Half-Assed

Publisher's Summary

After undergoing gall bladder surgery at age 23, Jennette Fulda decided it was time to lose some weight. Actually, more like half her weight. At the time, Jennette weighed 372 pounds.

Jennette was not born fat. But, by fifth grade, her response to a school questionnaire asking What would you change about your appearance? was "I would be thinner.” Sound familiar?

Half-Assed is the captivating and incredibly honest story of Jennette’s journey to get in shape, lose weight, and change her life. From the beginning - dusting off her never-used treadmill and steering clear of the donut shop - to the end with her goal weight in sight, Jennette wows listeners with her determined persistence to shed pounds and the ability to maintain her ever-present sense of self.

©2008 Jennette Fulda (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Ok story, obnoxious narrator

This was a decently entertaining/inspiring story, however I almost couldn't get past how bad the narration was. It was distractingly terrible and made it hard to fully immerse yourself into the story. Just spoken in the slowwwwwest, most emotionless monotone. Wouldn't recommend for that reason.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Inspirational

Complete with ups and downs of the process of losing weight and how she changed her life. Highly recommended to anyone struggling with large amounts of excess weight

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Narrator not my favorite

I loved the story, but the narrator tries so hard to speak clearly that she sounds like a robot. It got very annoying.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very easy listening

I loved this book! Very inspirational and made me reflect on my own life. I also loved that you could hear the sarcasm and enthusiasm in the reader's voice making this book even more enjoyable. I would definitely recommend to anyone who is feeling down on themselves about their own weightloss/gain struggles.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Smart, funny, and honest

I really loved this book and was incredibly surprised to see negative reviews. The author is honest while telling her weight loss journey. It might not always be what people want to hear, and it shouldn't - it's her point of view - her memoir. And I think it is awesome!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very good read but long

Really great story and gives me a lot to think about. She is a good writer and very insightful person and I wish her well in all things. I enjoyed the story because weight loss is something I think about pretty much every day though I don't think she would quite equate my weight problems to those of a larger person's.

I do think a dysfunctional relationship to food, the ease with which we can avoid exercise in today's society and incredible value that society places on our appearance (and lack of jiggle and lumpiness) is pretty similar, so I found a lot here to reflect on or agree with. I do like her personal philosophy about the value of strength and health over scale numbers and body shape and am inspired to try and emulate that some.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very inspirational

It was just a great book. I could relate to the author, and I've recommended it to a couple of friends.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wow.

Would you try another book from Jennette Fulda and/or Teri Clark Linden?

No for both.

The writer is very into herself and jumps around the book with present and past events.

She's also a hypocrite throughout the story.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jennette Fulda again?

No... She has this really weird question and raise in the pitch on certain things that are odd.

Once I went to the store? (high rise in tone)

Odd

Reminds me of "Once in band camp...?

What else would you have wanted to know about Jennette Fulda’s life?

Maybe a little more about how she lost it...instead of a "I bet you're wondering how I did it. Well, I'm not telling." Humph ok...then why did you write the book.

How her head got so big considering what she went through.

Any additional comments?

I think the worst about the book would not only be he hypocritical aspect of many parts like other peoples weight and looks, not to even mention what they wear. (no wonder she was so paranoid about others looking at her!)

I also think the book actually dragged on and she definitely repeats herself more times that not.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

unbelievably negative

I thought it would be inspirational. It is whiny, negative and written from the role of a victim. Not surprisingly, the author regained all the weight.

LEAST motivating book ever! Do NOT recommend!

Wow... where to begin. I picked this up because it was on multiple lists of great reads for weight loss motivation. I found it the least motivating and least relatable weight loss story ever. This book was not written for women/men who live in the real world. Honestly, I would have stopped halfway through, but I just kept waiting for the point in the manuscript that made the publisher say, “yes, this will resonate with readers!” It never came.

SPOILERS AHEAD: First, the author had not reached or maintained a weight loss goal when she wrote and published the book... say what?! Her story is so un-relatable it’s painful to listen to. In what way, you ask? She is young, early 20’s when she starts her weight loss journey. She has NEVER dieted before. She claims ignorance regarding all things nutrition, fitness, or otherwise health-related. She had no life stressors in childhood or illnesses that prompted weight gain and acknowledges she simply ate too much and exercised too little. She has no barriers to weight loss. She is single (i.e., not cooking for anyone else or tempted by others at home), has no kids, has full family support, works at a place without temptation, had no life stressors during her weight loss journey (e.g., no deaths, no major medical events nor mental illness), and has sufficient financial resources to afford a healthy lifestyle. Out of one side of her mouth she acknowledges these advantages. She acknowledges disadvantages will likely impact the success of others. Yet, the tone of her book is persistently critical and judgmental. She cannot relate to anyone around her. She cannot appreciate why others may have feelings about her weight loss. She cannot fathom why other people’s journeys are different from her own. She has never yo-yo dieted. She has never lost weight only to regain it. She cannot understand why others ask her for tips when they see she is successful. She has no words to communicate what “motivation” is or how to maintain it, because literally all she required was to be told that a Big Mac has more calories than you should eat in one day and she stopped eating them. She has no difficulty getting back on track after a slip. Her biggest gripes are that she still gets cut off in traffic even though she’s thin and hasn’t met the man of her dreams yet. Ugh! The tone is also full of negativity. She calls herself or references fat - or some euphemism thereof - at least twice every paragraph. It’s exhausting. She tries to be funny, but the jokes just fall flat. I think I actually laughed once during the entire book.

Performance note: the author does not infuse anything into the telling of the story, though in fairness she doesn’t have great material to work with.