Audio Review:Big Girl: How I Gave Up Dieting and Got a Life by Kelsey Miller

A hilarious and inspiring memoir about one young woman's journey to find a better path to both physical and mental health.

At twenty-nine, Kelsey Miller had done it all: crash diets, healthy diets, and nutritionist-prescribed "eating plans," which are diets that you pay more money for. She'd been fighting her un-thin body since early childhood, and after a lifetime of failure, finally hit bottom. No diet could transform her body or her life. There was no shortcut to skinny salvation. She'd dug herself into this hole, and now it was time to climb out of it.

With the help of an Intuitive Eating coach and fitness professionals, she learned how to eat based on her body's instincts and exercise sustainably, without obsessing over calories burned and thighs gapped. But, with each thrilling step toward a healthy future, she had to contend with the painful truths of her past.

Big Girl chronicles Kelsey's journey into self-loathing and disordered eating-and out of it. This is a memoir for anyone who's dealt with a distorted body image, food issues, or a dysfunctional family. It's for the late-bloomers and the not-yet-bloomed. It's for everyone who's tried and failed and felt like a big, fat loser. So, basically, everyone.

As you all know, I have been attempting to gain control of my eating and lose weight. Honestly, my weight now impacts my health (I just discovered I have fatty liver), so I am way past the vanity stage of losing weight. It is no longer about looking good but rather so my liver doesn’t fail me before my time is up. To ME reading about other people’s struggles feel as if a good friend and I are sharing tips and how they managed to defeat the obesity monster and that weight loss is super brutal, but it CAN be done.

I find that for myself; it feels easier to know how other people deal with all the hard stuff that pops up. Such as last-minute plans to eat at a steakhouse or such. I have​​ never been interested in reinventing the wheel, so to speak, and learning how other people accomplished the same goal shifts my mindset to feel that I am not attempting the impossible

I did not know she practiced intuitive eating until I listened to the audiobook. I was about to slap a big DNF on it but decided to give it more time, and I am glad I did. While intuitive eating is not for me (yes, I have tried it), I was hoping at least the other parts, like a good mindset and all, would still offer SOMETHING to take away from the book I could apply to my life. I was not disappointed.

While I and intermediate fasting do not mix, other takeaways made this book worth reading.

What intrigued me the most was how she only allowed herself one serving, then told herself that she would wait to see if she was hungry or use food to self-medicate. She paused to see if she could hold out until a time in the future, and if she still wanted one, she could have one.

Well, I DID attempt that, and I don’t have that kind of self-disciple, so..yeah…

If you want an inside look at how my brain works, read below

First, a little background: I was born and bred deep in the Appalachian Mountains of southeast KY. And yes, people around here tend to be super religious, and the Appalachian version of Christianity is a mean angry God who we must fear, or we shall be dumped into the eternal lake of fire for all eternity.

When I try something like waiting til later, my brain keeps telling me, what if the Tribulations were to start and there won’t be any more of whatever item I want? Growing up in a heavily Pentecostal area fucks everyone up, both believers and unbelievers. And if the Great Tribulations were to start, then I can’t get anything because, who knows, maybe the new bank cards have the mark of the beast, and if we use that, then we too shall be cast down unto the eternal lake of fire.

I don’t want to miss my chance to eat a Papa John’s pizza, so I get one.

Hello Gluttony, Hi, it’s me. I am the problem.

This book explains intuitive eating in a way that people can understand. Even though I listened to the whole book, I still was like, meh..if it works, then keep doing it. Just remember that there are thousands of “diets” out there, and losing weight is not one size fits, so experiment find out what works for you, and do THAT.