The Weight-Loss Diaries

This is a fantastic book, written with such honesty and humor. For anyone who has struggled with weight loss and gain or with any self esteem issues, it will definitely strike a chord. You wont feel so alone after reading blow by blow what someone else has been through. Not only do you get helpful insight about exercising and avoiding crash diets, but the book also focuses on all the stressors young women have to face during their teens, twenties, and thirties. The author talks about the difficulties of balancing ones independence with fitting into old roles/routines that families and friends expect of us. This book really ought to be used by all-female book groups because it will spark a lot of discussion. Ive already recommended it to my sister, mother, co-worker, and co-workers daughter.

Most of all, Rubins writing style is just plain funny. And as a woman from Generation X, I enjoyed a lot of the details the author included--things like reading the Ramona the Pest books or the reading about the Sweet Valley High twins.

Courtney Rubin is probably the bravest woman alive. As I sat reading this book, I was stunned that she and I felt the same way about so many food and body image issues. The difference is, she isnt scared to talk about it. Ms. Rubin verbalized so much of what I feel every day. Her book is hysterically funny (really, for those of us who struggle with weight, who actually needs to cut whole milk) and also really sad at times. She is as hard on herself as I am on myself, but I always thought I was somewhat alone in my feelings.

I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It is not a weight-loss how-to book, it is an honest portrayal of what it is like to struggle daily with weight problems.

I thought this book was really a great read. If you start reading the book looking for insight on how to overcome eating issues or looking for how to lose weight tips, then youll probably put the book down quickly. This isnt a story youll want to model your own Quest to Be Thin after. Nonetheless, if youre looking for pure entertainment about how someone else deals with eating, being overweight and social uncomfortableness, this book is fun and easy to read.

I gave it two stars rather than one because the book did hold my interest throughout the entire reading. It is amazing to me how many people blame their weight problems on their mother. Please enough already - maybe if when you were very young your mother fed you tons of goodies I could understand but after you left home to keep blaming your mother for what YOU put in your mouth is ridiculous.

I disagree with the review that this author is whining. I think she identifies the emotions that make one feel a lack of control and lead to overeating. I never got the impression she blamed anyone for this. She just seemed to identify certain emotional conversations as food triggers. I felt like she needed emotional support (perhaps in the form of counseling) to get more of a backbone and confidence in handling emotional issues, whether theyre family, friend, work or general life-related, which then might alleviate some of the overeating. I thought this was clearly lacking in her diet regimen and couldve probably made a huge difference in her success. She knew enough about calorie counts, exercise, etc. (the basics) and needed to take it to this next level, which perhaps we can read about in the future. I thought this was a very honest and real diary of the life of a compulsive overeater. No one wants to obsess about food, but many of us do. And I felt after reading this that I wasnt alone.

I related so much to her and I live in VA right next to DC so it was nice to relate to someone who lived in the area. I felt a lot of the things she did and have been through and am still going through the yo you dieting. I dont agreee with another review that said all she did was complain through the book. I think she felt a lot of pressure and it is hard to lose weight when friends want to go out to eat all the time or have parties or when your own sister complains when you diet and try to lose weight because she doesnt want you to change and she likes you being the fat sister while she is the thin one. So it was nice to sneak a peak into her life because I followed her in the SHAPE magazine but didnt realize till after reading this book what an emotional eater she truly is and it was nice to relate to somone.

This book had all the hallmarks of a diet memoir. it was self-indulgent, solipsistic, whiny and asinine. After reading it I ate a pint of Haagen Dazs Vanilla and decided that I blame nobody but myself. It was liberating. I am so sick of people who sit around name-dropping and blame everybody--their mother, their sister, their friends--for their fat butts. The worst part of this book was that it wasnt even well-written. Courtney should quit her day job.

I read the book all the way through, which I suppose is saying something. But from somewhere around page 30 through about page 230 all Rubin does is WHINE. On and on and on. Some of it is enlightening, and it did explain her process (which can at times be interesting), but for the most part it struck me as neurotic and extremely redundant. She also doesnt take much responsibility for her own physicality. Connections are important (i.e. mother, father and sister), and I know some things can be ingrained, but at some point we have to be accountable for our own lives.

This book could have been about a hundred pages shorter.

I suspect Courtney doesnt know how beautiful she - and this book - are. I stayed up all night for the first time in ages reading straight through her diaries, and they are a funny, horrifying, aint-that-the-truth-sister collection of honest thoughts. Its almost exquisitely painful to read about Ms. Rubins total absorption with food and weight. Her excellent passages about running and friends and family are a relief from the constant stream of her obsessive thoughts over food, except they all somehow go back to that theme. But Courtney has an exceptional gift for being human. Not everyone could take the mystery out of Boca burgers and personal development so lovingly and humorously. She is a brave bastion of honesty and realism to all women who struggle with the beast of weight. She is undoubtedly harder on herself than any review could be. She looked wonderful at the book signing I went to, and we just kept wanting to hear more of her stories. This book is about struggle and obsession and, I hope, about Courtneys slow realization that she is, indeed, a beautiful person and a beautiful writer. Lovely stuff.

I bought this book because I, like many had followed Courtney in the Shape series, but unlike most, I stopped reading the magazine after a while. I was curious to see how Courtney ended up. I laughed and empathized with Courtneys struggle...at times I really thought she was writing about my life, my thoughts. I finished the book in 2 days and would have done so in less time had I not had a job to get up for...but what keep me reading what wanting to know how it all ended for Courtney. I wa hoping that she would have had some miraculous epiphany that would help her to see her way out of the destructive cycle she seemed to have one foot in and one foot out of the entire book. But when I got to the end and saw that nothing was different..yeah, she had learned some lessons but she still was struggling with the same destructive behavior and thoughts, I was disappointed. I could have written that book and nothing that Courtney learned was enough to help her turn her life around (with regard to her eating and weight). Does this mean that shes going to live the rest of her life as a prisoner to food Does this mean there is no answer for the millions of other women, like myself that have a love/hate relationship with food I was also a little surprised that Courtney never sought regular professional help and that her self diagnosis as a Binge Eater was never seriously taken. It was a good read and I wish Courtney the best..I hope that eventually she does more than just resolve that this is just something she has to deal with for the rest of her life. I hope to God that this is not something that I have to think about every day for the rest of my life.. At the very least though, this read did help me to feel like I am not alone in my day to day battle.

I bought this book because I was one of the people who followed Courtney Rubins weight-loss diary in Shape magazine. On the one hand, I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at her weight-loss diary years, but on the other hand, the book contained sections that were lifted almost verbatim from her Shape diary entries, which was somewhat disappointing. Ive already read all those entries - I dont need them in book form.

Also, since I imagine a lot of the people who buy this book will do so precisely because they have read the Shape weight-loss diary and are curious about what happened after the assignment was over, I think Rubin could have let the readers in on how she fared diet-and-exercise-wise once she was on her own. Did she continue to exercise regularly Was she able to overcome her overeating Has she maintained the weight she was at when she ended her Shape weight-loss diary, or has she regained some of the weight, or gone on to lose even more weight She could have told us. (Not in minute detail - I respect her need for privacy, but if youre going to write a book called The Weight-loss Diaries, it seems a bit odd not to let the readers in on whether or not sticking to a diet and exercise routine on your own (without the aid of a team of experts) was in fact doable.

Rubin is a fine writer, and I think she deserved a better book deal than this one. I think a memoir would have been a much better way to showcase her talent, because to me, what really stood out about this book was not her attempts to eat right and exercise, but the description of her family, particularly her mother (who was there, but not there). Her account of her familys last Thanksgiving together was very poignant and moving and beautifully written. I hope we will get to see more of Rubins writing in the future, either through a memoir or through a novel or collection of short stories.

The first thing that grabbed me was the title. As a three-plus decade veteran of the food wars, I always want to know how it works for other people. Then I saw that Courtney Rubin was the author. Like many other reviewers, I followed Rubins Shape articles faithfully...now I get to see how the story ended.

Well, not really.

I love Courtneys voice. her wit and down-in-the-trenches honesty make the book a serious page turner. There were so many Yes. Thats exactly what its like.. moments while I read. As for her observations about others--isnt that how we all think when we are stressed and struggling How refreshing to hear someone admit that there are times when it feels like no one on earth can understand how low you really are. When food has become your confidant and medication, a lack of food leaves a big hole. If you havent felt it, youll never get it.

The reason I give the book three stars (3-and-a-half, actually) is that the latter third of the book felt like it floundered. The narrative thread that was so strong in the beginning seemed to unravel and lead to a very vague and nebulous ending. I understand that rarely are there neat and tidy ends to real life stories. Courtney is young and her story is still happening. For me, though, the book would have felt more solid with something a bit more conclusive. By Month 20 I was starting to get frustrated by a sense of redundancy that was capped off by a fast fade...Okay, enough of this, story over. Maybe this book should have simmered a few more years before coming to press.

I do wish Courtney Rubin all the best and thank her for a glimpse into her struggles and victories.

I would not want to be Courtney Rubins friend, co-worker, personal trainer, coach, dietician, neighbor,boss or enthusiastic supporter. To do so would mean being pilloried in print as part of a huge conspiracy to Make Courtney Feel Bad. At first I felt for Courtney, dieting in front of millions of readers and being stressed about binging and weight gain. However, she pretty much complains about everyone in her book. Everyone makes her feel terrible. Courtney attends a writing group where someone says that they can hardly wait to read her work - her response Great. No pressure there. A reader comes up to her and tells her about how inspiring she is and how she loves reading her column- this is after Courtney regains fifteen pounds. Her response She attacks the fan in her book as seeming insensitive and stupid because she has approached Courtney in a karoke bar on a Saturday night - apparently this silly fan did not know that There Are Rules To Be Followed when talking to Courtney. Imagine. Courtney receives much support from many people in her struggle to diet. However, Courtney mocks them in her book, writing about Peekespeak - her dietician who tries to help her stop binging. She also mocks another supporter who encourages her to meditate. Whats next Pounding drums and chanting I am beautiful I am thin Well, excuse her for trying to help you. Courtney ends the book by discussing how she has learned that food is not always the problem when dieting. It is emotions, boundaries, acceptance, etc. She could have included that dieting also means growing up and being grateful for support instead of whining about how Everyone Is So Mean.

From Shape magazines popular Weight-Loss Diary columnist comes a hilarious, sometimes heartwrenching look at the daily struggle of dieting

In this frank and funny book, Courtney Rubin shares what she learned about dieting--and herself--in more than two years of chronicling her battle to keep food from consuming her life. As engaging as her famous column, The Weight-Loss Diaries is part memoir, part how-to, and always entertaining.

An honest and brave account of what it feels like, day in and day out, often year in and year out, to try to lose a significant amount of weight, The Weight-Loss Diaries is.

An unashamed tale of binges, fashion fiascos, setbacks, and ultimate success

A light-hearted, laugh-out-loud look at the most ridiculous excuses for ending or cheating on a diet

A no-holds-barred account of the authors dark days of flirting with eating disorders and constantly calculating and recalculating calories

With insight, humor, and courage, Rubin explores diet and food issues, as well as her self-sabotaging habits during dieting, in ways that everyone struggling with weight loss will find both instructive and inspiring.

About the Author

Courtney Rubin has written for the New York Times, Marie Claire, Time, and other publications. For two years, she wrote the Weight-Loss Diary column for Shape magazine. Formerly a senior writer at Washingtonian magazine, Rubin is now a correspondent based in London for People.