A thought experiment, written as a 20-page autobiographical essay.

How do you know that you're fat? How many chairs have you broken? What did your child say that told you? Have you ever been told to move because you're too big to be there? Whitaker tells how he knows he's fat.

He then shares what to do about it. Some simple yet powerful ideas that you can start following today to guide you to making long-term decisions about your health. No recipes, work out plans, just some ideas to think about when ordering dinner.

**I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a fun and very unusual book! Some lovely and useful tips for the would be dieter, and lots of great anecdotes the author helpfully shares. A short and sweet read with a good dose of helpful advice thrown in for good measure!

,My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

This didn't need to be a whole book. It would be a great blog, extended magazine article, or even a great motivational speech for the right group of people. I think his advice is good, but overall I don't feel like it's helpful or revolutionary enough that anyone will need or want to talk about it in its current format.

I honestly don't know if this book was written as a joke, but it certainly reads like one, you know you're fat if a horse walks away from you after you've punished it by riding on it, you know you're fat if you break chairs, you know you're fat if you're upgraded to business class because you're too big to fit in standard class seats...

And then what to do about it, six pages containing the simplest truisms that won't actually help anyone who actually needs help losing weight.

It's written like someone who isn't fat decided they wanted to point out how simple it is to lose weight, including going to buy a book of Fred Rogers quotes...

Avoid

It was refreshing to read a "diet" book written by someone who admits to being in the same leaky life raft as I am. Whitaker is an economist rather than a nutritionist but they're an expert on fatness because, unlike most people who write books about diet and weight loss, they're actually fat. And they uses the word fat and encourages fat people to learn to value themselves as they are rather than thinking they have to lose weight first. Whitaker shares entries from their "fat journal" that illustrate the daily struggle of fatness but without shame or humiliation. I didn't feel embarrassed for Whitaker--just appreciative and somewhat empowered. I do use my entire body to push open doors and I frequently use my bosom shelf to hold packages. What do thin people use, their hands?
Whitaker has four sound principles to make positive life styles changes and acknowledges limitations and barriers without being ableist. These are sound advice for anyone. This little book is life-affirming.

I liked the tone of the book and the fact that the author has a good sense of humor. However, I didn’t think the anecdotes and guidance were enough to form a full book. The material seemed skimpy to me.

How to Tell If you Are Fat and What to Do About It by J.B Whitaker

This is not a weight loss program. Rather, it outlines a cognitive shift to help you succeed in your current or future diet and exercise regimen.
I enjoyed this book and the authors take on realising the need to lose weight .
It's a book that you can work through and spend some time reflecting on how the process can work for you.