Till We Eat Again: Confessions of a Diet Dropout [Paperback]

Judy Gruen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 13, 2002

Can a woman who will follow you anywhere if you promise her a hunk of chocolate pecan pie ever change her evil ways and find happiness as a gym rat? Can this same sugar-addicted female find glory doing bicep curls and chomping down collard greens, with only the occasional breakdown over a crumb ring donut?

Till We Eat Again: Confessions of a Diet Dropout follows Judy Gruen’s true adventures as she tries to lose fifteen measly pounds in time for a 20-year college reunion. And she pulls no punches, except during boxing class: Judy belly dances to the "camel," runs laps while an Army major blows his whistle at a fitness boot camp, and gets tangled in yoga positions so bizarre the paramedics need the "Jaws of Life" to get her out. She’ll also try to figure out who’s got the straight skinny on nutritional news, as medical researchers conclude that even drinking too much water can kill you. After months of these and other indignities, she’ll earn a bookmark made of real paper for losing five pounds on Weight Watchers.

Will she meet her weight loss goal? (Hint: This book is non-fiction!) Turn each laugh-filled page and find out!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Judy Gruen’s first book, Carpool Tunnel Syndrome: Motherhood as Shuttle Diplomacy, catapulted her from complete literary obscurity to only partial literary obscurity. A resident of Los Angeles, Gruen continues to go to the gym, despite the close proximity of too many women with really toned arms. She will still follow you anywhere if you promise her a Hershey bar. Her humor has been published in Woman’s Day, Ladies Home Journal, and the anthologies 101 Damnations: The Humorists’ Guide to Personal Hells (St. Martins) and Mirth of a Nation (HarperCollins).

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Champion Press (WI) (December 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891400924
• ISBN-13: 978-1891400926
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,822,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judy Gruen has crafted a career of writing sophisticated, relatable, clean humor that has earned her an international following.

Her most recent book, The Women's Daily Irony Supplement, earned multiple awards, including a Gold award in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year, a Silver in the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs), and a Bronze in the PMA Benjamin Franklin Award, in 2008. A quote from the book also appeared on 5 million Starbucks® cups. Her previous books are Till We Eat Again: Confessions of a Diet Dropout,and Carpool Tunnel Syndrome: Motherhood as Shuttle Diplomacy, both of which earned awards in humor from the Midwest Independent Publishing Association.

Her work has appeared on Aish.com, American Thinker, Beliefnet.com, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Family Circle, Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, Ladies' Home Journal, Los Angeles Times, MommaSaid.net, and many other media outlets. In 2009, Judy won an award for her humor columns that appeared on Aish.com, from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. She's also a member of the American Association for Therapeutic Humor and the Authors Guild.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just confessions..., May 17, 2003

By 

T. K. Harrison "love books" (Smithfield, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Till We Eat Again: Confessions of a Diet Dropout (Paperback)

This light-hearted, downright funny book gives new meaning to the word confessions. It characterizes the diary of a woman who is on a mission  a mission of life or death (at least in the eyes of those who embrace fitness and health over enjoying a carefree lifestyle). If youve ever conversed with people who know all of the calorie and fat counts of foods while you roll your eyes, youll take pleasure in life from Ms. Gruens perspective while she readies herself for an important reunion that will surely change her food and exercise behaviors.

Unless youre naturally one of those skinny people, youve attempted (and possibly succeeded) in many different diet plans. Ms. Gruen has the writing talent to take her diet attempts to new hilarious levels. After reading Till We Eat Again, I was forced to take a long-hard look at my eating escapades  and vowed to never tell anyone that I was dieting again!

When I was finished reading Till We Eat Again, I was humbled to know that this baby-pouch of noodle muscles I blame on carrying my four children was not just my problem  its a problem of other women, too! I keep telling myself that my abs of steel days are long gone and I need to focus on how great I feel when Im weightless in the bathtub.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You're gonna love this!, October 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Till We Eat Again: Confessions of a Diet Dropout (Paperback)

I am not a big "humor" reader--but combine humor with the pitfalls of food and my interest was peaked. I'm so glad it was--this book had me in hysterics and reading outloud. Judy Gruen has a way with humor that is much like Erma Bombeck. You won't be able to resist this or put it down. Definitely check this one out.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The funny side of dieting, September 4, 2003

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Till We Eat Again: Confessions of a Diet Dropout (Paperback)

Nothing is funnier than someone who can take real life and look at it through the lens of humor. Judy Gruen does this skillfully in her new book "Till We Eat Again: Confessions of a Diet Dropout". Judy touches a resonating chord in everyone who has ever tried to diet as you read through her diary style collection of secret thoughts, frustrations, and even occasional victories. Throughout the book you find Judy trying everything she can think of to try to drop fifteen pounds before her 20-year college reunion. Every kind of diet, every kind of exercise, anything else she can find as she works. Although her writing style is so crisp and quick-witted that anyone will find it humorous, it is really written from a woman's point of view and women are more likely to find it laugh-out-loud funny. To test my theory I handed the book to two different women and left the room. Sure enough it wasn't ten minutes before I heard snickering and the occasional laugh floating down the hallway. "Till We Eat Again" is a highly recommended book for anyone who has tried to lose weight and can relate to the hysterical things we do to ourselves in the name of losing a few pounds. Pick up a copy and have a great laugh.