Do I Look Fat in This?: Life Doesn't Begin Five Pounds from Now (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: thunder thighs run, butt look big, Language of Fat, Look Fat, Were Thinner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Motivational speaker Weiner (A Very Hungry Girl) recovered from an eating disorder and has coined the term "Actionist" to describe what she does—motivating and inspiring people to take action in their everyday lives. This volume reads like a manual, helping young women to decode what Weiner calls "the Language of Fat." She writes perceptively about how girls and women bond over expressions of self-loathing for their bodies ("I noticed just how hard it was to stay intimate with my girlfriends if I wasn't body-loathing beside them") and argues that the simple words "I feel fat!" mask an internal world of insecurity and pain. While the book is full of advice, tools for change and action steps toward healthy self-acceptance, it's also clumsily written, studded with clichéd subheadings and random upbeat quotes. However, Weiner's style could work well for young women ages 15 to 25, who have barely begun to question the negative messages being hurled at them by their families, boyfriends, the media and other women—and who believe, as some have said to Weiner, that their lives won't begin until they are thin. (Feb.)
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Review

"funny and insightful! this book will change the way you feel about your body!"

-- Susan Schultz, editor in chief, CosmoGIRL! magazine --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment; 2006 Printing edition (December 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416913572
• ISBN-13: 978-1416913573
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #89,641 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #56 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Eating Disorders
  #75 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Disorders & Diseases > Eating Disorders
  #87 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > By Topic > Gender

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, the answer I was looking for!, January 2, 2006

By	Benny "Benny Ben" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

I am not your typical guy and I hate when books pander to men as though we are idiots who don't understand emotional compassion or intimacy. I have been looking for a book to better help me communicat with my wife and teenage daugthers. They most definitely speak in the Language of Fat - constantly asking if they look good in their clothing, always talking about food, and most times obsessing about losing weight. Many men (and women) can shake that off as just something women are supposed to talk about. But that is not OK for my girls or for my wife. Yet I wasn't sure how to answer it beyond "No" or "You look beautiful".

A co worker recommended this book as she had read Jessica's prior work and I found "Do I Look Fat In This" to be a super read. It was quick, funny, and full of insight for me as a husband and father. I must admit that the book cover was daunting to carry around but once I got to reading the tips and tools of what Weiner wrote I knew I had found the answer I was looking for.

I highly recommend this book to men out there who have women in their lives who ask this question. It is time as Weiner writes "to take action". It also has me questioning my own relationship to my body and watching carefully the language I speak.

Well done!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Her book is a gift !, January 15, 2006

By	Marjorie Raskin (Manhattan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Women are burdened by learning early and well that unless they are slim and beautiful, they simply don't matter. Activist Jessica Weiner has been fighting this awful myth for years. In her new book she helps women see through the myth building that goes on all around them and gives them tools to be themselves. This is a great gift to women and those that love them.
Jessica, we're lucky to have you.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite role model!, January 3, 2006

A Kid's Review

I just read Jessica's article in CosmoGirl! magazine and she rules!! She is my new favorite role model. She always has the best advice for girls on how to stop hating their bodies. She is real and cool and lives her life now - not 5 pounds from now. After I read her article I asked my mom to get me her book. I am on page 56 and I can't stop reading it! It has a lot of grown up advice but it also has a lot of advice for girls my age, too. She just makes a lot of sense. Go buy her book. You rule, Jessica!!