BBBT-MOOSE

Moose Questions



How did the author's weight transformation impact your view of her story (she looks quite svelte on the book jacket)? Did it give credence because she "conquered" her weight? Or did her story become more dismissible because she conformed to what society says looks good?

The picture on the jacket did not impact my view of her journey at all. The title of the book implies that her weight struggle was during her school age years, not as an adult. What made her story a bit more difficult for me to take was that (and I haven't finished the last chapter...so this may be wrong) her journey wasn't a healthy one. She was plagued with various weight loss attempts that were unhealthy. Not just fads but simply not eating. When people see that this is how someone lost weight and they don't discuss the health consequences that come from these type of attempts it frustrates me more than someone writing about being over weight as a child and not as an adult. If the last chapter addresses this than disregard :) as I ran out of time.

How did it make you feel when Stephanie's dad laughed at her being called a 'Moose'? Were you parents/guardians supportive of you during hard times/bullying/weight issues or did they just laugh at you like Stephanie’s father?

I was surprised that her father was so openly cruel at times about her weight. The puffing of the cheeks when he felt she was eating to much and his reaction to the nickname Moose. While I realize that parents have faults, I hope that they are someone's biggest cheerleaders more than their chief criticizers.

My father was supportive of weight loss efforts. My mother, she tended to criticize
more than support. Partially, I believe, because on her side of the family most of the people are obese. These days she is far more supportive but that is because she is facing her own weight loss struggles.

Stephanie describes how she would picture herself slim, and how that image did not look like her at all. Did you/do you picture yourself slim and if so who do you model yourself on? Are you realistic when you image the slim you or do you picture someone you could never be like?

When I picture myself slim, I have a precise image in my head. I can't picture myself any lower than my college graduating weight. That was the lowest I weighed as an adult. These days though that weight is my goal and I know what that looks like. I know when I was at that weight, I struggled with what slimmer would look like. I still needed to lose at least 30lbs at that point. I do think that my image is very realistic. I belong to a weight loss message board and I tend to be the one to remind people that their journey's are long and that the final destination may look very different than what they imagine. Maybe that is because I know what my goal will look like as I have been there before.

On page 115, Stephanie reads that Leigh is trying a new fad to help her lose weight. She is wrapping her tongue with Saran Wrap because she heard that the tongue absorbs most of the calories. Reflecting on your own experiences with losing/maintaining weight or those close to you, what is the weirdest method/diet program that you have ever tried/heard of? What were the results? How did it impact your future attempts at losing/maintaining weight?

Some of the strange things I have done include massaging my fat rolls to break up the fat faster, taking cayenne pepper pills to speed up the metabolism, and trying some diet pills. None of these were permanent solutions. The massaging just left me with bruises and the others with heart burn. My few attempts to try a fad diet or item made me realize that there realize is no quick fix. I have to do this the old fashioned way of eating less and moving more. I try to be patient with those I hear about using crazy methods because I know that it comes out of desperation to see the results that are desired. Someday I will get there....






Hop along to another stop on this blog tour by visiting the main list at Stirrup Queens (http://stirrup-queens.blogspot.com). You can also sign up for the next book on this online book club: It Sucks, And Then I Cried by Heather Armstrong (aka Dooce).