The Me I Knew I Could Be: One Woman's Journey from 292 Pounds to Peace, Happiness, and Healthy Living [Hardcover]

Crystal Phillips (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2001

In 1994 Crystal Phillips weighed 292 pounds. She was miserable, unhappily married and suicidal. She thought that her life was over and that there was no way to climb out of the hopelessness. But the death of her beloved brother made Crystal realise that life is too precious to waste; our purpose here is to live as fully as we can. So Crystal found within herself the strength to make a change. Through journaling, eating well and being prepared for emotional setbacks she was able to find her self-respect and lose over half her weight. She has written this book not only to help others lose weight, but also to teach them how to form their own fitness support groups and live the best life they can. THE ME I KNEW I COULD BE is both the inspiring personal story of Crystal's weight loss and pratical guide, complete with a diet programme and menus, for anyone who wants to lose weight, get healthy and embrace life.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Six years before writing this book, Crystal Phillips weighed almost 300 pounds. "My legs were so fat that my inner thighs were raw and bleeding by the end of the day," writes a now trim Phillips. "I spent money on food like an alcoholic does on liquor or a drug addict on a fix." Phillips saw herself as "a fat, hulking body pretending to be a person with hopes and dreams and of a tomorrow." She wanted to end her life.

Since then, Phillips has lost "157 pounds, nine dress sizes, two shoe sizes, three bra sizes." More important, she regained control over her life, her sense of worth, and her spirit.

The Me I Knew I Could Be is more than one African American woman's story of weight loss. We read vivid stories of Phillips's early life. As a child, she was sent to stay with a grandfather who spied on her in the bath, and her fear led her into compulsive eating. She matured early, and by age 12, was purposely eating to get fat to protect herself from leering men and the ostracism of her classmates. She married a man who was an emotional mess and ran around on her (who even accompanied a girlfriend to abort his child the day after marrying Crystal)--but he accepted her at 200-plus pounds and rising.

As her marriage went from awful to worse and her adored brother became sick with AIDS, she turned to her lover: food. A shopping expedition for a satisfying nightly binge might include "four porterhouse steaks, a large bag of potato chips, four pints of Häagen-Dazs ice cream, and the makings for a peach cobbler."

Much of the book is an anecdotal record of how Phillips took charge of her emotional life and lost weight, with excerpts from her journal. She leads weight-loss workshops now, and the book gives sensible advice for dropping pounds, from one sister to another, including not dieting (making conscious, healthful, reasonable choices instead), keeping a journal, exercising, and controlling binges. She includes a few recipes, including the intriguingly titled Sistah Woman's Naked Stir-Fried Greens (collards and kale without fatback or ham hocks). This is an inspiring book written by a courageous woman. --Joan Price

About the Author

Crystal Phillips, a pharmaceutical representative, weight loss counselor, and certified personal trainer, lives in Maryland. She has been on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and her story has been featured in Essence, Ebony, Fitness, and Living Fit magazines. THE ME I KNEW I COULD BE is her first book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312252269
• ISBN-13: 978-0312252267
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,528,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best weight loss book to date, January 1, 2001

By 

Kelley (Austin,TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Me I Knew I Could Be: One Woman's Journey from 292 Pounds to Peace, Happiness, and Healthy Living (Hardcover)

Ms. Crystal Phillips, the author of, "The Me I Knew I Could Be" has definitely written the most personable, and inspiring weight loss book I have ever read.

Because Crystal takes us back to her childhood to her first memories of binge eating and everything that happened after the incident with her grandfather in California, we got an honest, inside view of how someone can reach 292 lbs. It is amazing what one can accomplish if they look inside of themselves to heal their spirit to get rid of what is ailing them.

Not only was the book touching, it was also humourous and just overall a very personable book. I feel like I know her.

Thank you Ms. Phillips for sharing your experiences with us to help others get out of the rut they may have gotten themselves into because they didn't have the courage to look inside and get to the heart of their problems!! What an inspiration!!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't wait for the paperback, April 30, 2001

By 

Cedric's Mom (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Me I Knew I Could Be: One Woman's Journey from 292 Pounds to Peace, Happiness, and Healthy Living (Hardcover)

Thank you Crystal for getting to the root of the problem: the feelings that lead us to overeat in the first place. So many books about weight loss only attack the outer problem. But Crystal shows us how, by documenting her own process, to get to the root cause and deal with that. There's no quick fix here, and Crystal states that up front in the introduction. If you're not ready to get down and dirty and do the real work of facing compulsive overeating and its causes, this is not the book for you.

Crystal shares her story and reactions to situations and events in life that many, many women share, regardless of race. She reminds me of things I had long forgotten. Books that bring up the pain have the power to change us. Crystal encourages us to take a look at that stuff, even when we're thinking "that was 30 years ago. How can that have anything to do with today?" It can and it does. By sharing her journaling techniques and encouraging us to embrace age-old pain, Crystal leads us to see the root cause of our dependence on food and how to get free forever.

Thanks, Crystal, for having the courage to share and help women who are struggling with this problem everywhere. And thanks for doing it for YOU, not for a man or anyone else.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Someone who's really been there, January 1, 2002

By 

Laura Hoeman (Olympia, Washington, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Me I Knew I Could Be: One Woman's Journey from 292 Pounds to Peace, Happiness, and Healthy Living (Hardcover)

I bought myself a copy of "The Me I Knew I Could Be"
a few days before Christmas and enjoyed it so much I
bought another copy to give my sister for Christmas. What
I liked best about this book is that Crystal Phillips has
really been there--she knows what it's like to be unable to
stop binge-eating even though your weight is very high.
Binge-eating is a serious problem, and as yet medical
science doesn't really have the answer to why people do
it, nor do they have the cure. Those of us so afflicted are
left to struggle with lifestyle management changes as
best we can. In some ways it's like a diabetic struggling
along without insulin--there are some things you can do
to help yourself, but without the real answer, it's tough.
Nonetheless, that's the current state of the art. We do the
best we can. The best way of living with this situation is
to take a positive, pro-active, joyful and life-affirming
position, and that's what Crystal Phillips does in this in-
spiring book.
Crystal offers some helpful tips (like eating whole
food meals made in a Crock pot to promote satiety), and
also offers advice about journaling and facing your
emotional demons. What I liked best was that she had
been there, truly been there, and was offering a sisterhood and a sense of camaraderie to the rest of us.
As a nurse practitioner student and eating disorders counselor, as well as an overweight person, I was delighted with this book and have already reread certain sections several times. I'll recommend it to clients and friends. I
hope to use it this year to meet my New Years Resolutions. Thank you, Crystal.