Lessons from the Fat-o-sphere: Quit Dieting and Declare a Truce with Your Body

I only knew my weight from the times I went to the doctor. Mostly, I just knew if my clothes were fitting or not. If they weren't, and I was to cheap to go buy new ones, I would hop on the treadmill just a little bit more than usual. Then I discovered online food tracking and "helpful diet hints". While I got down to a skinny weight, I ended up gaining it back (plus more when I had thyroid surgery and my meds got out of whack). Even though I've never been obese, or even heavy, I beat myself up on a regular basis. 5 more pounds, 10 more pounds....

After starting the Biggest Loser at work and having to weigh myself every week, I got even more down about myself. Two and a half months of diet and exercise and I lost 1 pound. Seeing my doc, show more we discovered my thyroid meds were again messed up so my metabolism was messed up. Bloody hell. At this point, I decided I wasn't dieting anymore. I missed cooking my big feasts and baking and well....eating. I love food, dammit. I didn't want to throw exercise out the window because I actually like my treadmill and feeling good afterwards. I liked the extra energy because obviously my thyroid meds weren't going to help me there.

Lo and behold, I found a review for this book, which is all about accepting your body for what it is. Bless you authors. The 2 ladies go over all the reasons to give up dieting and wishing for a body that you just don't have. Major studies have shown that your body will do what it needs to do, meaning it will stay in the weight range it's meant to be in, regardless of how much you yo-yo and push it to change. Diets don't work. Anything that alters how you eat, portion control, calorie restrictions, etc, just don't work. At least not long term. So why put your body through that?

This book encourages learning how to be healthy at any size, doing exercise that you enjoy doing and eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're full. Revolutionary! They also emphasize that food is neutral, it's not bad or good. It's whatever you want. There are too many messages from our culture out there telling women (and men) how they should look if they want to win at life and frankly, they're just wrong. Not everyone is meant to be a size zero and people shouldn't be humiliated to be the size they just are.

The authors don't want you to give up on yourself. They're just asking you to be kind to yourself and go out and quit worry about that last 10 or 15 pounds. You are perfect the way you are. show less

The first few chapters of this book are full of true laugh-out-loud moments. If you're familiar with either Kate's or Marianne's online personality, you can often tell whose words you're reading. Reading this is like sitting down for a late lunch with your best girlfriends, with pitchers of margaritas kept full at all times.
Like that same late lunch where, once a few cocktails have been thrown back and the lighthearted catching up is out of the way, you get into the real nitty gritty of what's going on in your lives, the book takes a turn for the more intense in the last third or so. I felt truly overwhelmed by much of what was discussed in the last few chapters in particular, and upon finishing, I wanted to go immediately back and show more begin again, annotating as I went.

This is not just an anti-diet book. This is not just a fat-positive book. This is not just a feminist book. This is a couple of best friends whispering everything you need to hear about your value as a person, in black and white in front of your face. You know that scene in Good Will Hunting where Robin Williams's character says "It's not your fault," over and over and OVER until Will finally breaks down? That's what this book is like. Highly recommended for anyone who has ever suffered from low self-image or self-worth because of body image issues. Otherwise known as "everyone." show less

Excellent, irreverent introduction to Fat Acceptance/size acceptance. Lots of tips on how to break out of the body hatred mode that society puts us in, with lots of reassurance that yes, it's hard and no, you're not a failure. Harding and Kirby don't shy away from how hard learning to love your body is, but they also don't shy away from how rewarding the results can be. Includes references for further reading. A must for anyone who's tired of waiting to get thin in order to start living.

Only possible negative is the irreverence is sometimes quite profane, but personally I liked it - felt it added personality to the conversational style. Your mileage may vary.

I'm not totally convinced of the science they site, but in terms of body image and self-acceptance, this book is a phenomenal place to start. I think it's really valuable for any woman in Western society.

I really like this book. I may not agree with everything that Harding and Kirby have to say (or, always, the way they say it) but overall, it is a good book with many excellent points. It's also enjoyable to read, written with a friendly and irreverent style - although parts of it can be more difficult to read because of the truth in what they say. It's not easy to look truth in the eye.

Recommended for anyone with body issues, especially people dealing with being fat in weight-obsessed societies.

I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone, fat or thin. We all live in the same cult of thinness, and this book is a great start towards overcoming that. The authors are two great fat acceptance bloggers. It has really inspired me to work on overcoming the "Health at any size is great for other people, but I still need to lose weight" thinking.

This book is an addictive read that will inspire you to stop dieting and look this great big "fat=bad" myth in the eye. It analyzes the media and the health industry's role in keeping this myth alive. It is a resourceful book that will bring out the fat activist in you!