“You Just Need to Lose Weight”: And 19 Other Myths About Fat People
Aubrey Gordon
The co-host of the Maintenance Phase podcast and creator of Your Fat Friend equips you with the facts to debunk common anti-fat myths and with tools to take action for fat justiceThe pushback that shows up in conversations about fat justice takes exceedingly predicable form. Losing weight is easy—calories in, calories out. Fat people are unhealthy. more
205 pages, Paperback
First published Beacon Press
4.34
Rating
8988
Ratings
1373
Reviews
Aubrey Gordon
4 books 817 followers
Aubrey Gordon is an American writer, columnist and podcaster, best known under the pseudonym, "Your Fat Friend".She is a columnist for Self magazine, a co-host of the podcast "Maintenance Phase".
Community reviews
I would like to buy a copy of this book for everyone I know and maybe put a copy in every hotel room drawer just like the Gideons do for the New Testament. more
DNF @ 24%"You Just Need to Lose Weight" is a valuable resource that has a lot to offer for the right audience — most notably, people who want to learn how to fight anti-fatness from ground zero. As someone who has dealt with this in my own life and the lives of my loved ones since I was born, I didn't feel like I was gaining anything except the feeling of being generally miserable because the entire book up to my stopping point was such a painfully honest reminder of how so many people view fat bodies (and even "average" bodies in many countries). Great book for a lot of people, just way too high-risk/low-reward for me with the impact this author's blunt prose had on my mental health. Thank you to the publisher for the review copy. All thoughts are honest and my own. more
Really good work on anti fat discrimination. Detailed and organized in a very clear effective way. For both fat and thin people. A really commitment to intersectionality and activism. Only drawback is that it got redundant by the end. more
Aubrey’s heart is in the right place wanting to fight against anti-fat bias, but her lack of formal training in science and logic are quite apparent. She sets up straw man arguments then cherry picks the evidence to knock them down. This book preaches to the choir of people who experience and resent anti-fat bias by making one sided arguments that often skirt important truths. It is unconvincing to those who don’t already share her beliefs. more
A very good exploration of ideas, but that doesn’t feel like a book. It’s a slightly disjointed series of posts that too often overlap each other, but for those new to the topic, would still be incredibly insightful and helpful to read. more
Hmmm, this is a tricky one to review. It wasn’t bad per se, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. I have long been a follower and fan of Aubrey Gordon (back to the yrfatfriend days) and the thing I love and respect about her the most is her intense research and her passion for information, and that research and passion just did not come across in this book. Don’t get me wrong, nothing in this book comes off as factually incorrect, nor do I feel she is spreading misinformation, but I feel like she’s trying to tackle too much in too little space. I would have preferred instead of her touching just a bit on 20 myths, that she would have gone HARD on like 2 or 3 myths and really sank her teeth in and showed the research and facts behind why the myths are utter bullshit, the damage it does, and the greater societal impact. more
This book is structured almost like a textbook for a class or a seminar. There are lists/exercises on which to reflect at the end of most of the chapters. There is an extensive notes section. The book proper is enjoyable to read and not at all dry despite it being able to function as a textbook. The author suggests extensive reading on this subject and mentions many other books to read. more
Yep, I’m an unapologetic Aubrey Gordon fan. Read this book for a lot of reasons- read it to support your friends, your family, that coworker who cracks you up. Read it to learn more about how the numbers and catch phrases we bandy about maybe aren’t so accurate. That those “ideals” we think we should uphold are really made out of straw. Read it to realize that every body is it’s own beautiful creation. more
The fact is that this book is absolutely full of cherry-picked half-truths, equivocations, and outright lies. If you'd like a full and complete rebuttal, check out the 1 and 2-star reviews of the author's other book (I could just copy and paste). These reviews also contain nods to the times the author makes a good point, to be fair. This is enabling of harmful behavior, denial of facts, and embracing victimhood status as a weird power play. And a good deal of it is couched in terms of gender and sexual identity, lending a threatening air to anyone who dares criticize (or at the very least, dismissing them as being phobic). more
I learned a ton from this book and throught the author narration in the audiobook was excellent. (No surprise since Aubrey Gordon is a podcaster and I also happen to find her voice sexy). I did find it a bit repetitive, which I think is the nature of all of these myths and tackling a big topic like anti-fatness in this structure, because of course information that Gordon used to dispel one myth is also relevant to others. I'm off to read some of her recommendations for other books on fat acceptance and anti-fatphobia. more
This book is unbelievably destructive. Aubrey’s narcissism does not just stop at considering herself as marginalized as black people historically, she spends the entire book encouraging people to celebrate a deadly health issue. She falsifies scientific studies and paints anyone who values health as a cruel bigots. And she touts this as compassionate “social justice” Yes, we need to be kind to people, but it isn’t kind to let Aubrey fancy herself Rosa Parks as she deludes herself into a very early grave. The one thing I will say is that this book encouraged me to lose weight, as I would never want people to every even possibly assume I have anything to do with this grandiosely narcissistic and disastrous woman. more
Well-researched and informative text. I’m making my way through texts in this genre to learn more about how weight and appearance have been looked at through the centuries and why. Some highlights - BMI originally wasn’t even created to measure health from weight, most health averages and indexes since the 90s were created from info of white men, and many more. Learning this history of the roots of fat-phobia and disgust for heavier-set bodies in our current society is eye-opening to me. It is significantly helping me in my own personal journey to finally love myself and my body. more
As a woman who has struggled with weight for decades, and as a well-known fitness professional, I have seen the dirty side of diet culture. However, I don't lie to myself about the negative health effects of too much body fat. It's not sustainable. There are many compassionate coaches out there who actually focus on health and longevity, and not on shaming. more
Not as funny or profane as Maintenance Phase; but Gordon's voice still clearly resonates. Each chapter includes a fat-related myth that is carefully debunked, and then ends with reflection questions and action steps, making You Just Need to Lose Weight an excellent tool for those working to end anti-fat bias. more
"A diet is a cure that doesn't work for a disease that doesn't exist. " - The Fat UndergroundThe Maintenance Phase podcast that Gordon does with Michael Hobbs was recommended to me pretty recently and I got hooked immediately. They're both funny and they choose bizarre bits of history to share. I don't listen, though, I read the transcripts because I am weird like that. Gordon's experience in community organizing runs shows all over: she offers ways to learn more, to examine our experiences and history and she offers lots of suggestions from the personal, through the public, into the political. more
This book is pretty entry level and good for people who aren't politicized around issues of fatness. But the action items were often redundant, and very basic such as "read this book" over and over again. It would have been great to actually have tangible steps that can help fat people and non fat people build power towards ending anti fatness. But since they weren't, they kind of fell flat and made the book suffer as a whole . more
This is a great starting point for people on their journey of unlearning anti-fat bias and supporting fat liberation (esp as a non-fat ally. ), but if you listen to maintenance phase (WHICH U SHOULD. ) much of this will be familiar. That is not a bad thing--I love having this easily accessible, and, as Aubrey mentioned on the show, this is a great jumping off point, and something that you can share with friends and family (w their consent) in the form of packets/printing off different chapters. If you haven't read either of Aubrey's books, I'd recommend starting with "What We Don't Talk About When we Talk About Fat," but as a resource this is so wonderful. more
Everything I signed up for. Concise, thorough, nuanced, and accessible takedowns of anti-fat sentiments that have been repeated so much that many of us take them as fact. I will definitely be returning to this as a resource for interrupting anti-fatness. . more
“You Just Need to Lose Weight”: And 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon7h 11m narrated by the author, 224 pagesGenre: Nonfiction, Feminism, Health, Essays, Science, Social Justice, Mental Health, Adult, Self Help, Self-Improvement, Sociology Featuring: Anti-Fat Myths and Biases, Suggested Reading, Opportunities For Action, Fat Activism, List of Terms, Diet Culture,Rating as a movie: PG-13 My rating: DNF @ 17% 1:13:04 15 minutes into Myth 2- Any fat person can become thin if they try hard enough. It's just a matter of 'calories in, calories out. " My thoughts: 📱14% 58:34 Myth 2- Any fat person can become thin if they try hard enough. It's just a matter of 'calories in, calories out. " - Oh, boy. more
we know i'm an aubrey gordon stan forever, right. we know that, right. gordon is one of the first authors i personally have read who discusses antifatness, and she does so with frankness and ease and a perfect blend of scientific research & discussion of her own experiences as a fat woman. every time i read her writing, i'm blown away by how much research there is that disproves common fatphobic myths, and how eloquent and persistent she is in laying that research out and fighting back. personally, i think i prefer her first book, probably because the formatting there (long chapters dissecting various aspects of fat experiences and antifatness) engaged me more than the formatting here (this is a handbook of short chapters, each debunking specific antifat myths, plus actionable steps/reflection questions). more
up front: 'what we don't talk about when we talk about fat' is one of the best books on the topic of being fat in america, it hits deeply and is well told, good job at raising empathy. 'you just need to lose weight' however is a catchall effort that comes off more concerned about not being offensive than straight facts. i get not wanting to sound like a medical journal, but the extensive prefacing and repetition of - it's not me, it's you - dialogue feels like a tremendous amount of filler. i get wanting to be thorough, but reads like a tumblr master post. it feels like a lot of reference pulls but not diving deeper, not interviewing people who ran or participated in studies. more
Trigger warnings: fatphobia, body shaming, eating disorder, transphobia, racism, classism3. 5 starsI am a huge fan of Maintenance Phase, so I was really excited to read this because I love Aubrey Gordon and the way she talks about diet culture and fatness on the podcast. And I did like the way that this discussed a variety of myths about fatness and weight stigma, but there were times when it felt repetitive and a little too surface-level. I think in part it's the length - it's only 230 pages including references and footnotes and it covers 20 different myths, so that doesn't allow a lot of time to discuss each one especially if you're going to include questions to think about and ways to challenge behaviour that you witness. Ultimately, it felt a little. more
The format is really conducive to responding to the common anti-fat talking points around which Aubrey organized the book; I read it with the intention of arming myself with information to combat anti-fat bias as it appears in my nursing school curriculum. I am a huge Maintenance Phase fan and think Aubrey does a ton of great work with this book, although I do think the writing in this book isn’t quite as strong as her speaking can be. Definitely recommend this to anyone interested in starting to explore anti-fatness and looking forward to reading many of the books she recommends/cites. more
Picked this up to more deeply examine my own prejudices, but it was a little too black-and-white for me. This book labels you as either fat or thin. While I am not obese, I don't think anyone would look at me and call me thin. I'm a shortish woman with a muscular build. The author is absolutely right that BMI as a indicator of health/fitness is total crap. more
does a great job of explaining anti-fatness as a systemic issue instead of just an interpersonal one. if you listen to maintenance phase already, it covers many of the same topics. aubrey has such a nice voice I like listening to it :). more
Boring and whiny. If you want a book full of excuses as to why people are fat, should stay fat, and need pity and special accommodations for being fat. Then read this. more
A required reading on a topic most of us don't understand the way we think we do. Aubrey Gordon is an excellent with a knack for not only presenting information but anticipating your reaction to it. . more
I am new to fat activisim and general anti fat bias discourse and I found this to be a very digestible, eye opening, and well structured read. I also had the pleasure of attending an online book launch and discussion by the author Aubrey Gordon and Virginia Sole Smith and their different perspectives really emphasized that there are even different levels of discrimination for every size/"level" of fat. The book seems very well researched and most if not all cited sources are primary sources. I also appreciated that at the end of each chapter were reflection questions and section for opporunities for action. It's uncomfortable to confront your biases and examine them closely and the book does help guide you in a way so as to not raise your defenses. more
I highly recommend this book to everyone, but most especially to people who consider themselves social justice-minded and who haven’t had the chance to really unpack their own anti-fat bias yet. I wish someone had handed me this book anytime between the ages of 16-29 — I was deep in my own ED and body dysmorphic disorder, and was causing harm left and right. Aubrey does a really wonderful job of not only making this information digestible (I’d say definitely moreso than her last book given the chapter breakdowns) but also the tough, compassionate love people who are not superfat need to hear. The reflection questions at the end of each chapter are wonderful, too. For people who’ve done a ton of work around fat activism, I don’t think you’ll necessarily learn anything new, but it never hurts to have the refresher and to feel seen by Aubrey’s words. more