Book Review: “Joining the Thin Club” by Judith Lederman
Look at my cute little cousins!!!
My auntie was telling me that there’s a lot of things she didn’t know about pregnancy and after the birth that no one thought to tell her. Even simple things, like fluid remaining in the body. Some things, you just have to learn from experience, and the doctors won’t realize that it’s something they should be telling you. I’m sure that there’s a book somewhere that helps explain what to expect after the birth, but it’s surprising that there’s not more information about it out there. For some reason, it would appear that we have the idea that you only need information up to a point, and as soon as you’ve reached that point- you’ll instantly know it all!
I find that this is very much the same when it comes to weight loss. There’s all kinds of diet books out there but what about once you’ve reached your goal, and you’re trying to maintain? What happens when you need to stop losing and start just living that way? Again, it’s all just supposed to come naturally to us, with no guidance whatsoever.
Luckily enough, there’s some places that do offer this information. One of them is Judith Lederman’s Joining the Thin Club (Mark was giving away a copy of this book on his site, and I was the lucky winner- thanks, Mark!).
This book, while it is designed for people who have lost considerable amounts of weight (Lederman herself lost 80 lbs), can also be used for anyone who has turned their life around by becoming healthy. As I read through the book, a lot of it resonated with me. In describing one woman’s challenges with losing weight and becoming healthier, Lederman writes “Interestingly, people used to give her disgusted looks when she’d eat huge amounts of greasy food, but no one said anything. Now, people seem to feel justified to say ‘Stop reading the nutrition labels all the time- you’re skinny now.’ People have a hard time adjusting to change.”
I have had many difficulties with this exact issue. Somehow, it is more socially acceptable to eat junk food than it is to eat healthfully. If you order healthier foods at a restaurant, it’s amazing how critical people can be. Lederman discusses how to deal with these situations, how to get people used to your new lifestyle, and how to respond to the emotions you go through. It really focuses on the importance of changing your attitudes and becoming more positive- the very subtitle of this book is Tips for Toning Your Mind After You’ve Trimmed Your Body. She also details the necessity of figuring out why and how you got to being unhealthy, and why and how you became healthy, so that you can stick with it and “prevent backslides”. It’s a great read for anyone going through a major lifestyle adjustment or change!
Happy Monday:)
Psst… if you take a look on the side there, I’ve now got a link that you can click on to subscribe to Living Healthy in the Real World! Blog updates are just a click away!
Cute little babies!
I know what you mean about eating healthily, I’m forever getting snidey comments. Sometimes it’s out of genuine concern because of my history, but a lot of the time I think people just feel judged if you eat more healthily than they do – as if you’re deliberately trying to make them feel guilty.
Did the book come up with any helpful tips to combat these attitudes?
TA x
I know what you mean: I’ve lost a decent amount of weight (due to an ED), and although I’ve put back about 10 pounds, it’s 10 pounds of muscle, so my clothing size hasn’t changed since my ED days.
My mom and sisters (who didn’t make any effort to stop the ED besides telling me to eat) still hint that I’m not healthy.
Cute little babes!
I get comments when I eat healthily and comments when I don’t. Just cannot win! Fortunately I am able to just ignore them.
Will definitely check out that book!
TA- it does have some useful tips, most of which revolve around the simple idea of having a conversation with the people who are doing it and try to explain it to them. But it also goes on to describe the different types of people who will do this, and how to deal with each of the specific types, which is useful.
Tricia- that’s really rough, especially because of the eating disorder. We all need a little support when trying to get healthy.
Missicat- heh this is true, oftentimes you can’t win for these things! I suppose we’ve all got to become masters at ignoring such comments:)
Cute pics! Thanks for the review!
I love the photos.
I agree with the others. You’ve got it right. You have to adjust your attitude to make good health a permanent priority. People around you have to adjust also, and they will with time.
After years, it has started to work in my favor. Everyone knows I will not eat junk food. I think they would pass out if they caught me. It provides me with incentive not to cheat.
oh my – your cousins are TOO precious!
Love the babies. Man I LOVE THE BABIES.
Thanks for the book review…the bad thing is every time you do one I think OOOH THAT’S AN OWNER!
My shelves are sagging BUT my wallet isn’t too bad….sometimes I can find em used 🙂
MizFit
Wonderful post!! That sounds like a very well written book. Thanks for the review!
Mark & Loveofoats- they are SO adorable:)
James- it sure does take a long time for the adjustments to be made… good point about how it keeps you accountable, though!
MizFit- I have one bookshelf that's literally falling apart. Although I think that's due to us not putting it together properly, rather than the books weighing it down…
Dr. J- glad you enjoyed!
Sagan, what beautiful babies! I can identify with the comments. Before losing some weight, I was a threat to no one & no one cared if I ate myself silly. Now I get "well you can eat (cake, fried food, etc)now. You've taken enough off! This come from those who know I still have over 50lbs to lose. Thanks for the review!
People lack common sense and have meme thought processes to do the thinking for them. Conditioning has made them that way, to be wary of people making an effort to live healthly and they have labels for us also.
I’ve personally found that people appear offended because of my life choice, as if I am insulting and mocking them by being health conscious, then really I keep to myself untill people ask me.
First of all, what beautiful babies! I can tell why you’re smitten!
Also, thanks for pointing me to this book. I could use it in a big way. 🙂
Dadivastreet- interesting note on being a threat! That can play a huge role in our reactions to others. The question is, should we be compromising ourselves because of it?
Jack- thanks for commenting! The problem with trying to keep to yourself and not bring healthy ways to everyone’s attention is that it can be incredibly noticeable, for the simple reason that most people are very UNhealthy. But its unfortunate to be singled out.
Cammy- hope you find it useful! And they are the sweetest little things:)
Ooooo, how adorable are those kiddos! Reminds me of my triplet nieces when they were babies.
I hear ya on the books for “after the weight is gone.” On the healthy eating thing, when I go to some of my Filipino family events and ask for food that isn’t deep fried or cooked in vats of oil, I get the “are you a weirdo” look. Although, now that I’m making a living as a health blogger, the fam is a bit more accommodating. It helps them too I say.
I’m going to check out your subscription link in a bit. I subscribed to your bloglines (I think that’s what they’re called) and I’m never updated 🙁
Your cousins ARE cute. I’d love to have another kid, but… well, that’s not going to happen.
I completely agree about the lack of information you mentioned. In Malaysia, diets seem to be less about health than aesthetics. The skinny girl who scarfs grease gets the “you’re so lucky you can”. Sad, isn’t it?
Awww! I want to comment on the book but I’m still squee-ing over your cute lil’ cousins!!
Anyhow, the book definitely sounds as if it fills a niche – helping people who’ve lost weight not become part of the 95% that gain it back. It a herculean task and it’s about time someone wrote a guide for it!
What adorable little babies!!
I so agree with you about how people get very snippy when you order healthy things in a restaurant. I think it’s because when people see someone eating healthy it makes them feel guilty for not eating better so they just turn their guilt into anger. They’d rather have someone make unhealthy choices with them.
Oh, the babies are adorable. So tiny!
The book sounds very helpful. Must look for it.
Cute babies!
I have to agree with everyone about how trying to life healthier seems to make others uncomfortable.
A co-worker of mine recently found out that I workout every day. All of a sudden, she thinks I am trying to lose weight and I get unsolicited advice from her all the time.
She is very thin herself, but also very frail. I do not want to seem rude, but I do not want to be thin like that if it means I cannot bowl for a few games and then go walking for an hour. The co-worker cannot walk for more than 15 minutes without being slightly breathless and rarely do anything more physical than shopping.
ooooh the babies are so cute! congrats!
it is so true. i wish someone gave me advice on maintaining weight loss. it is so much easier to lose or gain than it is to maintain.
Stephanie- being a health blogger certainly does help with that!
Dee- I didn’t even know there was a blogline thing. Sighs. I really need to learn more about all this technical stuff… 🙂 And our food choices really should be about health!
Charlotte- agreed, it’s nice to see that there’s some action being taken to stop the gain from coming back.
Catherine- I think you’re right. And it would be perfectly logical to do so if the person making healthier choices was being a snob about it. But if I’m not making mention of someone else’s choice, I don’t want them judging me for mine, either!
Bag Lady- they’re so little, its sweet! And tiny eyelashes and fingernails. Adorable.
Asithi- we need to drill it into society that healthy does NOT necessarily mean thin. So frustrating, isn’t it?
The babies are precious! They look doll-like… so beautiful! I bet you’ll have a blast with them!
You can wait till the cows come home.