Buy Used
Used - Good See details
$3.25 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
The Incredible Shrinking Critic: 75 Pounds and Counting: My Excellent Adventure in Weight Loss
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Incredible Shrinking Critic: 75 Pounds and Counting: My Excellent Adventure in Weight Loss [Hardcover]

Jami Bernard (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover, Bargain Price $9.18  
Hardcover, September 7, 2006 --  

Book Description

September 7, 2006
Jami Bernard was fat and now she's not. In this riotously funny, intensely personal book she tells us how she did it. After trying countless diets and workout routines, she stopped dieting: She began enjoying food and life in a rational, healthy way and finally lost the weight. No foods were demonized, no fads embraced. As Jami discovered, lasting weight loss is about strategy not willpower.

She charted her initial weight loss in the New York Daily News, where her editor came up with the column's title, "Our Incredible Shrinking Critic." It was a daring or foolhardy move- perhaps to make up for the denial that she'd basked in for so long. In effect, she put her body on display for a million or more readers. If she failed, it would be a very public and personal fall: Her stated goal was to lose 100 pounds.

Jami tells readers how the shock of seeing the number 230 on the scale gave her the jolt she needed. Her goal, to lose one pound a week, seemed modest, but readers were so inspired by her column that many decided to lose weight along with her. They offered her help, sending her encouraging e-mails, and she passed along advice and information from experts in the field.

This book is about big-time weight loss and about losing it for good. Even if you're just struggling to lose a few extra pounds, Jami's advice may help keep a slow creep of pudge from becoming a mudslide. For those who are considering serious weight loss, Jami suggests reasonable goals and ideas for long-term strategies. This book is about changing habits, eating responsibly, and becoming more active. Jami inspires readers throughout the book with tips, stories, and recipes.

As Jami writes, "Every extra pound tells a story. It's a story of anger, frustration, old wounds, and carelessness. It's a story of misjudged portions, too-hasty celebrations, bad planning, misplaced optimism. It's a story of denial." Bitingly funny, moving, and sometimes shocking, Jami Bernard dared to waddle into the spotlight and make lasting changes.


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bernard, New York Daily News film critic and author (Breast Cancer There and Back), chronicled the first year of her journey back from 230 pounds in a weekly newspaper column. In this book, she recounts not only the initial year but the second year as well, culminating in a total loss of 75 pounds. Along the way, the comical, quirky Bernard describes her ongoing battle with weight, her aversion to popular fad diets ("they all suck, on a sliding scale of suckage"), and her gradual realization that the only way to lose weight and keep it off is through strategy, not will power. Though she did opt to give up trigger foods such as chocolate and ice cream, Bernard embarked on a two-year weight-loss odyssey that succeeded because she made better food choices, began working out, set reasonable goals and explored her emotional issues. Readers struggling with weight loss will be entertained and inspired as Bernard chronicles her setbacks, visits to gyms, dating mishaps and shrinking clothing size. Readers might be tempted to jump to her "cheat sheet" at the end of the book, but they would miss out on all the zany quips and quotes that make this volume both endearing and hilarious. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Jami Bernard is an award-winning film critic for the New York Daily News and her reviews are syndicated in newspapers throughout the country. In addition to her six previous books, her work has appeared in Glamour, Allure, Shape, and other publications. She has appeared on Oprah, the Today show, Good Morning America, and more.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Avery (September 7, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1583332626
  • ISBN-13: 978-1583332627
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #259,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
5 star:
 (19)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars For Your Own Sake, Buy This Book!, May 8, 2007
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Incredible Shrinking Critic: 75 Pounds and Counting: My Excellent Adventure in Weight Loss (Hardcover)
This book is the first book in months that I've picked up and not been able to put down till I finished it. I am so glad that I came across it before spending another nickel on some weight loss scheme or how-to book. I was once so tiny I could fit into a size 2, but after years of self indulgence woke up one day and looked into my full length mirror to find a size 22 staring back at me. Ms Bernard writes of a similar experience, and how it placed her in a position of self knowledge - no longer could she imagine herself as the svelte, seductive siren of her 20's. She had been on a roller coaster ride of eating plans, self indulgent food choices, in a mire of marketing methods encouraging her to eat, eat, eat. She discusses the influences of men, friends, and family dynamics on her perception of herself as a young girl and adult. She shares herself unstintingly, and in the end, it is her matured vision of herself that wins out.

Self knowledge being what it is, you are left with a couple of choices. Either you intentionally delude yourself and continue on a self destructive, unhealthy life path, or you wake up and start taking care of yourself one step at a time. Jami Bernard writes of her awakening with great compassion, humor, and skill. I consumed her book instead of food, licking my lips with satisfaction and feeling like I'd just been to the best seminar ever on growing up and facing yourself in the present. I found priceless truth in the pages, perhaps a kindred spirit. Ms Bernard reveals to me what I already suspected - that I can choose to live a healthy lifestyle involving exercise, nutritious foods, and supportive friends, or I can continue on my self destructive and excuse-ridden, painful descent into a life of infirmities. I already have been through more than enough trendy diet plans, yo-yo dieting, and the consequences - sleep apnea, plantar fasciitis, painful joints, etc.

I would love to share this book with everyone living in the purgatory of the overweight. I would love to see anyone searching for a way out of excessive eating stop being a victim and become empowered. Reading this delightful book was a key to my empowerment, now it rests with me to follow through.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wise and funny!, February 4, 2007
This review is from: The Incredible Shrinking Critic: 75 Pounds and Counting: My Excellent Adventure in Weight Loss (Hardcover)
I really enjoyed this book. Unlike a lot of books about weight loss and eating and exercise - this book is honest and funny and sensible. Bernard doesn't try to sell a particular method, diet, or path. Instead she offers up her story in a funny and honest way that really resonated for me. She provides lots of useful tips throughout the book as well but overall the book is more inspiration than roadmap. I highly recommend it!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Progress, not perfection", January 22, 2007
By 
sparky (Manchester, CT United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Incredible Shrinking Critic: 75 Pounds and Counting: My Excellent Adventure in Weight Loss (Hardcover)
This is the best book on weight loss I've ever read! I laughed all the way through it and could relate to almost every piece of it. I found myself smiling and nodding in agreement repeatedly...sometimes cheering! If you've stuggled with weight issues for a good part of your life do yourself a favor and buy this book. A week after I bought it I picked up a copy for a good friend and she finished it before me. I will go back for a second read through very soon. Jami gives sound advice and combines personal experience with research and facts. I can't say enough about this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
fat pants, little cottage cheese, trigger foods
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Weight Watchers, Daily News, Diane Stefani, Food Hell, Jenny Craig, Central Park, Nutrition Twins, Amanda the Exercise Nazi, Chef Donna, Deer Valley, Brooklyn Bridge, Camryn Manheim, French Women Don't Get Fat, Mireille Guiliano, Pablo Toribio, Racquet Club, Sam Bernard, The Nose, Thomas Monaster, Upper West Side
New!
Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

Citations (learn more)
This book cites 12 books:
See all 12 books this book cites

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
This book is amazing 1 Sep 13, 2006
See all discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject