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.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Memoir, Comics, Health, Biography, Food

195 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2008

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 figure out her height and BMI based on her specific numbers (almost 8 pounds underweight at 117.5 puts her at 5'9") and the fact that she referred to herself as zaftig at 137 pounds (or a BMI of 20.9 - a healthy BMI is 18.5 to 24.9) was completely infuriating. Even at her "fat" weight of 160 (BMI 23.6), she was never clinically overweight, let alone obese. This book has been sold as being the weight loss journey of a woman who was 30 pounds overweight and if the numbers she uses in her book are right on that was never, ever the case.

What really put me over the edge was the suggestion that her parents might have lived longer, healthier lives if they had only walked the dogs a little longer each day or taken a water aerobics class. Never mind that her Mother died of cancer at the age of 69. As a daughter who's thin father was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 42, I nearly exploded at the implications here.

Carol Lay controls her weight by writing down every calorie that she consumes, exercising everyday, and weighing herself each morning. She mentions that she gets pleasure from the 'control' she now maintains, which is something commonly associated with eating disorders. I know I'm being harsh here, but this is a woman who needs to maintain a daily obsession with her weight in order to maintain it. Ms. Lay may be perfectly healthy about her weight loss, but encouraging this kind of behavior as part of a weight loss regimen can be very dangerous.

I would applaud the book for pointing out that there are no easy answers when it comes to weight loss. Sustained weight loss requires a dedication that is admirable and difficult to maintain, but this book is not the answer to relaying that message. The art was pretty meh and the attitude here (not to mention the lack of real insight or motivation - for me at least) was frustrating at best.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are some great comic book memoirs out there: Fun Home 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 are 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.

Lay talks about how she has always been overweight for most of her life and been unhappy about it, and how she came to lose it by obsessively counting calories. That’s it. It’s Lay overhyping (in very unfunny ways) her eating (she was 160 pounds, hardly mammoth) and then ending with, "and then I realised you have to count your calories if you're going to lose weight". Alright. Still super bored. Uh oh, here comes crazy!

She literally writes down every single thing she eats then works out the calories it contains then adds it up in her food journal... she buys scales that calculates weight to 1/10th of an ounce! Does anyone need to know their weight to that precise a measurement? It just seems an excessive and scarily obsessive method of losing weight or maintaining it. I suppose it works for Lay but what a crappy way to live.

The worst part of all is the lack of variation in the book. I thought it'd contain wry, funny anecdotes and it doesn't. The artwork is appealing but Lay herself isn't and it's no wonder when she introduces a man into the story she does so by calling him "my future ex-husband" or "my future ex-boyfriend". Who would want to be around a woman staring at a dish of carrots on scales pondering how many calories it contains with a pad and pencil as if it were the cure to cancer?

I gave up on the book around page 30, I couldn't take any more of Lay's irritating personality (I flicked through the rest of the book to see if it improved or whether I missed anything important but it’s just the same crap over and over). The book is dull as dishwater, and over half of it is recipes that Lay likes - yup, half of this comic memoir is fucking recipes!

Here’s the opening scene of the book in which Lay goes to a dinner party, thin, greets the hostess who remarks on her appearance: "How did you lose the weight?" Lay: "By calorie counting and exercising" (Hostess smiles in silence and then dashes off). Lay presents this as if the hostess were afraid of the pure honesty of her answer but I think that having read some of the book that she ran away because Lay is so insufferably boring she went off to find someone with a personality!

The Big Skinny may be the most trivial and least interesting comic book memoir I've ever come across. Do not bother.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 aspect of the story; she's simply talking about what worked for her, and why.

There's some calorie charts in the back and several pages of recipes that are simple to make but look delicious--roast fennel with garlic, for example, or steamed vegetables with a red Thai curry sauce.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 signings locally, and hopefully more in northern parts of the state.

Anyhow, thanks for taking a look (and indulging me with a 5-star vote for myself)!

--carol lay

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was NOT about changing “fattitude.” This was not body positive like I expected at all. I expected something about accepting her body the way it was but no, it was all “I’m skinny and thus living happily ever after”

[Kris · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so sad and depressing. Whatever the opposite of body positive is, this book is it. I just can’t imagine thinking THIS much about food and weight and wasting this much time on sucking every bit of joy out of eating. Like twenty pages of this is just lists of food and calorie counts. Just awful.

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 of those are unpronounceable, don't eat it." I have been trying to cook more, not only is it less expensive, but it tastes better and is better for your body. Now, if only the summer heat would co-operate!

She also says that carbonated drinks leach calcium and minerals from bones and tissues, which can lead to osteoporosis. I'm definitely giving them up totally after reading this book! Now, I have to work on dairy products, which she says there is more osteoporosis, heart disease and cancer in countries where the most dairy products are consumed.....

The end part of the book contains calorie charts and lots of low calorie recipes.... Definitely recommended!

[Christiane · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 for Lay but for me, obsessing over the calorie content of every single thing I eat or drink all day long (hmmm, is this a 60 calorie cup of cubed cantelope or a 100 calorie cup?) just sends me right into the arms of the nearest donut shop. Which unfortunately is less than one block from where I work. Still, I loved the illustrations, there are handy calorie charts in the back if you need to know how many calories are in 17 cashew nuts (160)for example, and sample menus and recipes for anyone eager to get started. It's a lot more fun than the average diet book that's for sure.

[Emilia P · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've passed this by so many times but I really like Carol Lay's exuberant illustration style and I couldn't resist. Alas, it was pretty lame.

So here's the deal. I'm a fat person. I don't actually have a lot of hang-ups about food or eating and I like both healthy food and bad-for-you food. I don't really like to exercise all that much, but it's...just... meh. Not particularly psychological/pathological. Pretty much nothing in this book rang true for me, and Lay came off looking like just a super-obsessive calorie counter/self-weigher/party pooper. Which I don't think she meant to do.

Basically my complaint is that she thought she could just make her own experience universal just by writing it down. That doesn't really work yo! She just spent a book making herself look pretty neurotic and entirely unaware of that fact. I'd love to read a book about weight struggles that was honest and talked about successful ways of dealing with them, but this was not that.

I did totally enjoy her exuberant illustration style though -- but it made me hungry for the food she drew. :P

[Amelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

I did like the illustration work, and I appreciated her honesty, which is why I'm giving this book more than one star. But I don't really see this book as being useful to me in my own weight management efforts.

[Kaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Sparkle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Misleading title and basically it's like being inside the head of someone with an eating disorder. Very triggering to read and her evident hatred for those who weigh outside their suggested BMI is appalling to read.

I put this down after about 50 pages. Yuck. Not recommended.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 just flat out, 160 pounds is at least 30 pounds to much for her height. It also bothers me that she lumps 206 (her highest weight), 160 and 140 all together and labels them all as unacceptable. She’s using “fat” to mean “not a size 2 or 4.”
Also, if you read the entire book, you’ll see that she has had issues with her weight and her body pretty much her whole life. Her mother sent to her Weight Watchers when she was a teenager. How could that not be damaging to a person’s self image at that young age? She spends a good page or two chronicling her constant dieting and weight fluctuations since college. To me, this makes it seems like she has spent pretty much her entire adult life hating her body.
She mentions how she could have used a good shrink to help her figure out why she was eating so much, an idea her mother promptly poo-poo’s. It’s really odd to me that she goes from wanting to see a shrink to help her figure out her eating issues, to wanting to diet herself down to 125 pounds. Why not see a shrink to figure out why she feels “fat” and “unacceptable” at a normal weight? Why is it a horrible problem to eat too much, and yet, it is perfectly fine to go your whole life hating your body and wanting to drastically change it? This was a huge issue for me.
It also seems like her life is still completely controlled by food and her weight. She weighs herself and records her weight every single day. She has to write down every single thing she eats. She won’t allow herself to eat a free sample at the grocery store unless she knows how many calories to assign it. She also eats very small portions of things, such as half a banana, half a piece of bread, a quarter cup of lemonade or a single malt ball from a bulk bin. She mentions how all this accounting for calories gives her a sense of control, which is something usually associated with eating disorders.
And beyond the general “eat less and exercise more” she doesn’t really provide anything groundbreaking. For me, the kind of restricted diet she lays out would make me frustrated beyond belief. I agree that eating less, eating healthier and getting adequate exercise are the best things for you, I just don’t think her attitude about herself, her weight and food are healthy.

[Maddie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is both devastatingly boring and problematic: I’m sincerely regretting that I didn’t flip through it before I picked it up at the library. The illustration style looked interesting and I was suckered into the “How I Changed My Fattitude” subtitle, thinking this would be a book about body acceptance and living healthy, accompanied by fun anecdotes and stories.

Not the case. What ensued was a 200-page diary of author Carol Lay’s justification of her utterly exhausting lifestyle. She counts calories every day, weighs herself every morning, and then writes everything down to keep herself “on track.” She shames her own body, which she refers to as “fat” (another reviewer pointed out from the information Lay shares that she was completely within a normal BMI range the entire time). The most “horrible” effects of being “overweight” for Lay was that her thighs chafed and she wore ugly, loose-fitting clothing.

I could go on and on about how much I hate that this book exists. But I’ll just leave it at this: The last half of the book is an illustrated guide to calorie counts and servings and illustrated recipes. I sincerely hope she still doesn’t weigh herself every morning and that she hasn’t been counting calories every day since this book was published (2008). That sounds exhausting. Imagine all of the illustrating and writing she could have done with all that extra mental energy’

[Brandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 sometimes repeat information from previous chapters as well. She claims that the rigorous calorie-counting makes her not think about food much, but the kind of attention-to-detail required to eat a bite of anything seems more obsessive than freeing to me.

It's possible this isn't the kind of plan that would work for me, but really, the whole book didn't work for me. Congratulations to Lay, who managed to lose a bunch of weight and keep it off, but this book is far less interesting and insightful than I'd have expected of her. It's nice to look at, though.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever seen a diet book in graphic novel form before. As you would guess from the title, Lay talks about her history with dieting, and the breakthrough that led to the lifestyle changes that have helped her lose weight and keep it off. There's an episodic quality to the book, and it wouldn't surprise me to learn that at least some chapters have previously appeared separately.

Lay's tone is gentle but firm. Her basic message is, "This is what worked for me. Hopefully it works for you too." I appreciated some of the humorous touches, my favorite probably being the moment when she answers the doorbell to find Temptation in the form of George Clooney bearing a bulging sack from McDonald's. She makes her points well, but manages to avoid the haranguing vibe that seems to afflict so many diet books. There are also handy calorie charts and recipes included. I admit to not having much familiarity with diet books, but this seems to be a good one. Recommended!

[Carrie Rolph · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 smoking jacket, and her roommate was funny) and interesting enough that when I was done, I *did* feel kind of bad for not eating a completely natural, sugar-free, salt-free diet, because as this book implies, I will now apparently drop dead before my time.

Oh well.

[Tressa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was interesting to say the least. I didn't have to feel guilty for lying on the couch and reading a graphic novel when I could have been exercising because I was learning about diet and nutrition.

I really enjoyed this jam-packed book filled with tips for how to lose and maintain weight. Sort of heartbreaking to learn just how many calories lurk in some of my favorite foods, though.

We all know the successful formula for losing weight--eat less and exercise more--but it was fun to have it explained in the form of a graphic novel.

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Lay's artwork here, but the message gets a bit repetitive.

The whole thing can be summed up with a simple DIET + EXERCISE = WEIGHT LOSS

This will go on the cookbook shelf, rather than with my graphic novels.

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly inspirational. Good reminders of the good habits we already know about, but do not always follow.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

An inspiring look at one woman's weight-loss journey, told in comic-book form.

[Kieraanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this nonfiction memoir, the author chronicles what she did to "easily" lose 35.5 lbs and keep it off for three years after a lifetime of yo-yo dieting. Having gained and lost the same 40 lbs myself over and over again, I was hoping for some eureka moment insight that would help me follow the author's example. This was not the case. Instead, I felt like the author was telling us that if we can't lose weight, it's our own fault and if we really wanted to all we needed to do was make the decision and follow through. Many people have health complications that make weight loss very difficult. Plus, I felt like some of her recommendations weren't healthy. Only eating 1350 calories a day seems like borderline starvation for me, but maybe the author is much shorter than me or something. I thought her general advice regarding paying attention to what you are eating and trying to get at least 20 minutes of movement in a day were helpful, but a lot of her meal plans did not appeal to me. That said, there may be readers for whom this book is a life saver, and it clicks for them and they love it. I liked the artwork and felt like her depictions of herself at various weights and stages of life were semi-inspirational and did make me want to try harder to look good in a cute little dress like she did...but her depictions of various overweight people also tended to just make me feel depressed. I would like to follow up with the author today and see if she's been able to keep the weight off or not.

[Amber Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extremely short read, but not bad. The best information in it's about eating triggers--how we use food as comfort rather than body fuel. I went through a bad patch with a terrible boss and was comforting myself in the same way with after-work French fries. Also good about how "sneaky" weight loss tricks don't work--spray oil DOES have calories in large enough quantities and fake sugar is NOT good for you.
Most of this information I already learned from doing a serious slim down with a diet plan and coach. Weight loss means a lot of sensible and tightly controlled small meals and snacks, and LOTS of exercise....you want more energy going out than in. Maintenance-your in and out is balanced.

I'd recommend this to someone whose beginning to try to lose weight or get eating issues under control--I'm no longer comfort binging fries, but I still fall prey to after work snax when I'm hungriest...so still working on that!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lay's new book is a combo memoir/lifestyle guide. In it, she tells readers how stopped a cycle of yo-yo dieting and finally lost 30 pounds to get to her ideal weight. It's upbeat and positive, extremely well drawn, examines the influences (genetic and upbringing) that affected her weight and health before her lifestyle changes.

She also offers easy workout options and provides over ten pages of easy, low-calorie recipes. I may actually store this book in my kitchen!

It's really smartly done, and a very engaging read. Though I don't count calories, I'm glad to see that I recognize some of my own habits in hers.

[Crabbygirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

looking for more carol lay, i stumbled upon this weightloss guide/memoir. i really irked me - turning weight issues (and control of them) into something like a religion. it bothered me so much, i put it aside, but somehow it creeped into my thoughts daily. there were truths in there that i didn't want to admit - that's why it made me so angry. and so this book became my own personal turning point, my own ah-ha moment. 6 weeks later, i'm ten pounds lighter, and half-way to my goal weight. only time will time if these changes are lasting.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll read pretty much anyone's autobiographical narrative, provided they choose to present it in comic book form. This was certainly no exception. As a comic, it's interesting and well done. Lay plays with color and panel layout to get her point across, and some of points of her memoir are fairly interesting.

However, at heart this is a diet book. I probably wasn't in the mood for one of those.

I would recommend this comic for people who enjoy reading diet books.

[Megan Close Zavala · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations and sense of humor, but the overall tone felt uneven. Sometimes the author was truly relatable, but often she can’t off as a bit holier than thou. I think in an attempt to make it seem like if she can do it, anyone can, she loses touch with the people that enjoy eating cheese and shrimp.

[Miranda Hunter · Rating 1 out of 5]

An unfunny depiction about a woman giving herself an eating disorder. If you are in anyway struggling with body image or overeating find a book written by someone who’s qualified and actually proficient in their field. I think what really sucks is that the art style is so cool but it is ruined by the incessant vanity and overall boringness of the author.

[Ally Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

a unique way to share weight loss method/lifestyle changes. Can't believe i'm saying that i actually enjoyed reading/viewing Carol Lay's journey. Hoping that i've reached that point of being fed up and ready to change myself.

[Mj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good info in here, also some average. For general population probably not a bad book to grasp basic concepts, but definitely some flaws.. but considering was published a decade ago.. it reflects the thinking of the time.