Erin J. Shea

With a subtitle of "Women Weigh in on Thunder Thighs, Cheese Fries, and Feeling Good... at Any Size," I figured this would be right up my alley given my weight battles, both recently and in the past, and my sarcastic and snarky self (and my love of schadenfreude--but I try not to admit to that one too frequently). What I didn't realize was that this was told in short vignettes by weight loss bloggers and that rather than being silly, entertaining, and yet somehow still honest and inspiring, show more I would not really connect with any of the short pieces in here. Now I understand that being fat isn't funny. Heck, I personally find it depressing as all get out (and this is after having lost half of what I need to lose). But earnest and dull stories of others' weight loss are not the way to keep me on track. I wanted funny. I wanted honest accountings of goof-ups (leavened with humor). I wanted to smile as I ate my carrot sticks. And this book just didn't deliver for me. Obviously the earnest tales appeal to lots of people and I hope they find inspiration in them. Me, I was looking for the promised cheese fries and perhaps that explains my current weight plateau! Missing that certain je ne sais quoi for me, other reviewers have raved (and found the humor I missed) so perhaps it is the right inspirational book in your weight loss arsenal. I'll just have to find something else for myself. show less

Good read, but don't rely on it for step-by-step instructions on how to lose weight. It's more like attending a weight loss support group where you may glean some insight about yourself by listening to the experiences of other women. I thought all the contributing writers were great except Heather Lockwood. She was 30 lbs overweight and referred to herself constantly in very negative terms which leaves those of us who are substantially obese to wonder how we'd rate in her book. She also show more admits to being a health fanatic to the point of judging people's grocery carts. Her tone was rather self-righteous and smug, but for the most part, the authors were savvy, honest and funny on a topic that is often very difficult to address. Reading this book touched off some of my own emotional triggers and I think I may have binged once or twice during the read to insulate from the uncomfortable feelings set off. I wouldn't buy it, but it was worth checking out at the library. show less

This book started off really strong, but then my interest in it tapered off. It sat in my gym bag for too long and when I finally picked it up today to finis it, I didn't find the tales as compelling. May just be that the earlier sections were more interesting topics than, say, shopping for clothes. Overall I liked the women's stories - very easy to relate to and very human. A good, but not great read.

Anyone who has struggled - not tried to lose weight - with weight loss will find themes in this book that are very familiar. The stories are about frustration, depression, triumph, motivation, will power, confusion, anger, and love. And about how sad it is that lives are ruined and ruled by appearance.