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Two Whole Cakes: How to Stop Dieting and Learn to Love Your Body
In the age of The Biggest Loser and the �war on obesity,” we’re pressured to conform to certain body standards at any cost. Sure, everyone should eat right and get exercise, but what if you do that and you still don’t fit into the clothes at the mall?
In Two Whole Cakes, Fatshionista extraordinaire Lesley Kinzel
tells stories, gives advice, and challenges stereotypes about...more
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
April 10th 2012
by The Feminist Press at CUNY
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Jun 20, 2012
Melissa
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Absolutely everyone
Shelves:
hell-yeah
Yes. Just yes. If you, like me, have ever looked at a fat person & thought, "Why can't they just eat less?" you need to read this book. If you, like me, have ever looked in the mirror & thought, "Why am I so fat & gross?" you need to read this book. Will I look at a fat person ever again & wonder why they can't just lose some weight? No, I will not. Will I feel ashamed about the wobbly skin that's still around my middle from my pregnancy? No, I will not.
Without getting too perso...more
Without getting too perso...more
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I feel like the whole book can be summed up by Lesley's motto: "Your body is not a tragedy". I was pretty familiar with Lesley's work from her blog and XOJane so a lot of the book was familiar territory. But for people not as familiar with her work, it's a great primer on how to accept all bodies. Even with the knowledge of some of the stories (like the titular Two Whole Cakes episode) it was still a really fun, great read. I got through the whole book in one day, if that gives any idea how much...more
Having recently been spending more time than usual considering my weight for reasons legitimate (potential future health complications) and not-so-legitimate (nasty comment made to me about it), this book came along at the perfect time. The book is author Lesley Kinzel’s personal reflections on growing up and living today as a fat woman, as well as her thoughts on how ridiculous and unjustified the whole fear of fat is in our culture. (This thought was captured in her title, which makes referenc...more
I enjoyed this short introduction to body positivity by Kinzel. I have followed her blog (also Two Whole Cakes) for a while now, and was excited to read this, especially after reading an excerpt in Bitch Magazine. Light but never fluffy, Kinzel is an excellent writer (must be those double-master degrees) with a gift for language that packs a wallop. I can't deny that a good part of my enjoyment derived from the fact that Kinzel and I share similar backgrounds and stories of growing up--she is, I...more
There was one thing that I did not like about this book, and while I feel it’s a little bit inappropriate to open a four star review with that sentence, I feel it needs to be done as my issue is with the title. Well, I suppose rather with the subtitle: “How to stop dieting and love your body.” This is not a how-to book, in any sense. I suppose the title might be for marketing purposes, although it seems strange that it has such an upbeat, self-helpy title, considering that it is even put out by...more
Anyone who follows me on Twitter or is my friend on Facebook knows I am a fan of Lesley Kinzel. So it's really no surprise then that I would love this book.
I want to time travel back to the first time I hated my body or decided I would be anorexic (I would last long enough to get a migraine from nit eating and then I'd binge, which would trigger a wave of self&body-hatred) and MAKE my younger self read this. I look back at pictures of my younger self and realize that I spent so much time hat...more
I want to time travel back to the first time I hated my body or decided I would be anorexic (I would last long enough to get a migraine from nit eating and then I'd binge, which would trigger a wave of self&body-hatred) and MAKE my younger self read this. I look back at pictures of my younger self and realize that I spent so much time hat...more
I was reluctant to pick up this book because the subtitle "how to stop dieting" turned me off a bit - though I move in circles of the fat acceptance community, and I do believe that you should learn to love your body no matter what place it's at, I sometimes find in those circles disregard or even hostility towards those who DO choose to diet, for whatever personal reasons.
However, I was happy to find despite the subtitle that the Kinzel's book doesn't take that approach. It is really more of a...more
However, I was happy to find despite the subtitle that the Kinzel's book doesn't take that approach. It is really more of a...more
A slim volume of big ideas. While the subtitle is misleading--very little space is devoted to exactly how to stop dieting and learn to love your body, although the author makes it clear that she has indeed done both--this book nonetheless makes a strong argument for why it's healthiest to ignore our image-obsessed culture, stop stigmatizing fat people, and instead just focus on being our best selves while standing up for your right to exist and be accepted right now exactly as you are. Lots of g...more
I've been following Lesley's blog for several years now, and her book was everything I'd hoped for. Having been doing the size acceptance thing for a while now, I can't say that this book was full of shocking revelations for me, but it was lovely, intertwining activism with memoir. I was also very pleased that Lesley managed to avoid the common blogger cum author pitfall of publishing her past blog posts with a bit of editing - while the subject matter certainly falls in line with her blog, the...more
I grew up reading Jane magazine during my teen years. Last year, I was SO EXCITEd to learn that Jane had found an online resurrection in xojane.com. It was there that I found Lesley. I am a lifelong yo-yo dieter and she introduced me to the possibility of a different reality. This book is in no way a full primer on body positivity, nor does it give the full science behind why dieting isn't a such a great idea after all. It does tell her story, and it does show one person's rise above the crap th...more
A must read for all humans. I have "struggled" with my weight almost my entire life, and Kinzel offers insight and validation in this little book that that "struggle" is entirely unnecessary. Yes, I would like to lose some weight because certain health problems exist in my family that I fear, but if I am happy and healthy and just happen to be fat, then that's fine.
Judging people for their weight is something we do every day, something I know I do even though I know I've been the object of judgm...more
Judging people for their weight is something we do every day, something I know I do even though I know I've been the object of judgm...more
I found Kinzel's writing through xojane, and I really like it: Perfect blend of smart and funny. She has talked about how her publisher tacked on the subtitle of this book, which is misleading. The book us really about Kinzel's own experience of diets and body hatred and how discovering community (and a harrowing medical issue) helped her make peace with herself. Pretty much, if you've ever been made to feel like an outsider, you'll get what she's talking about in this little book. (It's 163 pag...more
Kinzel refuses to be a second class citizen because she is fat, and in fact reclaims the very word "fat" as a term for unclouded self empowerment. In Two Whole Cakes: How to Stop Dieting and Learn to Love Your Body, Kinzel shares the struggles she encountered on her path to body acceptance, and offers readers an excellent primer for anyone interested in the fat acceptance movement, as well as providing insight to those already involved in body acceptance politics. Affirming and uplifting both an...more
Well. I am honestly not sure what to say. As a fat girl my entire life, I totally get what Lesley Kinzel is saying, and I want to embrace the idea of fat acceptance, yet that is a difficult thing to do. The idea that being this size, that being fat, is so ingrained in everything I hear see and am told, and have been told since the age of nine, that to change now, at age forty-five, is an enormous task.
Well-written, very informative, and occasionally funny, certainly giving me something to think...more
Well-written, very informative, and occasionally funny, certainly giving me something to think...more
honestly it didn't tell you anything you don't already know if you follow fat politics. it was a little more "serious reading" than i was expecting, but that's okay.
what i didn't like was that there were no chapter or section breaks. just double carriage returns, to kind of indicate a new thought/topic. i like a good stopping point before i put a book down, ya know?
this will probably be very enlightening if it's your first foray into FA, and i would probably suggest it as such.
what i didn't like was that there were no chapter or section breaks. just double carriage returns, to kind of indicate a new thought/topic. i like a good stopping point before i put a book down, ya know?
this will probably be very enlightening if it's your first foray into FA, and i would probably suggest it as such.
I like Kinzel's columns at xoJane, and then a friend brought me to see her read a couple of months ago, which is how I found this book. It's great! It's funny and poignant, and a lot of it resonated with me. It's good for a self-esteem boost, and it takes a few serious turns toward the end that will make you think. (Also, I feel it's worth noting, I took a card from the cupcake shop that had cupcakes at the reading, and I used that as a bookmark. Seemed appropriate.)
Jan 14, 2013
Cassandra
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Cassandra by:
Curve magazine, I think
Shelves:
feminist-queer,
recovery
If I was rich, I'd buy tens of thousands of copies of this book and wander around town, dropping them in mailboxes at random. Kinzel pulls the wool back and shows our culture's attitudes towards obesity (or, as she describes herself, "death fat") and bodies in general for what they really are. After finishing this book, I felt like I'd met *the* sane person when it comes to our fixation on body shape, weight, and food. I can't remember the last time I felt so refreshed, which is especially impre...more
This is a slim, ultra-thin book, and well worth the time you'll need to read it. I wish I could press it on all the women (and men too, I guess) in my life and beg them to read it. I wish I wish I wish.
Honestly, I'll probably buy a personal copy of this, because some of the lines in it resonated so deeply. Also, it's probably a good start for someone who has no experience in fat acceptance.
Honestly, I'll probably buy a personal copy of this, because some of the lines in it resonated so deeply. Also, it's probably a good start for someone who has no experience in fat acceptance.
This would make a really beautiful and approachable introduction to fat acceptance. Lesley Kinzel's shared most of these stories in other contexts: through her blog, on the Two Whole Cakes fatcast, or more recently on xojane. There isn't much that's new to someone who's been following her work for a long time, but the stories are still very powerful.
I read Lesley's blog pretty religiously, so it's an easy argument to say that it would be a given for me to enjoy this book. And although I'd read a few of the stories before, I found the additional insight to be, well, insightful. It's a quick read and it certainly helped me in all of the ways I needed it to.
Maybe my expectations for this book were too high, but the lack of narrative arc and lack of chapter/section divisions didn't work for me. The writing, of course, is amazing (if somewhat lacking in the snark level I've come to love from Lesley's blogging). It's just a little too disjointed and unfocused as a book for me.
2 likes · like · see review
I appreciate that the author didn't just talk about what fat people can do to love themselves but more so shared the message that "Everyone deserves respect and justice no matter what they look like" and that you have every right to be happy with yourself on your terms with no need to apologize for your happiness to anyone.
Terrific. She distills about 20 years of intelligent thought about fat phobia, body acceptance, radical activism into a really easy to read book. Love her!
I think this book should be required reading. It's a quick read but there's tons to think about.
I love Lesley Kinzel's blog on XOJane, so I picked this up from the library. Easily accessible writing style, even if I couldn't relate to the subject matter too much. But I think the last few pages should be read by all young women.
An absolute delight, with plenty of food for thought and a good chuckle or three along the way. Consistent with Lesley's earlier writing online.
Clear, palatable and no bullshit, Lesley smashes the dominant paradigm with this very reader friendly book.
Clear, palatable and no bullshit, Lesley smashes the dominant paradigm with this very reader friendly book.
I found this book to be so eye-opening and comforting! I laughed out loud many times, too. What a great book to recommend to anyone who feels "less-than-perfect" in today's Photoshop-obsessed society.
Loved it. So worth reading if you've ever been self conscious about your weight (at any size). Putting the smart stuff into practice is going to be hard, but it's got such great advice, I'm hopeful!
This was more serious and more poetic than I, a big fan of Kinzel's writing on xoJane and her blog (also called Two Whole Cakes), expected. I enjoyed it but wished it was longer. Ah well.
I have read this book 3 times. I will probably read it again once a year for the rest of my life. Absolutely one of my top ten ever.
An amazing book that shows some of the dangers inherent in pursuing the "ideal" body type, for either those who are on either end of the bell curve.
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