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The Elephant in the Room
The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man's Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America | Tommy Tomlinson
17 posts | 11 read | 21 to read
In the tradition of Roxane Gays Hunger, a searing, honest, and candid exploration of what its like to live as a fat man, from acclaimed journalist Tommy Tomlinson, who decided he had to change his life as he neared the age of fifty weighing in at 460 pounds. When he was almost fifty years old, Tommy Tomlinson weighed an astonishingand dangerous460 pounds, at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, unable to climb a flight of stairs without having to catch his breath, or travel on an airplane without buying two seats. Raised in a family that loved food, he had been aware of the problem for years, seeing doctors and trying diets from the time he was a preteen. But nothing worked, and every time he tried to make a change, it didnt go the way he plannedin fact, he wasnt sure that he really wanted to change. He was only one of millions of Americans struggling with weight, body image, and a relationship with food that puts them at major risk. Intimate and insightful, The Elephant in the Room is Tomlinsons chronicle of meeting those people, taking the first steps towards health, and trying to understand how, as a nation, we got to this point. From buying a FitBit and setting an exercise goal to contemplating the Heart Attack Grill, Americas capital of food porn, and modifying his own diet, Tomlinson brings us along on an unforgettable journey of self-discovery that is a candid and sometimes brutal look at the everyday experience of being constantly aware of your size. Over the course of the book, he confronts these issues head on and chronicles the practical steps he has to takebig and smallto lose weight by the end.
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LauraBeth
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I‘ve wanted to read this since NPR listed it as a 2019 favorite on their Book Concierge. So far, I really like Tomlinson‘s writing - it‘s very reminiscent of Rick Bragg‘s storytelling.

Just disregard the look on the BFG‘s face. There are some cardinals that nest outside our window and they drive him bonkers.

CocoReads He does look very intense. (edited) 4y
Sharpeipup I really enjoyed his writing and his honesty in his journey. 4y
Megabooks I‘ve read it twice. Really good! 4y
See All 8 Comments
LeahBergen He looks crazed by those birds. 😆😆 4y
LauraBeth @CocoReads thankfully, he‘s an indoor cat. Otherwise he‘d be a notorious bird killer! 😹 4y
LauraBeth @Sharpeipup I‘m almost done with it and completely agree about enjoying his writing and honesty. 4y
LauraBeth @Megabooks I can see myself reading this again! 4y
LauraBeth @LeahBergen he is crazed by everything! 😹 4y
88 likes2 stack adds8 comments
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Megabooks
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Pickpick

Little went as expected on Friday, but this #audiobook made good company for me and dad.

I think Tommy makes two good points: 1. Weight loss is a personal decision and 2. that permanent weight loss is a series of incremental changes.

While I prefer to be overweight, I‘d like to be a little less (40 lbs, 18 kg). Tommy wanted to lose about 200 lbs, and after three years, he had lost about 70 and was keeping it off. A good weight loss memoir. ⬇️⬇️

Megabooks ⬆️⬆️ Tommy had throat cancer and his voice is raspy, but I got used to it. I think that was an important pat of his journey to express. #votedearlyreadathon book 3 @howjessreads 4y
77 likes1 comment
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saguarosally
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Eating is an emotion. Not that that will change things, but at least I am reminded. #emotionaleating

Hooked_on_books This book was so good. My mom is an emotional eater for sure. 4y
31 likes1 comment
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Erinreadsthebooks
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Escape reads: Chick Lit and Rom Coms
Comfort food: Give me all the pasta and all the desserts 😬
Shelfie: It‘s not a shelfie...but it is a box of books I brought home from my work library right before we were shut down

Thanks @IamIamIam for the tag! @Eggs #wonderouswednesday #quarantinereads

Any #Littens want to join in on the fun? Here‘s your invitation 💜

IamIamIam Thanks for playing!!! I read Furious Hours last fall. 👍 5y
Eggs I really enjoyed 5y
40 likes2 comments
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Megabooks
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I now have the TikTok I mentioned in my review of this book in my highlighted stories on Instagram. It‘s to remind me because I do A LOT of self sabotage, but I also know it‘s common to humans in general.

So if anyone wants to see it I‘m megabooksreads over on Instagram. I‘ll gladly add any Littens over there!

Literary_Siren Added! 5y
Megabooks @Literary_Siren Added you back! 5y
AmyK1 Added! 5y
See All 11 Comments
ImperfectCJ Added. (I'm imperfecthappiness over there.) 5y
DGRachel I sent a follow request. I‘m @ucfdg97 there. 😊 5y
Megabooks @AmyK1 @ImperfectCJ @DGRachel I‘ve got all three of you! Thanks for following me! I followed back or requested. 👍🏻👍🏻 5y
KarenUK I just sent a request... I‘m @rooskippy 5y
Megabooks @KarenUK Awesome! Approved you and followed you back! 5y
Crazeedi Just requested you on Instagram, just fyi, I'm not on there too much 5y
Megabooks @Crazeedi just approved you and followed back! 5y
56 likes11 comments
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Megabooks
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Pickpick

Surprising for a random library book, I actually loved this. It had a lot of good points about self-sabotage and negative thinking in regards to weight.

It‘s definitely a memoir and he spun his life story well.

There was a great video on TikTok about breaking small promises to yourself (such as cutting back on food/alcohol) and the long term damage it does. Tommy made a series of small promises that added up to a lot of positive change. 4⭐️

Cinfhen Beautiful review 5y
Megabooks Just FYI, this is more a memoir than a weight loss guide! 5y
Cinfhen And the above passage is spot on!!! 5y
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Megabooks @Cinfhen Thank you! The book is really spot on as well. He admitted the reason he was obese is that (more or less) southern food tastes good, is high calorie, and he ate a lot. It‘s definitely more nuanced than that, but he made the decision that was right for him, and he stuck to it. It was just very honest in a positive way. 5y
Cinfhen I‘m glad to hear the author found a solution to get healthier \ it‘s hard!!! 5y
Megabooks And see my note 👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻 that this is more memoir than diet book. #memoirs 5y
95 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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Megabooks
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I just want to say that this author having Tommy (not Tom or Thomas) Tomlinson on his birth certificate is the most Southern thing I‘ve seen this week! (And esp because it was so he could be little Tommy to his dad‘s big Tommy!) And I live in the South!!

I‘m glad he has a sense of humor about it. Seriously Southern AF.

Really good book so far, though. 👍🏻

82 likes2 stack adds
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Sharpeipup
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Hard to leave for work when this view is only a block away...especially on a Monday!

Lreads So pretty! 5y
27 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Well-ReadNeck
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69 likes1 stack add
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

Tommy Tomlinson‘s searingly honest portrait of life as a fat man (460 pounds) and his efforts to lose weight is unputdownable. The shame he has had flung at him along with his internalized shame at heartbreaking. I think this book is relatable to anyone who struggles to change and will hopefully engender compassion in readers toward the obese. Highly recommend.

mreads ❤🐕 5y
41 likes1 stack add1 comment
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ontheBL
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Mehso-so

The Elephant in the Room is a beautiful memoir filled with inspiration about one man's weight loss journey.

https://onthebl.org/2019/04/11/the-elephant-in-the-room/

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DocBrown
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Pickpick

@britt_brooke you will appreciate this recent entry in the #memoir genre. Author is very honest & transparent about his life, & as he ‘hit the lottery‘ in every other way he never comes across as whiny or a victim. He discusses openly how eating becomes a compensatory compulsion, mentioning Oprah‘s perennial struggle—even billionaires can wrestle with this. Author-narrated audio is powerful; throat cancer left him with a raspy whisper. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

britt_brooke Sounds good - definitely stacking! 6y
60 likes1 comment
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Rcoco
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Pickpick

How did other people like this book? It was a tad repetitive but honest inward look. And yet, he seems pretty confident he‘ll reach 230. I kinda think he‘s got some rose colored glasses on there.

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GerardtheBookworm
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Pickpick

As a real guy with curves, I related to Tommy Tomlinson's memoir of his struggles with being overweight, his health, and dealing with the issues of fat shaming in our society. Humorous, self-deprecating and moving, the former journalist gives readers an honest view of his world.

9 likes1 stack add
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HillsAndHamletsBookshop
Pickpick

As someone who has struggled with being overweight most of my life, I found Tomlinson‘s memoir to be powerfully & sensitively written. While my own struggle is not as dramatic as his (he starts the book at 460 lbs, medically diagnosed as “morbidly obese”) even mildly overweight Americans like me will still relate to the feelings of shame and Tomlinson so soulfully and thoughtfully plumbs.

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Well-ReadNeck
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Pickpick

Tommy Tomlinson‘s The Elephant in the room takes a deep-dive, memoir-style into Tomlinson‘s life-long struggle with obesity. The book alternates between essays from his past related to his weight and a month by month account of a year attempting to take a sustained and sustainable approach to losing and maintaining weight loss. Tomlinson is a journalist and knows how to find the golden nugget in every anecdote. #netgalley

119 likes7 stack adds
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Well-ReadNeck
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And, here‘s why I need a #netgalley requesting time out. All of these goodies are coming out in January, so on deck for October to read in order to put them in the blog!!! Lots of mystery/thrillers this month!!! 👏🏼

Biensoul *flies to my NetGalley and Edelweiss queues* 6y
Well-ReadNeck @Biensoul 🤣🤣🤣 6y
100 likes2 comments