Customer Reviews

Obese From The Heart: A Fat Psychiatrist Discloses

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dr Stein has poured her professional AND personal heart out into her part memoir - part guide about coming to terms with living as a fat (she unstintingly owns that word) person in a highly judgmental world.

From her shrewd and perceptive psychiatrist's viewpoint, she describes the stigma obesity carries in the minds of both her medical colleagues and the general public.

Laced with philosophy ("We are all connected. My health reflects your energy. My love is an expression of your loyalty. My blessing is the song of your heart. And so it goes. When you are tired, I am in pain. When you are alone, I weep. When I am isolated from the flow of the universe I cannot fill up, no matter how much I eat."), humor, insight, education about the workings of the brain, and practical advice, this book is a must-read for anyone who has ever felt the pain of being fat or who wants an inside glimpse into a fat person's world.

And what's more, the medical descriptions are within anyone's grasp:

("Your brain is a joy machine. It has all the ability to bliss-you-out for hours naturally.

What I had to learn was: what ELSE besides food would provide that explosion of joy?

And what else would make it last and heal my body in the process?

Your body releases dopamine in response to pleasurable activities, including food, sex, sleep, exercise, laughing, singing, painting, and gardening.

Your body releases acetylcholine and gabapentin for relaxation in response to quieting your mind through meditation, prayer, yoga, and petting your animal.")

Bravo for your courage and your clarity, Dr. Stein! You will touch and even potentially heal many lives with this book.

So, check it out... it's a book about fat people WRITTEN BY... (wait for it) a fat person! How could she dare? What does she know about losing weight? I mean, she's fat, so she obviously doesn't know what she's talking about, right?

A-ha! But this isn't a weight loss book. Oh, she gives a few tips and hints, yes, of course. But she tells you repeatedly that she doesn't have all the answers. She can tell you how she feels, how nearly every obese person feels. The stigma, the overcompensation. She also let's her sense of humor bleed through a few times. She also lets her heart break right on the page a few times.

Will you lose weight with her new revolutionary plan? Um. No. If you are obese (and I am - shocking, I know) you know how to lose weight. You aren't just plain lazy, you aren't un-knowledgeable about what you need to do. Us fat people already know what we need to do. We've read the diet plans, we've eaten nothing by cabbage and sunflower seeds for a week. We've read the hoo-rah-rah self help books. What we really haven't had before is someone that's there with us. We haven't had someone that took the time to write a book about what it really means to be overweight. A few tried, but none really succeeded until now.

This book resonated with me. I struggle, daily, with food. I always have. I always will. Even if I wake up tomorrow 100 pounds lighter, I will still struggle with it. The past year, I've made changes, I work out weekly, I walk, I exercise, I get up off my butt and move around. I try to be aware of what I'm eating (and yes, there are days - weeks even - when I honestly don't care, but I'm aware that I don't care!)

This book is not only for the obese folks. If you work with overweight people, I think should be required reading to get a look inside their minds - to really understand what's going on in their heads. It's also a good overall book about self-esteem. Give it a read, you won't be disappointed.

A must read for anyone that struggles with being obese -- or knows someone who does. There were so many aha moments as I read this book. Dr. Stein really helped me to understand what my body was trying to tell me -- or at least how to better listen to my body. Once you have read the book, I suggest you follow @sarasteinmd on twitter. It is like having your own personal coach, shrink and mentor -- one who struggles with the same issues you do and offers up ideas and suggestions to help.

"Everyone should read Obese From the Heart! I laughed, I cried and I learned so much about the more than one-third of Americans who are obese. Dr Stein presents a thoughtful and personal insight into the lives of individuals we all know and love. Chapter 18, Where Do I Begin, is a list of steps for practicing "loving kindness to yourself and your body." These are not just for those who are overweight---these steps are for all of us! An easy and rewarding read---order your copy today!"

I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Stein's book. I have known something about brain chemistry for a while thanks to Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD's Radiant Recovery program, and I have identified myself as sugar sensitive with that program's help. Nevertheless, I tried to work the program rigidly for 4 years and failed and kept feeling worse and gaining more weight. I realized that I was thinking in black/white/rigid dieting terms just as I had with everything before. Sigh. I think a lot of us bigger folks really know how to be rigid/mean/punishing, rather than to explore and find out what works. So, many of the ideas were helpful, but I was not there yet as far as working seven steps, taking out sugars, blah blah blah. On top of all that, I joined a gym and was punished by a sadistic trainer who literally had me in so much pain and so exerted that after three sessions, I quit. ;) I knew what I was doing in those training sessions was hurting me, and after reading Stein's book, I know I was right! It was just too much for someone with super screwed up brain chemistry who was struggling with deep depression and was way out of shape and obese.

I decided to quit the black and white thinking and look for workable gray a couple months ago after experiencing some mysterious health issues. After blood tests, I found out my Vit D and B levels were low, and that I had a high inflammation marker as well as other stuff going on. These findings opened new doors for me, and I am finally beginning to lose weight-- without self flagellation, etc. Just taking daily supplements like B, D, pro-biotics, and fish oil, one med for bp, not stuffing myself too full, walking some each day, moving more during the day, and choosing the best foods I can-- and having fun/relaxing and not winding myself up about being fat! I am willing to take time with my dear body and let her heal. This all feels pretty easy right now, and I believe that is due to the nutritional boost I'm getting with supplements and more brain/body balance that was not there before. I could not even begin to do complex stuff. I had to start very small-- a commitment to my med and supplements every day is where it all began.

Dr. Stein's book comes right after my second month of huge discoveries and realizing that I am my own guru. I found ideas in her book that I have not seen anywhere else for dealing with sugar addiction. I am now adding dark chocolate in each day. I have just begun, but I think it is going to work well for me. My doctor was thrilled that in a month, I lost 5 pounds. That was the most painless weight I have ever lost, and I did it without obsessing over the scale. I'm actually having fun just living a nourishing life without a diet in sight... just good self care and treatment of my brain/body.

Dr. Stein is onto something big here. I guarantee you, her book will surprise you and encourage you.

For almost two years, I was in a 12-step program that had a food plan eliminating ALL forms of sugar, flour, wheat, caffeine, and artificial sweeteners. I got down to an insurance-chart-approved weight and have spent the past decade putting it all back on and then some. Dr. Stein gets it: the yo-yoing, the self-loathing, the comments from "well-meaning" people...all of it. The sections about sex and intimacy are some of the best I've read in any book on any topic. Those who say "This isn't a diet book" are half right; it does contain practical suggestions of things to try. (I love the ten-grapes story from the end of the book.) It's no wonder Amazon is almost out. BUY IT.

I read this book last night, in one sitting, highlighting sentences and discussing it with the friend who had read it and brought it to me. I've already ordered more copies to send out to friends. Perhaps it's ironic that of the folks I am sharing it with, I'm the only one who carries unnecessary weight.

The author blends memoir, medicine, chemistry, biology, humor, and clinical psychiatry into a personable, fast read that hits deep and true. I can't recall ever reading a book about weight -- not even Geneen Roth's excellent book "When Food Is Love" -- in which the author describes depression so accurately.

As other reviewers mention, this book does not present a weight-loss plan. It does describe the connections between what your brain cells (and other cells) need and the particular foods you crave. I found it refreshing and helpful and a much-needed perspective, very practical.

I recommend this book for anyone worried about weight and for anyone who wants their loved ones to learn more about what it's like to be overweight. Especially if you've tried before and been dismissed as making excuses or feeling sorry for yourself.

Obese From The Heart: A Fat Psychiatrist Discloses

I purchased this from my recommendations list as it was less than $2.00 on the Kindle. It was a quick read and Sara captures you with the first chapter. She takes you through her own trials as an obese person and relates how her patients have dealt with it.

She recognizes that Obesity is first a disease of the thought life of the person who uses food to numb whatever it is they are trying to hide from. She identifies the 'high' we all search for when we reach for the carbs - dopamine and serotonin. She also identified why we crave salt - anger and stress.

She suggests that healing come from three aspects - soul, mind, and body - not just the physical.

A superb resource section is included in the back.

This book does not advertise to be a weight loss secret, It's actually a truth serum we all need to hear if you are struggling with your weight, this book gives you hope in a new way, by allowing us to really see ourselves from the INSIDE. and not focus so much on being fat but the changes we can make to be more successful at the ultimate goal to be healthy, look deeper into ourselves. The article was amazing, her transformation and hard work, and detail to focus on her whole self is amazing. over all I say this book is a boost to the real issues that go unnoticed and untreated to help us reach our goals of weight loss.

A helpful book for the obese from someone who actually does understand what the obese person goes through and suffers in today's world.