The Elephant in the Room

Posted on 15 May 2018 by Tommy Tomlinson

The government definition of obesity is a body mass index of 30 orMy BMI is 60.7 My shirts are size XXXXXXL, which the big and tall stores shorten to 6X I m 6 foot 1, or 73 inches tall My waist is 60 inches around I m nearly a sphere. Those are the numbers This is how it feelsSo begins The Elephant in the Room, Tommy Tomlinson s remarkably intimate and insightful memoir of his life as a fat man When he was almost fifty years old, Tomlinson weighed an astonishing and dangerous 460 pounds, at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, unable to climb a flight of stairs without having to catch his breath, or travel on an airplane without buying two seats Raised in a family that loved food, he had been aware of the problem for years, seeing doctors and trying diets from the time he was a preteen But nothing worked, and every time he tried to make a change, it didn t go the way he planned in fact, he wasn t sure that he really wanted to change.In The Elephant in the Room, Tomlinson chronicles his lifelong battle with weight in a voice that combines the urgency of Roxane Gay s Hunger with the intimacy of Rick Bragg s All Over but the ShoutinHe also hits the road to meet other members of the plus sized tribe in an attempt to understand how, as a nation, we got to this point From buying a FitBit and setting exercise goals to contemplating the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, America s capital of food porn, and modifying his own diet, Tomlinson brings us along on a candid and sometimes brutal look at the everyday experience of being constantly aware of your size Over the course of the book, he confronts these issues head on and chronicles the practical steps he has to take big and small to lose weight by the end.Affecting and searingly honest, The Elephant in the Room is a powerful memoir that will resonate with anyone who has grappled with addiction, shame, or self consciousness It is also a literary triumph that will stay with readers long after the last page. Free Read Books The Elephant in the Room By Tommy Tomlinson – kino-fada.fr The Elephant in the Room was recommended by my Goodreads friend, Dita I knew once I read her thoughts I had to read this book, too Tommy Tomlinson is candid and authentic in his memoir about his weight loss challenges He shares his weight of 460 pounds and the health difficulties that go along with that Tommy grows up in a family where love for food is number one, and he s had many doctors talk to him about his weight over the years He has tried every gimmick and diet, and nothing seemed to The Elephant in the Room was recommended by my Goodreads friend, Dita I knew once I read her thoughts I had to read this book, too Tommy Tomlinson is candid and authentic in his memoir about his weight loss challenges He shares his weight of 460 pounds and the health difficulties that go along with that Tommy grows up in a family where love for food is number one, and he s had many doctors talk to him about his weight over the years He has tried every gimmick and diet, and nothing seemed to work for him, but he also recognizes that he wasn t sure he was ready for a change Tommy chronicles his life as he begins to change his mindset, seeking comfort from others in the same shoes ... The Elephant in the Room One Fat Man s Quest to get Smaller in a Growing America is an honest account of Tommy Tomlinson s pursuit to lose weight and keep it off Tomlinson weighed 460 pounds at the time he wrote this deeply personal memoir He shares details about his childhood and the way he grew up in a Southern family with constant comfort food , his general relationship with food then and now, his struggles with both dieting and exercise, his regrets, and how his weight has impacted s The Elephant in the Room One Fat Man s Quest to get Smaller in a Growing America is an honest account of Tommy Tomlinson s pursuit to lose weight and keep it off Tomlinson weighed 460 pounds at the time he wrote this deeply personal memoir He shares details about his childhood and the way he grew up in a Southern family with constant comfort food , his general relationship with food then and now, his struggles with both dieting and exercise, his regrets, and how his weight has impacted several areas of his life, including health, everyday activities, and personal relationships He s a journalist, a husband, close with his family, and seems like a genuinely good person What I appreciated about ...Elephant in the Room is journalist Tommy Tomlinson s memoir of growing up fat and how, as an adult, he got to 460 pounds He had a wife who loved him and a successful career, but the allure of fast food and vending machine or gas station junk food was a siren song so strong, he had to give up doing the sports he loved and many other things in favor of eating a spectacular amount of crap At times funny, at times repetitive, anyone who has ever struggled with his her weight or another addiction w Elephant in the Room is journalist Tommy Tomlinson s memoir of growing up fat and how, as an adult, he got to 460 pounds He had a wife who loved him and a successful career, but the allure of fast food and vending machine or gas station junk food was a siren song so strong, he had to give up doing the sports he loved and many other things in favor of eating a spectacular amount of crap At times funny, at times repetitive, anyone who has ever struggled with his her weight or another addiction will identify with his constant battle Many of us have begun exercise programs, started feeling great sleeping better, climbing stairs without wanting to call paramedics and quitting three weeks later anyway I don t recommend you read this book if you re trying to lose or maintain your weight and fast fo...Well done Mr Tomlinson I know you struggle with feelings of being less than due to your weight, but after reading your book I can tell that you are a fine human being, and if I knew you in real life, you re someone I would like to call a friend Recommended by Meredith on the Currently Reading podcast as well as by Annie on From the Front Porch podcast, I picked this up on audio and listened to it in one day I absolutely loved it The author is smart, articulate, and can tell a heck of Well done Mr Tomlinson I know you struggle with feelings of being less than due to your weight, but after reading your book I can tell that you are a fine human being, and if I knew you in real life, you re someone I would like to call a friend Recommended by Meredith on the Currently Reading podcast as well as by Annie on From the Front Porch podcast, I picked this up on audio and listened to it in one day I absolutely loved it The author is smart, articulate, and can tell a heck of a good story.Despite the title, this is not a diet book It s a candid look at what it was like to be an overweight ...Tommy Tomlinson is a writer Wow, is he ever His background as a reporter for over 20 years and as a writer for ESPN, Esquire, Garden and Gun and other publications has fine tuned the writing skills that I believe he was probably born with He knew how to grab me and keep me interested in his story from the first page all the way throughout the book.His story Living as a morbidly obese person for almost his entire life As someone who has struggled with weight issues myself, I ate up this book Tommy Tomlinson is a writer Wow, is he ever His background as a reporter for over 20 years and as a writer for ESPN, Esquire, Garden and Gun and other publications has fine tuned the writing skills that I believe he was probably born with He knew how to grab me and keep me interested in his story from the first page all the way throughout the book.His story Living as a morbidly obese person for almost his entire life As someone who has struggled with weight issues myself, I ate up this book as if it was a box of hot, fresh, Krispy Kreme donuts Although I ve never weighed nearly as much as Tommy, who reached 460 pounds, I still felt every emotion that he described And the fact that I felt it necessary to mention that I...Utterly relatable, Tommy Tomlinson is a guy you can t resist pulling for every step of the way Weighing in a little over the 450 pound mark, Tommy experiences life differently than most of us do He knows his lifestyle is killing him, he s already lost a beloved sister, but Wendy s is calling and he s at her mercy.Anyone who has ever struggled with weight loss, addiction, self flagellation or a self imposed prison will cheer for, feel exasperated by, and ultimately root for Tommy as he does the Utterly relatable, Tommy Tomlinson is a guy you can t resist pulling for every step of the way Weighing in a little over the 450 pound mark, Tommy experiences life differently than most of us do He knows his lifestyle is killing him, he s already lost a beloved sister, but Wendy s is calling and he s at her mercy.Anyone who has ever struggled with weight loss, addiction, self flagellation or a self impos...I appreciate greatly that these kinds of stories are being told With rates of overweight and obesity on the rise, it is well past time that voices of fat people given a microphone to reflect on their own experiences rather than narratives imposed on them and taken seriously beyond the usual hand wringing and moralizing that has characterized the discourse for the last 30 years The author s candor and vulnerability are admirable and I enjoyed the specificity of his anecdotes That said, I m n I appreciate greatly that these kinds of stories are being told With rates of overweight and obesity on the rise, it is well past time that voices of fat people given a microphone to reflect on their own experiences rather than narratives imposed on them and taken seriously beyond the usual hand wringing and moralizing that has characterized the discourse for the last 30 years The author s candor and vulnerability are admirable and I enjoyed the specificity of his anecdotes That said, I m not sure this fully worked as a memoir for me I think instead of a dual timeline, it would have been better tofully incorporate the past elements into the current year of his weight loss I also wish some of his insights and reflections had gone a bit deeper, as that s really the hallmark of good memoir That said, I enjoyed spending time with the author through this book, and again, I am happy to see ac...Tommy Tomlinson s The Elephant in the Room is the true life love story between a man and his cheeseburger And his biscuits and gravy And his banana pudding And something glorious called peanut butter logs It s the classic boy meets delicious greasy high calorie snack story Ultimately this passion becomestoxic than dating Charlie Sheen And like dating Sheen, Tomlinson s unhealthy food relationship yields nothing but disgust and pity from friends, a myriad of embarrassing health ailmen Tommy Tomlinson s The Elephant in the Room is the true life love story between a man and his cheeseburger And his biscuits and gravy And his banana pudding And something glorious called peanut butter logs It s the classic boy meets delicious greasy high calorie snack story Ultimately this passion becomestoxic than dating Charlie Sheen And like dating Sheen, Tomlinson s unhealthy food relationship yields nothing but disgust and pity from friends, a myriad of embarrassing health ailments, and probably a short and painful death in the not so distance future if things don t change pronto.In this obesity memoir apparently this is a thing Tomlinson, a gen...Tommy Tomlinson is no stranger to body image, health issues and the realization that HE is ultimately, as an adult, responsible for his obesity Not once did he blame his family for equating love with rich foods, or his friends or his wife or the rest of the world for his weight.THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM is a sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking story of the author s attempts to change his lifestyle and lose the weight he KNEW was robbing him of many of life s joys and adventures Tommy T Tommy Tomlinson is no stranger to body image, health issues and the realization that HE is ultimately, as an adult, responsible for his obesity Not once did he blame his family for equating love with rich foods, or his friends or his wife or the rest of the world for his weight.THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM is a sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking story of the author s attempts to change his lifestyle and lose the weight he KNEW was robbing him of many of life s joys and adventures Tommy Tomlinson admits, he has had a wonderful life, accompli...Tommy Tomlinson is an acclaimed journalist, a happily married man, middle aged, intelligent, witty.and overweight The Elephant in the Room is a book about his struggle with weight, heartfelt discussion on how his weight effects his life, thoughts on his writing career, family, and life in general This book is a bit like sitting across the dinner table with Tommy Tomlinson and just listening to him talk He s funny, witty, emotional and serious He started out at 460 pounds.he faced enter Tommy Tomlinson is an acclaimed journalist, a happily married man, middle aged, intelligent, witty.and overweight The Elephant in the Room is a book about his struggle with weight, heartfelt discussion on how his weight effects his life, thoughts on his writing career, family, and life in general This book is a bit like sitting across the dinner table with Tommy Tomlinson and just listening to him talk He s funny, witty, emotional and serious He started out at 460 pounds.he faced entering his 50s feeling like the largest person in the room He laments that he is likely the largest person most people will ever see So, he decided to do something about it..This book doesn t end with a shocking before after set of pictures with Tommy touting some wonder drug or surgery for his complete success He admits he is a work in progress, sharing his thoughts and emotions about the journey I jumped at the chance to review this book be...Raw and honest, Tommy Tomlinson s memoir about how his journey through life as a fat man and his quest to get smaller is a must read His searing honesty about what it is like to be morbidly obese is refreshing and hits so close to home I found myself putting off reading this book because I felt like a fraud I too used to be morbidly obese but had lost over 200 pounds over a few year period However, after some health issues, I let myself use that as an excuse and have now gained back 110 poun Raw and honest, Tommy Tomlinson s memoir about how his journey through life as a fat man and his quest to get smaller is a must read His searing honesty about what it is like to be morbidly obese is refreshing and hits so close to home I found myself putting off reading this book because I felt like a fraud I too used to be morbidly obese but had lost ove...FastfoodI m so drawn to it that I m not sure how far the junk food giants would have to go to make me quit We re now making Cheez Its from cat hair and sawdust Deal with it All right, dammit Gimme the party sized box This guy is a really good writer He is so personable and his narrative is so poignant, it made me want to cry.At first, I thought this was a self help book about someone who lost 200 lbs and changed their life, but it is really a memoir, a snapshot of the author s life in FastfoodI m so drawn to it that I m not sure how far the junk food giants would have to go to make me quit We re now making Cheez Its from cat hair and sawdust Deal with it All right, dammit Gimme the party sized box This guy is a really good writer He is so personable and his narrative is so poignant, it made me want to cry.At first, I thought this was a self help book about someone who lost 200 lbs and changed their life, but it is really a memoir, a snapshot of the author s life in which he is happily married to the love of his life, has a great job doing something he loves and does well and is also battling an addiction with food He s not slim, but so far, he is winning 85 lbs is not a small amount to lose.Reading this book has changed my perception of obese people I had always been slim mos...A good look at how a rational man gets super fat and his constant battles and lies when dealing with it Lying is a big part of chronic overeating, just as it is with alcoholism, drug addiction etc.Tomlinson gives a great, unflinching look at his 460 pound self, how he got there and what he s doing about it He delves too much into mundane trips and his journalistic career, but he waxes on and on about food His love for it is obvious, underscoring his battle and ways his life has been constrict A good look at how a rational man gets super fat and his constant battles and lies when dealing with it Lying is a big part of chronic overeating, just as it is with alcoholism, drug addiction etc.Tomlinson gives a great, unflinching look at his 460 pound self, how he got there and what he s doing about it He delves too much into mundane trips and his journalistic career, but he waxes on and on about food His love for it is obvious, underscoring his battle and ways his life has be...

15 May 2018

Tommy Tomlinson