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25th out of 28 books
—
46 voters
My rating:
add to my books
The Big Skinny: How I Changed My Fattitude
by
Carol Lay
Here’s the skinny: After a lifetime of yo-yo dieting with pills, hypnosis, and ill-informed half-measures, Carol Lay finally shed her excess pounds and kept them off. Now this California cartoonist shares her experiences in a funny, genuine, and eye-popping graphic memoir that tells Carol’s story and shows you how you can do it, too.
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
December 30th 2008
by Villard
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Oh I had such an emotional response to this book.
Maybe the author feels happier with her life now that she is a "size 2 or 4" and is just gleeful at sharing that with the world, but everything here came off as so self righteous and condescending. As seems to be the case with most diet books, the material here is very repetitive (mentioning her dreadful pre-skinny thigh chafing episode in two nearly identical panels twice in the first 30 pages).
It was easy to f...more
Maybe the author feels happier with her life now that she is a "size 2 or 4" and is just gleeful at sharing that with the world, but everything here came off as so self righteous and condescending. As seems to be the case with most diet books, the material here is very repetitive (mentioning her dreadful pre-skinny thigh chafing episode in two nearly identical panels twice in the first 30 pages).
It was easy to f...more
view all 4 comments
I love the idea of this book---formerly fat Carol Lay documents her path to skinnyness in comics! There's a lot I (and I bet other people) can relate to in here, embarrassing though it is. I had high hopes for some insights into permanent weight loss, so have to admit I was a little disappointed by what worked for Carol: counting calories. (And exercise of course, which always seems like well duh, no one is going to lose weight sitting around on the sofa.) Counting calories worked wonders f...more
Ron
rated it
Shelves:
cookbooks,
graphic-novel,
health,
humor,
memoirs,
motivational,
nutrition,
weight-loss,
self-improvement
Carol Lay's technique for losing weight and keeping it off is simple: She practices rigorous calorie management, and she doesn't slack off from it. But the LA-based cartoonist tells her story as a graphic novel, and that makes a huge difference and keeps this from turning into a typical diet book. Her "lessons" feel like conversations, and the humorous illustrations keep the pitch low-pressure. Having a cartoon version of Lay telling the story also emphasizes the personal-perspective a...more
I really did not care for this. I think weight loss is a difficult topic to cover without coming off sounding a little bit self-righteous, and Lay doesn't quite succeed. She has pretty much zero sense of humor about it. Also, I found her weight loss methods more than a little bit nuts. For example, at one point she goes to the Whole Foods and buys a single bulk malted ball. One.
Also--and I fear the comments I'm going to get for saying this--I feel like the relationship she descr...more
Also--and I fear the comments I'm going to get for saying this--I feel like the relationship she descr...more
Confession: I'm the author. Thank you for all the kind words and stars, especially Ron, who concisely nailed it.
I've been drawing comics for over 30 years, but this is the first time I've put something out there that has already started helping people. I received an email from an extremely overweight woman who became inspired to change her habits, hopefully to improve her life and health. That was SO gratifying!
If any readers live in So Cal, i'll be doing some signi...more
I've been drawing comics for over 30 years, but this is the first time I've put something out there that has already started helping people. I received an email from an extremely overweight woman who became inspired to change her habits, hopefully to improve her life and health. That was SO gratifying!
If any readers live in So Cal, i'll be doing some signi...more
problematic. Carol Lay details her numerous techniques for remaining a size 2--she obsessively counts calories, weighing herself every morning and writing down the calorie value of every morsel of food to pass her lips in a notebook she carries around with her all day every day. Her eating habits also strike me as disordered--a typical day involves eating a 1/2 banana for breakfast. Call me crazy, but I'd rather be a larger size if it meant I could eat the entire banana for breakfast.
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I like Carol Lay's Story Minute comic, and I've picked up a couple of her collections and enjoyed those as well. So when I heard this was coming out, I figured I'd read it even though the subject matter (weight loss) didn't sound all that interesting.
It wasn't. At times smug and self-righteous, Lay talks about what worked for her (scrupulous calorie-counting and exercise) and the kinds of meals she eats regularly. This is every bit as repetitive as you'd expect, and she'll sometim...more
It wasn't. At times smug and self-righteous, Lay talks about what worked for her (scrupulous calorie-counting and exercise) and the kinds of meals she eats regularly. This is every bit as repetitive as you'd expect, and she'll sometim...more
There are some great comic book memoirs out there - "Fun House" by Alison Bechdel, "Epileptic" by David B., "Stitches" by David Small, the work of Harvey Pekar, James Kochalka, Jeffrey Brown, Julia Wertz, and on and on. They're books about discovering your sexuality, dealing with life-changing diseases, finding humour in a bleak world and struggling with addiction. And then there's "The Big Skinny" by Carol Lay, a book about how the author lost 35 pounds.
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I really didn't like this book. For one thing, she was never overweight in the first place. At 160 pounds at 5’9” puts her at a high normal weight. Even at 140 pounds she still feels like she is unacceptable and describes herself as “zaftig.” Yes, there are all body types and people cary weight differently and all that, but she never goes into that. It would be one thing if she said something like “I have a delicate frame and so 125 is actually better for me than 160” but she doesn’t. It’s...more
You gotta love a diet book that is also a graphic novel! I picked this one up at the library, not really realizing what it was. Since I just recently lost 30 pounds, it wasn't all that helpful as a diet book for myself. However, if you have been having trouble dieting, I definitely suggest you pick this one up! It's a lighthearted and funny way of looking at food....
Loved the panel: "A simple rule for processed food is this: if it contains more than five ingredients and if any o...more
Loved the panel: "A simple rule for processed food is this: if it contains more than five ingredients and if any o...more
I read this memoir on recommendation from the Readers Advisory Guide to Graphic Novels for a GN study focusing on readers' advisory appeal factors and becoming comfortable with the format. I realized that, while I've been reading lots of graphic novels over the past few years, I hadn't thought much on appeal factors or talking to others about them in that way.
Focusing on narrative flow was the emphasis in looking at this work. I enjoyed the story, and it flowed smoothly and conne...more
Focusing on narrative flow was the emphasis in looking at this work. I enjoyed the story, and it flowed smoothly and conne...more
This book is a memoir about Carol Lay's experience with weight loss. The twist is that she uses her talent as a cartoonist to tell her story. Unfortunately, the novelty of a graphic novel about health and fitness isn't enough to make it anything more than average.
Why do a fitness book in cartoon form, anyway? This was a big stumbling block for me. When I read a book about someone who has lost weight, I want to see some before-and-after photos. This is a book filled with drawings; f...more
Why do a fitness book in cartoon form, anyway? This was a big stumbling block for me. When I read a book about someone who has lost weight, I want to see some before-and-after photos. This is a book filled with drawings; f...more
My husband always gets me a bunch of comics for my birthday and this one was in this year's batch. He did say before I opened the gift that he got this for me because he knows I like first person memoirs and NOT because he thought I needed to lose weight. Disclaimer'd!
I found the book entertaining and a quick read, but (as some other reviewers said) a bit repetitive. I think it would be a reasonable manual for someone who wanted to lose weight but had no idea how to manage it long ter...more
I found the book entertaining and a quick read, but (as some other reviewers said) a bit repetitive. I think it would be a reasonable manual for someone who wanted to lose weight but had no idea how to manage it long ter...more
Oh, hurray. The story of how a "fat" girl (not really)triumphed over her 30 extra pounds by obsessively weighing herself, and counting the calories in every. single. thing. she eats. It's probably a great how-to manual if you happen to be someone who works from home, can manage to go to the gym whenever you want, and can afford to buy produce at Whole Foods.
It's preachy, almost completely without humor (I say almost because there are two panels with George Clooney in a ...more
It's preachy, almost completely without humor (I say almost because there are two panels with George Clooney in a ...more
I am a comic/graphic novel fan, and a fan of Carol Lay's "Story Minute" strip, so I was intrigued when I discovered she had recently written a graphic novel memoir/weight loss/healthier living guide. Fans of Lay will be right at home reading this work but I think anyone interested in issues of weight or healthier living will find something worthwhile in The Big Skinny. I typically have no interest in diet manuals, but I am struck by Lay's practical, simple and direct style. She stresse...more
The first "diet" book I've ever read. I like the message (be realistic and diligent & have a good attitude) and it's format (a little more comic strip then graphic novel, but far from "Cathy" in tone.)
What's funny is that when reading it, I found a lot of similarities between changing your nutrition lifestyle with changing your environmental lifestyle. When going green, you have to decide it's worth it, get over your denial that you're not hurting yourself or othe...more
What's funny is that when reading it, I found a lot of similarities between changing your nutrition lifestyle with changing your environmental lifestyle. When going green, you have to decide it's worth it, get over your denial that you're not hurting yourself or othe...more
Was curious about this one after Talia and Tamara's reviews -- I really liked the graphic novel format and the basic philosophy of this weight loss success story. It's definitely true that you can't make a lifestyle change until a switch flips in your brain and you decide to be honest and diligent about it, and start thinking how you "get to" make changes rather than "have to." I also liked her artist's approach to food: if your diet was a painting, would it be all browns, be...more
I LOVED this book!!!! I was familiar with Carol Lay's comic strip, so when I came across this accidentally on the library shelf I grabbed it thinking it was her strip. It's a book about losing weight, but because of its graphic novel format, it really draws you in. Plus her voice is entertaining and she explains her own family background and personal history/struggles with weight. This is just common sense with regard to weight loss/healthy eating with the emphasis on eating less and moving mor...more
Barky
rated it
Carol Lay has written (and illustrated) the graphic story of how she finally decided to lose weight, kept it off, and made a commitment to her health. She was a shy overweight teen who comforted herself with food instead of dealing with her problems and insecurities. She dieted on and off over the years and tried a bunch of different pills, diet plans, etc., before realizing that the only way to really lose weight and keep it off was to eat less, exercise more, and count calories (i.e. be awar...more
This is a diet book in graphic novel format, showing her trials, backstory, and eventual success of dieting and living healthy. The overall message of this book is nothing new to dieters: count/journal what you eat and exercise. But the author also touches on emotional eating (my prob) and becoming dedicated to the process and being willing to make a total lifestyle change for lasting results. And some of the drawings are pretty funny too!
This book could not be any more condescending, smug, or self-righteous. As if addressing idiots, the author explains how to lose weight by eating healthy unprocessed foods, counting calories, exercising, and being "honest and diligent". She has lost 35 pounds and kept it off for 3 years after a lifetime of up and down weight. I wish I could be there when the weight starts to come back and she has to change her size 2 wardrobe to size 12.
This is a great concept: an illustrated diet book! And with comics. So, yes, it's a graphic novel but it's a self-help guide and it's a memoir, 3 books in one! I had been looking forward to this one for a while and once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. If you've ever read a diet book, you have to give this a try! I feel invigorated to get back to my healthy eating and exercising plan that I always start the new year with!
This would be decent overview of calorie counting if you knew nothing abut the topic at all. There isn't any deep introspection here, and the whole thing is pretty dull, actually, and many sections are repetitive. However, if someone really wanted to know the basics, (willpower, calorie counting, saying no to food, weighing daily) and needed to have that reiterated every three pages, well--this book would provide just that.
Very cute book! It is a no nonsense book about Ms. Lay's change in lifestyle. Ms.Lay presents a common sense way to lose weight (counting calories, daily weigh ins, and exercise.) The comic format is great because it reads fast. She also includes recipes and the calorie count for common non processed foods. Would I buy this book? quite possibly. Whould I take it out again from the library? You Bet!!!!
This was fun book with really good illustrations, but I wouldn't use it as a true guidebook for a possible dieter. Her weight-loss tactics are as extreme as her weight-gain ones. I would lose my mind eating tiny half-sandwiches and measuring out every morsal of food on a scale for the rest of my life. But that's me. And I really like the memoir style.
I haven't tried any of the recipes.
Not only did I enjoy reading this graphic self-help dieting book but the rest of my family enjoyed reading it as well. They perused The Big Skinny for its art and comedy rather than for the dieting advice. Yet, I'm pretty sure Lay's advice and perspective on monitoring weight will change my life!
Not only did I enjoy reading this graphic self-help dieting book but the rest of my family enjoyed reading it as well. They perused The Big Skinny for its art and comedy rather than for the dieting advice. Yet, I'm pretty sure Lay's advice and perspective on monitoring weight will change my life!
This is a well done weight loss book. Since I'm a fan of graphic novels, I thought I would devour this, but it actually took me a while to get through. I figure that's because I usually read graphic novels for the escapist fantasy elements. Either that or my over-eating self couldn't handle facing the excellent advice this author offers! :-)
Jessica
rated it
Recommends it for:
Anyone--male or female--who is looking for positive motivation to live a healthier life!
Shelves:
memoir
This is the first diet/fitness book that I've ever read and I wouldn't have even picked it up if wasn't a graphic novel. It was surprisingly really good: funny, motivating, and educational. It doesn't offer a diet but motivation for a lifestyle change. It's a bit extreme/unrealistic in parts, but in comparison to most health nuts, Carol Lay comes out on top.
I feel like this was a great realization of the stresses of changing an old lifestyle into a completely new, diet-free, lifestyle. I was able to really understand some of the issues dealt with by the author and she helped me understand that I'm not alone in my thoughts and pressures, a lot of people go through weight issues.
A new look at the weight-loss game. Carol Lay doesn't give you anything new that will magically make the pounds come off but she has put her ideas in the form of a graphic memoir, in other words, she tells her weight-loss story through cartoons. It all comes down to fresh healthy foods, portion control, and exercise. We all know that but Carol Lay does it in a positive, witty, no nonsense way that is inspiring.
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