Customer Reviews

Self-Esteem Comes in All Sizes: How to Be Happy and Healthy at Your Natural Weight, Revised Edition

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is a lifesaver - literally. It explains in great detail how to live your life in the moment, and not waste any more time waiting "until I'm thin."

There are chapters on why some people are born to be big genetically due to family heritage, on how culture shapes us to believe that only thin people are attractive and deserving, and on how discrimination against larger-sized people is the last acceptable form of discrimination in the United States. These chapters set the stage for what you can do to change your life and the way that you live it. Next come chapters about how to create your own ideals about body image, how to improve your self-esteem from within, and how to create your own personal style (in clothing, jewelry, etc.) There is a chapter on how to deal with people (friends, family and strangers) who seem to think that you don't know you are large, and feel the need to comment on your size to you or behind your back. (I found this chapter particularly helpful, as it gave good advice on how to confront people about their behavior without being cruel and with an eye on educating.) The book finishes up with chapters on finding ways to move that please you and your body, and describing the "size acceptance movement" that is sweeping the country. At the end is a resource for finding plus-sized clothing, health information and psychological support.

I got this book from the library and intend to buy several copies for myself and friends. I have read many many books on this and similar topics, and I feel that this one is the best of the bunch. Just reading it made me feel strong, confident, and better about myself. I know I'm going to need to keep reading it for some time to come before I gain a better self-esteem for good, but I'm looking forward to it! I recommend this book highly to anyone who is dealing with esteem issues because of their size.

This amazing book not only deals with the subject of weight; but actually gives much needed advice for the problems of everyday living with weight. Carol Johnson has categorized many problems that only the overweight and extremely obese must deal with on a daily basis, and offered solutions to these problems by addressing it in a practical, no-nonsense manner. The lists of services directed toward the obese person are invaluable, and I found so many sensible and understanding helps in this book. It is truly a guideline for living that has heretofore been available to only the average person. Ms. Johnson has given a wonderful blueprint for living a normal life no matter how abnormal one may feel. Her writing shows her compassion and desire to help in a positive manner. A remarkable look into her generous heart.

The main message I took away from this book was that being fat is nothing to be ashamed of, and no reason to put off enjoying life and doing what you want to do.

Given that millions of women of all sizes are miserable about their weight, hide themselves away because of shame about their weight, and think "I have to be thin before I can participate in public life or enjoy myself," I think Johnson's book sends a very important countermessage.

Given the daily media bombardments reinforcing the notion that fat people don't deserve to be part of public life, I think her message needs wide distribution.

The tips on creating your own support group are invaluable.

On a deep personal level, I found this book to be just what I needed! Carol Johnson has helped me to accept myself as I am. I am a lifetime dieter. Since reading her book, I no longer diet. I have made a life change. She helped to turn on that "light" that is in all of us. I eat right, exercise 6 times week and am not thin. I am all I can be and that has to be enough. I now accept that fact and live my life accordingly. I got several copies of her book & gave it to my friends. She is tuly an inspiration for all women no matter what size you are!! Thank you Carol for being you!

I felt soooo good after reading this book that I opened it up to the first page and read it again! Then I ordered copies for all my friends. It gives you great information on obesity and its causes, and teaches ways to live a happy, HEALTHY life at any size. Wonderful book, and long overdue!

_Self-Esteem Comes In All Sizes_ is one of my favorite self-help books of all time. In fact, I've gone back and read it more than once.

For those who think this might be a book about "giving up on yourself," be aware that there's nothing here that says we shouldn't take care of our health, enhance our looks, or be aware of what we eat; quite the contrary, it's all about how to have a healthy--and happy--lifestyle, including normal eating and exercise. The author reminds us, however, that in our current culture, being fat isn't regarded simply as a health or even an aesthetic problem, it's viewed as "sin." To compare weight with other health issues, she asks, "Would I have let the number that represents my blood pressure dictate my worthiness as a person?"

In response to the way women beat ourselves up about our appearance and use our feelings about how we look as a reason for self-hatred and emotional paralysis, Johnson urges us to remember that "your beauty also comes from your zest for life, your fun-loving spirit, a smile that lights up your face, your compassion for others..." Many women's lives are so consumed by their obession with weight that they put their lives on hold. "The anxiety it breeds fills the mind to overflowing and washes away any ambition that is not related to losing weight."

She points out that one of the foremost authorities on eating disorders, Hilde Bruch, said, "There is a great deal of talk about the weakness and self-indulgence of overweight people who eat 'too much.' Very little is said about the selfishness and self-indulgence involved in a life which makes one's appareance the center of all values."

_Self-Esteem Comes In All Sizes_ emphasizes that we need to be proud of our differences. She wonders "why should a tulip aspire to be a rose?" and one of the members of her Largely Positive support groups reminds us: "God made both St. Bernards and Chihuahas."

This is a book that encourages its readers to commend themselves for their good health decisions every day, and think of each positive step as a "bonus" rather than focusing on our deficits.

I stumbled upon this book and I am happy to report that It is the best book of its kind that I have ever read. Nothing has had me make as many life changes as I have in the past few months. All from a book. A self empowering book that will surpass your expectations. Anyone should read this book. This is not a diet book, this is much better!!

Written from the point of view of a woman who is on your side, Carol Johnson had given us a book for a person of any size. Ms. Johnson is a research sociologist and certified psychotherapist. She is the founder of LargelyPositive.com. This website has been a great help to me even before I began writing here at BellaOnline.com.

Just reading the first line of Chapter 1 will get you siked up to read this book cover to cover. "Buckle up! You are about to take a journey unlike any you've been on before - at least in this society, because by the time we reach our destination, a place called `Largely Positive', you will no longer allow your size and weight measure your self-worth." She keeps to her work in this statement. The way she advises us isn't in a corny way that makes you roll your eyes like some self-esteem books I have read.

One of my favorite chapters of the book is Chapter 2 - "Separating Fact From Fiction." In this chapter, she presents facts of why most overweight people stay overweight or struggle with taking the pounds off. One theory about obesity that she points out is that many people believe is the gene factor. She says researchers haven't been able to pinpoint only one single gene that predispositions us for obesity but rather there are many different factors that can be looked at, such as you ancestry and immediate family members.

Her statement on page 41 really helped me in feeling better. "Larger people are biologically and physiologically different from thin people. It has nothing to do with willpower. It has nothing to do with your character." Every thin person who makes fun of larger people nee to read Chapter 2. I don't know how many times a thin person has commented to me how easy it is to lose weight and the tings I tell them (like all the women in my family are overweight) they say are me making excuses for my weight.

Another useful chapter is Chapter 4 - "Acceptable Discrimination". Not only does she point out the most common discriminations that most people go through but some that I hope I would never have to endure. Through this chapter she empowers us to recognize discrimination and ways to fight back.

Even though this isn't the typical workbook type book like a lot of self-help books, Chapter 5 offers a great section on working through how you developed the feeling you have now about your body and how to begin to except the size you are.

I could just go on and on about this book. Thank Gods I had a free weekend to read it because I couldn't put it down! I recommend this for anyone struggling with their body image and also to anyone who looks down on us. You will learn that just because someone is overweight doesn't mean we aren't healthy, happy, productive individuals

See more book reviews by me! http://bodyimage.bellaonline.com

I read Carol Johnson's book a long time ago, before it's revision and it truly changed my mind about myself. While I am not obese, I have weight issues that I have dealt with since my first diet at age 12. I think that some of the other customer reviewers have missed the point of the book. I don't believe that Carol Johnson ever denied that healthy eating and exercise are a very big part of being healthy. What she does emphasize is that even those who eat healthy foods in reasonable portions and who exercise to their best ability may not fit into what one reviewer called "normal" status. "Normal" is one of those words that some people use to keep prejudice going. What is normal anyway? There certainly isn't one definition for that word, because what you feel is normal is different from what I feel. That's because we are viewing it with a subjective rather than objective eye. Self esteem is vital to success; whether it be in school, business or your personal life. I believe that Carol Johnsons' book supports self esteem for all people, regardless of their size. And that is the point, my friends. Thin people are not necessarily better or smarter than heavy people; the so-called "experts" out there would just like us to believe that it is so.

Carol Johnson shares well documented factual information as well as terrific practical advice and encouraging tidbits, in this educational, inspirational, and easy to read text. As the recent owner of a women's health club and an active fitness instructor, I see women's lives change for the better physically, mentally and emotionally when they learn to respect and care for themselves in the bodies they have, whether they are small or large. This book is a great resource in helping large women to enjoy health and life quality, and one that I regularly recommend to both my students and my friends!