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Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir

by Jennette Fulda (Goodreads Author)

3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 · rating details · 1,015 ratings · 220 reviews

After undergoing gall bladder surgery at age twenty-three, Jennette Fulda decided it was time to lose some weight. Actually, more like half her weight. At the time, Jennette weighed 372 pounds.

Jennette was not born fat. But, by fifth grade, her response to a school questionnaire asking what would you change about your appearance” was I would be thinner.” Sound familiar?

Hal...more

Paperback, 256 pages

Published April 29th 2008 by Seal Press

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The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl by Shauna Reid

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Apr 03, 2013 Sheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Weight has always been a big deal for me though I have 40 pounds to lose instead of 200. So that brought me to the book in the first place. (I'm mesmerized by The Biggest Loser show).

I wasn't sure as, of course, one never really is when reading a new author, whether I'd want to continue reading this book for a while when I first began.

The humor struck me as a bit forced at first. Then I was interested enough in "how it was going to turn out" to continue...and then I was fully committed to fini...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Eva rated it 3 of 5 stars

I don't think you should read this book. It wasn't inspiring or useful, and the author is at best a pretty good author for someone who's not an author. That said, she had some pretty good lines and observations along the way. Kindle notes:

In German, the word kummerspeck is used to describe the weight you gain from emotional overeating. It literally translates to “grief bacon.” - location 202

It was like watching the TV movie of my life but constantly being interrupted for ads selling self-loathin...more I don't think you should read this book. It wasn't inspiring or useful, and the author is at best a pretty good author for someone who's not an author. That said, she had some pretty good lines and observations along the way. Kindle notes:

In German, the word kummerspeck is used to describe the weight you gain from emotional overeating. It literally translates to “grief bacon.” - location 202

It was like watching the TV movie of my life but constantly being interrupted for ads selling self-loathing cream. - location 385

It takes approximately 3,500 calories to burn a pound of fat. Multiply that by 212 pounds to lose and I was 742,000 calories overdrawn. My body was charging interest via my disintegrating health. I could hear it when my knees creaked and see it in those little pink scars from my surgery. A 24-year-old woman who weighs 160 pounds and engages in light activity will burn about 2,200 calories a day, give or take. Divide 742,000 by 2,200 and you’ll find I was about 337 days ahead on my eating. - location 789

Lately, I had liked to play “Is she fatter than me?” It was a game that could be played anywhere, in the produce aisle of the grocery store, in line at the pharmacy, or even in the comfort of your own home as you watched television. All it required was a working pair of eyes and another female in your line of sight. You compared the size and shape of your body to that of your competitor’s until you determined who was fatter. The thinnest girl won. The prize was a mix of smug satisfaction and self-disgust that you were playing the game at all. - location 1132

I couldn’t understand why there weren’t more plus-size stores. My local news station made it seem as if we were a nation of headless fat people. - location 1434

Some of my prettier, thinner friends would complain about the burden of their looks. They fended off unwanted advances by men at clubs and rolled their eyes at honking horns and hollering when they walked past busy streets. I sympathized with them and admitted that this must be a problem, but it was a problem in the same way that filing taxes must be a pain for a millionaire - location 1808

Surely stale M&M’s lost calories with age, like the half-life of radioactive materials. - location 2055

Vanilla wasn’t even in the same league of dieting temptations as chocolate. - location 2060

Being fat was like having a built-in asshole detector. - location 3069(less)

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Dec 28, 2012 Katie G rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-book-list, non-fiction

I really enjoyed this book. I've seen a ton of stories about people who have lost weight and how great it is because fat people are horrible and disgusting - it was nice to read a story about a woman who wanted to lose weight but still respected other fat people. She talks a bit about the Fat Acceptance movement, which I think is great. She acknowledges that BMI is just a number and that it's not a perfect indicator of health. I really liked that. One of the reasons I've felt guilty about trying...more I really enjoyed this book. I've seen a ton of stories about people who have lost weight and how great it is because fat people are horrible and disgusting - it was nice to read a story about a woman who wanted to lose weight but still respected other fat people. She talks a bit about the Fat Acceptance movement, which I think is great. She acknowledges that BMI is just a number and that it's not a perfect indicator of health. I really liked that. One of the reasons I've felt guilty about trying to lose weight is because I don't want to add to a society that says that you're only worth something if you're thin and pretty. But, like Jennette Fulda, I realize that there's a difference between losing weight because you're unhealthy and losing weight because you want a guy to like you or because you want to wear pretty clothes (not that those can't be supporting factors). I'm also glad she hated using the word "diet," as she's absolutely right that it's not about depriving yourself or changing for just long enough to get to your goal weight. It's about changing your lifestyle.

Fulda never mentions which diet plan/lifestyle change she was following, though if you're familiar with certain diets, you can figure it out. If you look on her website, you can tell that she recommends a lot of South Diet books, which is the diet that I figured she was on. I sort of wished that she would have gone into a bit more detail about what she ate. I understand why she wouldn't want people to think that her way was the only way, but it would have been nice to see more of what she did.

I also didn't like that it wasn't chronological. It wasn't a huge deal, but it was a bit annoying. When I put this book on my wish list, I thought it was going to be more of a story about what she was like and how she decided to lose weight and then her struggles along the way, and while that was definitely part of this novel, it wasn't quite how I imagined it would be. That said, it was still a really interesting novel, and I definitely enjoyed reading it.
(less)

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Dec 23, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 4 of 5 stars

I saw this memoir in the new books that came in and it looked intriguing. Fulda lost more than half her body weight, and while I don't need to lose that much, I definitely need to lose weight. In this memoir she concentrates more on the mental aspects of her journey, the thoughts that went through her head, the inner arguments that she engaged in, and how she changed as a person on the inside, not just the outside.
She has a great sense of humour and yet remains sensitive to many of the issues th...more

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Jan 13, 2012 jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fulda had been a chubby child, an obese teenager and a morbidly obese young adult. At almost 400lbs. by her early twenties, she couldn't stand for more than five minutes, she had outgrown even the plus size clothing stores and she'd never had a boyfriend. When her doctor brought up her weight, offering information about surgery, Fulda decided she had let herself go too far.
Beginning with just the few minutes on the treadmill she was capable of, and learning to cook low-fat food rather than eatin...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 31, 2011 Rebecca Johnson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book and the author's website (www.pastaqueen.com) are a real look at a real person going through a real struggle. Like me, she likes to eat and has learned to cook healthy recipes to reach her goals. She found, to her dismay, that she likes to workout after shedding copious amounts of weight. She is funny and very candid with her quirks. An example is when she ran home to read her blog after discovering that her mother had found it online, scouring it for things that were humiliating and re...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Betsy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, memoir, humor, health, fitness, weight

Dropping in and out of PastaQueen.com, I've always wanted to read the blogger's book. It wasn't until I saw her second book released, that I decided to finally pick Half-Assed up.

I'm glad I finally did. Jennette Fulda tells her story of how life was being close to 400 pounds and how her life changed when she decided to do something about it. There is no "big secret" behind her 200 pound weight loss other than making a lifestyle change. Her stories of experimenting with healthy foods and differe...more

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Oct 26, 2009 Liana rated it 3 of 5 stars

I love reading blogs about cooking and technology and the life of my friends. One of my favorite blogs is crockpot365.blogspot.com, filled with wonderful crockpot recipes. That blogger (whose name escapes me at this moment) just published her cookbook and of course I raced straight to Amazon to order it. And while doing my search and reading her blog, she wrote about this book, Half Assed, and how wonderful it is! Jennette Fulda started out as a blogger, pastaqueen.com. So, sight unseen, I order...more

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Feb 09, 2012 Leah K rated it 4 of 5 stars

Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir by Jennette Fulda

★ ★ ★ ★

When Jennette Fulda was in her early to mid-20's and started having some major health issues, she had no choice but the face the fact that she was nearly 400 pounds and in need of a lifestyle change. It was no easy thing to do but she faced it and would lose the weight after many attempts, failures, and hard work.

I find anyone who capable of losing such weight (or any weight) in a healthy manor to be a inspiration. I love the fact that sh...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Ellen Keim rated it 3 of 5 stars

The ONLY criticism I have of this book is the author's overuse of metaphors and similes. However, she comes up with some great ones, so I forgive her. Despite that tendency, Fulda is a very good writer. I kept wanting to stop and write down excerpts because I loved the way she put things.

Here are some of the things I liked about the book: The author takes on the fat acceptance movement for its own intolerance toward people who don't like being fat and want to lose weight. She refuses to despise...more

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Aug 13, 2010 Nikhila rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Blogger PastaQueen.com wrote a book about her journey of weight loss (200 pounds). I am a fan of weight loss websites and often the accompanying books (all successfully weight loss blogger seem to have memoirs lately), but I'm afraid, this one falls a little short. Fulda is not a great writer--at least in memoir/novel form. Her blog is funny and she writes silly, funny things--like twittering for help if the IKEA bookshelf she was building fell on her instead of calling a friend or 911. But in b...more

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May 21, 2013 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nf, ill

I enjoyed this weight loss memoir much more than the other one I read. Probably because I could relate to this author's journey a lot more. She chose to lose the weight through diet changes and exercise. Besides how we lost our weight we also seem to share similar views on the process and what life is life after losing that much weight. She has some great insight at the end of the book as she looks at her life and how people relate to her now that she is thin. This is the book I am going to reco...more

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Aug 22, 2011 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Funny, witty, honest. A memoir of living in a world that makes unhealthy eating and lack of exercise the norm ... but that worships thinness. The author blogged her way through two years of a weight loss journey, providing the reader with her insights along the way. This book has changed the way I will view the obese and has caused me to examine my own eating and exercise habits.

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Mar 04, 2013 Emmy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Started reading this book on a whim and finished it in two days. This is not a diet book. The author never lets you know what diet she followed, rather she talks about her journey of losing a full persons worth of weight. I've lost (and gained) a good bit of weight, and its amazing the things you think and feel that you never thought you would. Someone who has never battled weight cannot truly understand some of these feelings, but she brings them out with such clarity, and often such humor that...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Sara rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

This is pretty poorly written so I can't give it more than 2 stars, but I did enjoy reading it simply because I love memoirs, especially when aspects of the author's life would be difficult to understand/appreciate without the benefit of a personal account. This woman used to weigh almost 400lbs, barely left her house, would not make eye contact with people, and struggled to play fetch with her cat. She isn't much of a writer, but I still found her story worth reading if for no other reason than...more

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Jul 13, 2009 Sonya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, read-in-2009

The author is clearly funny and has plenty of personal insights. Her writing style is brisk and witty.

There were a few structural problems--often a point would be raised, then the subject would change abruptly, and at times, the timeline was convoluted. The book would have benefited from more "how I did it." Fulda states implicitly that she doesn't want to advocate for any particular eating plan, and to a degree, I can understand that not every plan will work for every person. However, more det...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Ken Montville rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people with weight issues

Recommended to Ken by: no one

In true memoir style, this book is an idealized, romanticized and, generally, abbreviated story of an epic weight loss. If you're looking for a "how-to" book on losing well over 200 pounds...this is not the book.

I came across this book in one of those random searches through Amazon and thought it looked interesting. After all, what overweight person wouldn't want to know how a young woman lost so much weight? There might be some magic formula tucked inside those pages somewhere. Of course, there...more In true memoir style, this book is an idealized, romanticized and, generally, abbreviated story of an epic weight loss. If you're looking for a "how-to" book on losing well over 200 pounds...this is not the book.

I came across this book in one of those random searches through Amazon and thought it looked interesting. After all, what overweight person wouldn't want to know how a young woman lost so much weight? There might be some magic formula tucked inside those pages somewhere. Of course, there is a magic formula: eat less and exercise more. No magic pill, no magic foods, no magic exercise regimen.

Unlike most of us who may be circumferentially challenged, this author didn't have a sad childhood with abusive parents or a family that consistently put food in front of her. To hear Jennette Fulda tell the story, she had a great and supportive family who just happened to eat a lot.

So, what was the incentive to lose over 200 pounds? It might have been the gall bladder operation. Although she says she still sat around for another year. It might have been her brother's weight loss. But, according to the book (and one of the chapter titles) there were no epiphanies. She just got up one day and decided to shed the poundage and, by golly, that's what she did.

She started to lose weight and, eventually, start a blog which, in turn, became a raging success and the big accountability piece she needed to stay on track. Of course, it is also nice that she's a coder and general all around web guru. So, the website that hosted the blog looked pretty, had great graphics and pretty charts and lots of the coding you need to let Google know you're around.

The book is written in the breezy and slightly snarky style of young-ish bloggers (Jeannette Fulda started her weight loss at 24) and it's and easy read. It can be funny in spots and it's worthwhile to know that if she could do it so can you (or me or anyone else).

If you're looking for "thin-spiration" or anything along those lines, this book falls short. The author moves from self awareness to self absorption pretty quickly. She easily congratulates herself and glosses over some of the real struggles fat people face - the office snacks and get togethers, weddings and funerals and church socials as well as the never ending cravings.

To be fair, toward the end of the book, the author acknowledges that she is young and single with no kids and just the 40 hour job to worry about. It's easy to come home and cook the healthy and nutrition meals (she really gets into cooking) and then go out for a run (she really gets into running). No worries about the spouse or the stressful boss or the travel schedule.

After a little over two years, Jeannette Fulda has shed over 200 pounds and looks great, feels great and just loves life. Her weight loss (as illustrated by a chart on www.pastaqueen.com) was pretty much of a straight diagonal line down. Little bumps here and there but nothing like what most people experience.

The bottom line here is that this story is the exception and not the rule. Like the memoirs of Presidents and celebrities of every stripe she tells a story short on angst and struggle and long on her triumphs and how, once she made up her mind, she was able to pull off the near miraculous.

One final note: this is a book for the ladies. She makes a few short references to her brother's weight loss and to her father's 90 pound drop due to counting calories (Jeannette just follows her body's advice and doesn't count calories or any of that stuff). The bulk of the book is really oriented to young women. After all, it's a "memoir" so it is very female oriented.(less)

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Feb 23, 2011 Humber rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It's a weight loss memoir and chronicles a 20-somethings journey through losing over half her body weight...naturally, without surgery, gimmicks, etc. I found this to be a VERY motivational book. She writes in a humorous way and it would seem that this type of book (when it comes to weight and weight loss) works much better for me than a serious, stodgy type of book.

As I read the book, I actually wrote down a HUGE list of phrases that I wanted to remember and re-visit, as I fo...more

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Feb 02, 2010 Tamara Evans rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, girl-power, health-weight-loss, humor

I really enjoyed this book because it presented a real experience of someone struggling to lose weight. Although I've read other weight loss memoirs in the past, this book really struck a cord with me because of how honest she was about her successes and failures. Jennette is a 24 when she decides to start a weight loss journey after having gallbladder surgery. Through determination and trial and error, she begins to lose the excess weight and eventually becomes a lighter and healthier person. I...more

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Feb 27, 2011 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have been reading Jennette's blog since very early in her weight-loss journey. I enjoy her writing style and perspective very much. I found that, as a regular pastaqueen.com reader, that it was nice to get a more in-depth version of topics she talked about on her blog.

A non-pastaqueen.com reader could potentially get a lot out of this, as well. She's very honest and careful about what she says regarding weight-loss and obesity. She doesn't make any universal claims or wild judgments, and is ve...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Shannan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Pretty good. I bought this on an amazon kindle daily deal on a whim. I'll be honest, I didn't finish the entire book - I got about 70% through it and figured I got the gist of it. She was almost 400 lbs, she decides to cut calories and exercise and while battling her internal demons she loses almost 200 lbs. okay, I get it - job well done!
My one thought though out the whole book was how much she skips around - am I crazy for thinking this? One minute she's lost 80 lbs, then she's shopping for s...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Serena rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this novel. It's a very straightforward, honest memoir about a person taking back their lives. I really loved how Jeannette wrote out all of the things anyone who has ever been overweight thinks but never really says. Even though its her own personal journey, and to her point, not all things work the same for everyone her story was inspiring.
If you decide to read this book one thing I would call out is she is not going to train you to lose weight personally, this is her own str...more

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Jun 21, 2010 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story here was pretty good, but the similes certainly begin to grate on the nerves, like mozzerella cheese over a pizza. What?

Some that I liked enough to bookmark so I could share them in this review (yay kindle):
"I hasn't gotten this much unsolicited advice since the last time I'd had the hiccups."

"The blog was a stamp of validation on the parking garage ticket of my life."

"...led miserable lives but didn't realize it, like all those people who used AOL."

Love:
"I had friends who could eat a...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Harkinna rated it 1 of 5 stars

I don’t have much to say here: large woman decides to lose weight, loses said weight. We don’t really get a lot of good details here. We don’t learn about her longing for a boyfriend, her horrible family, heck, we don’t even learn what diet she was on. And the book is not written in any order; we hop around in time, which drives this reader crazy.

This book is more of an inspiration to me, not because she lost the weight, but because she sold this book. I mean she must have made some money on it...more

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Jun 26, 2011 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars

An interesting read, but the writing was definitely more suited for a blog than a book (which makes sense, since the author is a popular weight-loss blogger). The thing about the narrative that I found most tedious was the lack of scene or even story for most of the book; it's literally all from inside the author's head, with very little interaction or dialogue. There was no sense of chronology either -- she jumped around so much that it was hard to follow any kind of timeline. Still, interestin...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Ronya Misleh rated it 2 of 5 stars

Mediocre in terms of weight loss memoirs (of which I have read a good number). Lesson: diet, exercise, and moderation are essential to lose half your body mass. This book was funny at times but man is the author really self-confident and narcissistic. ...There were too many "I'm so hot now" and "Man, I look good" and references to people's positive reactions to her and to her stopping to look in every mirror she sees for my taste. I'm not taking away her entitlement to these feelings, as they ar...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Robin Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-think-you-move-me, non-fiction

Maybe I'm cheesy for being moved by this book, but if I am I don't care. I wasn't looking for information about how to lose weight, I already know how. I was looking for affirmation that it's worth it. That the self-confidence and assurance of self that comes from controlling your physical well being isn't just a temporary feeling. I was looking for confirmation that it is possible to reach a point where fear is replaced by certainty of ability.

This book is full of wise ass cracks about human s...more

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Jun 12, 2011 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

The core tenets of this book are sound: when you are ready - truly ready - to lose weight or get in shape or effect some other major life change, only then will you succeed. If you are not there, mentally, 100 percent, it's not going to happen. Maybe it's because I haven't faced her challenges, but I tired of her story. Yes, what she did was amazing, I felt she developed an attitude of, "well I certainly don't know what is going to work for you, go figure it out for yourself!" yes, she says many...more

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Feb 24, 2011 Kelly Mogilefsky rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fascinating memoir for anyone interesting in weight loss, personal development, and the odd (and sometimes oddly banal) reasons people get fat and then decide to get un-fat. For a young woman, Jennette Fulda is entertaining and witty; for a reader who is a little older, her amazement at discovering the wider world comes off as (charmingly) naive. This is not a how-to book (thankfully)....I picked it up because I was exploring the possibility of doing a unit on obesity in my summer teaching cla...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Julie rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read a lot of great reviews of this book, and while I certainly commend Jennette Fulda for all her hard work and success, I must admit, this was not especially well written. Honestly, though, a lot of that falls to the folks who edited her, because it's written very much like her blog, which isn't edited; a good editor could've made a big difference and could've really polished her work. I also didn't like the cheap shots she took at and condescending attitude she sometimes showed toward other...more

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About Jennette Fulda

Jennette was born weighing 8 pounds 5 ounces, but eventually tipped the scales at 372 pounds before losing almost 200 pounds through diet and exercise. In 2008, she got a headache that still hasn't gone away and tried everything from pills, pot, and acupuncture to relieve it. These experiences are chronicled in her books "Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir" and "Chocolate & Vicodin: My Quest for...more

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