of salad without end wiped all the smiles off my face. show less

I like this book a lot better than I liked Kuffel's first book, [Passing for Thin]. I found it flowed together a lot better, odd since it was a story of a number of women rather than Kuffel's journey, which she told in passing. I believe Kuffel has grown significantly as a writer since her first book.

When I read Passing for Thin earlier this year and realized how dated it was, I found myseld wondering what Kuffel had done and whether or not she had kept the weight off. The appearance of AFG show more in my Amazon recommendations told me all that I need to know on that front, and I was glad to find this available at the library.

-"But I've discovered that this Weight Thing is clearly easier to bear within a system of sisters". While I cannot see myself participating in a twelve-step program for weight loss, I 100% agree with Kuffel in this point. When I first began Weight Watchers I was online only. I never thought I'd be one to attend meetings or to take anything from them. However my thoughts changed slowly and I decided to give them the same three-month "trial" that I did WW as a whole. My three months is "up" this week, but I can't imagine not going to meetings. I don't know about WW claims of meetings-goers losing more weight, but I know that I love the questions that come up from others. I get a lot of info from the message boards as well, but I can't keep up there whereas I find myself taking a lot of notes at meetings and nodding in "Wow, I hadn't thought of that" sense with questions/comments from others.

Although I'm a long way from goal/lifetime/maintenance, I find myself fearing what happened to Frances: one-hundred pounds in three years. I have lost weight in the past and I've gained it back. This time, I think it's different. I'm older (30 vs. 18/19) and I want it. But I fear slipping. Sometimes I think it's good that I'm a slave to the scale. I'll catch the slip early, but then again I know the stories of others who have gained it back. What will keep me from being a statistic? I think that's part of why I'm reading a lot on different aspects of diet/fitness/weight loss and nutrition. I want to know about the pitfalls before I fall into one.

I like how Kuffel worked the women's stories into information on particular issues about weight, obesity, food and other issues. It's part of what made the story cohesive and nicely wove narrative with important information. And yes, it sent Mt. TBR through the roof because I realize how much there is that I don't know. At the same time, Kuffel left some stories unfinished and I found myself wanting to know how/why it ended with Katie and Ahmed. The reader was left hanging as to how the issues there sent her spiraling back to more than 400 lbs, but maybe it didn't matter.

THe womens' journeys intrigued me in many ways. They all came from different places, and were in different places in their lives, yet weight united them. Weight is not only a woman's struggle but it's something that unites women in a way that it doesn't men. There are a couple of men in my WW meeting and I know there are men meetings, but dealing with weight in a group setting is very much female. Still, it was nice to see how Kuffel wrapped in the experience of some men, including Linday's husband Jalen. Their experience with different weight loss progreams also is a microcasm of women worldwide, who are always on one diet or another. A friend of mine said to me a couple of weeks ago when we were discussing the various diets "The only diet that works is the one you stick with". So true. For me, that's weight watchers. For others, it's Atkins/South Beach/cabbage soup/etc. There is no perfect diet. We're all different with different metabolisms, tastes and lifestyles and because of that, no one food plan or diet will work. I think they key to being successful with anyting is to recognize your body/personality type and worth with it, not against it.

I was glad to see Kuffel tackle the issue of weight loss surgery and the issues that go with the surgery. Not being able to lap band one's head is a key point. I know that many insurance programs/doctors require that patients lose ~10% of their weight before clearing them for surgery. I truly believe that if the person can lose the 10%, s/he will either be able to avoid the surgery or be more successful with it. Too many people see WLS as a fix, not really realizing that they'll end up in the same bad place if they don't adjust their eating habits following surgery. A good number of people who are overweight have emotional eating issues. I know I do myself. Mindful eating is something I'm working on. Sometimes I wish I could lap band my brain.

AFG is the book that got me back into wanting to blog, and I spent some time this weekend looking for the blog. It wasn't until the epilogue that I found out that Kuffel and the AFGs had abandoned the blog. I was sorry to hear that. I still want to know more about Mimi, Wendy, Katie, Lindsay and Frances. show less

Only made it to the middle of this book cause I'm in the process of moving, but it was hilarious! I thought the sponser thing was a good idea, but don't care for the dieting part where she was only allowed to eat salads at first. But I liked her descriptions of how she would sneak food right at the beginning when she was a girl, as well as the harsh realities of what obese people have to go thru on a daily basis. I've lost 31 lbs. within the last year or two and was miserable just being like show more that - I can't imagine being even heavier! And it was good to see someone do it without surgery! show less

I'm not sure what it was that I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't what I unpacked from this book. I guess this would be the weirdest journey I've ever read to find love (or "Mr. Right"). Most of the time I was left confused because Kuffel would just jump from one guy to the next without really specifying who she is talking about until a bit later. On the times I DID understand what was going on, I would still be left with the "wtf?" question lingering over my head. It's odd that she's show more very specific about what and who she is looking for, yet isn't (it needs to be read to understand what I mean by this). Overall, I wouldn't pick this book up again. show less