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Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body

Lisa Eirene

About Lisa Eirene Lisa lost 110 pounds through calorie counting and exercise. She swims, bikes, runs, hikes and is enjoying life in Portland, Oregon. Her weight loss story has been featured in First Magazine, Yahoo Health, Woman's Day and Glamour.com.

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9 Comments

  1. Ingunn

    I’ve read a couple of reviews of this now, and while I feel like it’s a book I “should” read, I honestly think (not to sound like a millennial or anything) that it’ll be way too triggering for me. :/

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I completely get what you are saying and agree. While she doesn’t go into great detail about her sexual assault, she does talk about it a lot and I can see where it would be triggering for some people. I can also see where her depression could be triggering. Like I said in my review, I didn’t finish the book feeling lighthearted and happy, so it’s definitely a difficult book to read.

  2. Carrie

    This book is on my to-read list. I read her book “Difficult Woman” and had a very similar take, even though that book is a work of fiction: “The writing is absolutely fantastic, though the stories are a bit disheartening and sad.” <–That's exactly what I wrote on my blog after reading it!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I’ll have to check that one out, too. Yeah, her writing is powerful and good but—not happy.

  3. Vickie

    I realize this will not be popular.

    I think the scale categories are pretty accurate. For me. My kids. My husband. My friends. For those I know in real life. And for most bloggers I know. (I realize massive excess skin throws things off for some).

    When I was in the obese category, I was obese. When I hit over weight, I was over weight. So much better than I had been, but still extra pounds.

    When I got to the high end of normal, and then later the lower end of normal (my last 20 lbs) the difference was all in my belly. In other words, to get rid of my belly, which really was a problem area for me, really bugged me, I had to drop my last 20 lbs.

    To be honest, I liked that knowledge. It gave me a gauge. As I progressed it told me what I was going to have to do to get rid of all the weight, which is what I wanted. Belly. Me. My choice.

    I do not think everyone has to get to the normal weight category. And certainly not the lower end of normal.

    I have known weight loss bloggers who have very wisely stayed in the higher categories. They lost a ton of weight. They changed a lot of habits. And they sort of went as far as they could realistically go. The new habits held them at a weight and they could do it and they stayed there. Sometimes that was an extra 15lbs, sometimes an extra 50lbs. For those women, it was sustainable and therefore smart.

    But I do not think they argued with the category. They still had a lot of extra pounds, they knew it, it was a conscious decision.

    1. Vickie

      And I think a lot of women carry extra weight to protect themselves from men. To avoid attention. And to make themselves less easy to grab, literally. Like less likely to be dragged into a van. I think that is a common thread for many women.

    2. Lisa Eirene

      I can see your point. For me, after losing over 100 pounds, it didn’t matter how much more I tried to lose, or how much I worked out, I still had loose skin on my stomach and that wasn’t going to go away without surgery. So even though I was “overweight” by doctor standards, I did not feel like I was overweight. I was just right where I should be. My body type is not skinny. It’s short, stocky, muscular. So that skews things, I think. But to each their own.

      I also think that it’s easy to lie ourselves. When I was 250 pounds I remember thinking “I’m not THAT big!” You kind of lie to yourself, see something different in the mirror…so I can see both sides.

  4. Matthew

    “a fat person for some reason that means that anyone–even complete strangers–are free to make comments to you about your weight”
    so true- sounds like an interesting read.

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