I finished Wendy Shanker’s The Fat Girl’s Guide to Life last week and I quite enjoyed it.  Read it:  it’s good!

At first I wasn’t so sure I’d enjoy the book because from the first the author’s focus is on fat acceptance and I’m not sure sure how I feel about people who say being fat is ok/beautiful, that people come in all shapes and sizes, etc., when being even a little overweight, talk less obese, has been connected with myriad health problems and problems like depression, and socially awkwardness.

Wendy Shanker covers all of that, and very humourously.  She talks about a lot of the feelings that I have and she also sort of slaps me and says “Yeah, that sucks but snap out of it!” which we can all use every now and then.  And her focus is on health:  she is not saying “You should allow your weight to balloon, and eat everything in sight and glorify the sedentary lifestyle; she is saying that if you work out regularly (she works out 4-5 times a week) and eat healthily, visit your doctor and get your blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. checked regularly and those results are normal, you should be happy in the skin you’re in.  Not everyone will be 5′6 and a size zero; you need to love the body you have.

The hardest part for me is the idea of loving the body you’re in while trying to get to that healthy weight for you.  So I can’t (or shouldn’t) bash my body, or put my life on hold until I reach this magical weight/size where I’ll be confident being at a party or gathering without checking to see if I’m the fattest person there (I always do this).  This means I shouldn’t put off entering the dating world simply because I’m fat.  I’m still having trouble thinking that way.

The book makes you question a lot weight loss plans and diets, including many of the very pouplar ones.  These organizations and businesses make some money if you lose weight but the bulk of their earnings come if and when you’re unsuccessful at keeping it off.  The author talks about a very expensive plan that she joined where at her first meeting they were giving her coupons for her return trip!  How’s that for optimism?  I found that quite telling.

Ms. Shanker covers so many aspects of how the life of a fat person might differ from their slim counterpart and helps the reader understand what is going on and how to deal with some issues that might come up, from how to dress and walk, to shopping with your slim friends who assume that you can shop at the same store as they can, to the science of fat, to dealing with people who comment on your weight.  This chapter is hilarious:  imagine if you will, that someone tells you you look great and asks you if you’ve lost weight in the same breath, as if being slimmer is the only reason why one would look good and as if you should be on a diet and/or in the process of losing weight.  There are a lot of thought-provoking points in the book.

Now that family concerns are behind me, it’s time for me to recommit to the 60 day challenge I started on August 15.  I need to get back into the groove of writing down what I eat and focusing on getting the healthy foods in and excluding many of those unhealthy foods that have crossed my lips in the last while.  And I need to get moving again. 

Filed under: Health, Inspiration, Reading & Writing, flab gab by jummy