When Girls Feel Fat: Helping Girls Through Adolescence (Paperback)

by Sandra Susan Friedman (Author) "When I first met my husband, we lived in different neighborhoods..." (more)
Key Phrases: girls approach adolescence, feeling fat, preoccupation with food, New York, Deborah Tannen, Ballantine Books (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
For most girls, it's impossible to grow up without ever "feeling fat." Even for very young girls, it is common to express the ups and downs of life in terms of body image - translating real events into the language of fat, repressing feelings and losing one's sense of self.

Therapist Sandra Susan Friedman explains how to hear what girls _really mean_ when they say they "feel fat" and provides parents, teachers and caregivers with practical ways to help girls navigate the turbulent waters of adolescence. This friendly guide covers - Puberty and sexuality - Food and weight - Body image - Parents and friends.

"When Girls Feel Fat" provides clear and proven strategies to deal with conflict, to recognize when "worries about weight" may lead to more serious problems, to maintain a connection when girls 'tune out' and to deal with 'the grungies' - Friedman's term for the voice of self-deprecating, negative feelings. "When Girls Feel Fat" will help parents and mentors guide girls into becoming healthy, confident women.

About the Author
Sandra Susan Friedman is an educator, therapist and consultant who specializes in girls' developmental and health issues especially eating disorder prevention. Her group program "Just for Girls" promotes healthy development and prevents eating disorders by helping girls maintain their sense of self during adolescence.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books; 2nd edition (March 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552094596
• ISBN-13: 978-1552094594
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,416,768 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for mothers, aunts, sisters, teachers of girls., June 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: When Girls Feel Fat: Helping Girls Through Adolescence (Paperback)

This is a valuable book for anyone who cares about young girls. The lessons presented here will help moms, dads, teachers, friends to encourage girls to share their opinions and 'not lose their voices'. As a nutrition professional working in the area of food, weight, and body image, I highly recommend this book. The nutrition/dieting chapters were well researched and clearly presented. I will encourage wide use of this treasure!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most accessible ED book I've read, September 8, 2006

By	S. Stoodley (Maryland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a long time sufferer of various ED behavior, now in recovery, I found this book to be right on the money. It gets to the heart of the matters and explains how "fat" takes over to rule the way we feel (even though fat is not a feeling!). Whether you've read every ED/food/body image book on that market or are looking for your first, this is one for your personal library. Beneficial to suffers, family, friends and those who just want more insight into how humans relate to food and their own body image.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opening about the Language of "Fat.", October 4, 2001

By	K. Sean Buvala "Storyteller.net" (Avondale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Excellent book to open up the conversation about the use of the word "fat." So many of our young people lack the language skills needed to describe their emotions. In my work with boys, I often say that they use the word "angry" to describe any strong emotion. With this book, I have begun to pay attention to the way some girls use the word "fat" to describe their own difficult or ambivalent emotions. This book has been a valuable addition to our library for parents and teachers alike. It's one of those books that I keep picking up and skimming over, catching new insights each time.