Live Large!: Ideas, Affirmations, and Actions for Sane Living in a Larger Body

"Affirmations for living the life you want in the body you already have." Although this book was first written almost ten years ago it is still relevant to today's lush woman. In the introduction, Cheri K. Erdman, EdD says, Live Large! brings a positive voice into your life and helps that voice to become your own. This is so true. The 148 pages of affirmations are divided into four parts: initiation, inspiration, determination and live large. Each page has a title like the 'Mirror Lies' or 'Live For Today'. Erdman provides a brief commentary on the topic followed by a one line affirmation like: I see myself as acceptable, lovable and beautiful. This is then followed by 'Size-wise action' which further describes how you can put intention behind the affirmation. This can be a simple visualization or journaling activity. I loved this little book. Erdman's voice is not condescending and her concepts are legitimate and easy to understand. You can journal along with each prompt or just use it for bedside or bathroom reading. Each page is filled with valuable insight into our bodies, psyche and the world around us. She doesn't just tell you how it is but how you can choose to make a difference. There is a small section of resources at the back, some outdated. This really has no affect on the rest of the content which is positive, inspiring and easy to relate to your own life. This is a definite must for your plus size library. I highly recommend this mini book. Reviewed by M. E. Wood.

This book is amazing. It's all about taking your life back. Society has told fat people that we are bad, guilty, lack self control, shameful...and that if we were to just try harder then we could lose the weight and be accepted. What a load of & ^ & *()%$# & . Most people I know who have a few extra pounds have left no stone unturned in the quest for a thin body and societal acceptance. Self hatred and denial of myself, my size has robbed me of my life because I only thought I deserved to live if I were thin and EVERYTHING, all my hopes, plans, dreams, goals....were universally on hold. Every time I would "get thin" I would try to cram in all those things I was missing as a fat person.This book is about getting back to business, despite your size. It debunks all the myths and stereotypes about fat people, that we are all lazy, unmotivated and hate ourselves. It teaches us self love despite the challenges of living in a society that clearly hates fat people. Everyone is entitled to a life and a chance to live it. This book does not tell you what to eat or how to eat, or even that you should go out and eat a dozen doughnuts. It tells you that if you start loving yourself at your size and stop trying to change yourself it is amazing how your life will automatically change for the better! Stop putting your life, dreams on hold. Start loving yourself starting today...even if you're fat.

Not only are there some very good affirmations that a person can use on a daily basis, but there are actions that will help reinforce the positive affirmations. I highly recommend this book to any one who is starting on the path of self acceptance or even those who have traveled the path aways already.

Reviewed by Barbara Altman Bruno, Ph.D. Dr. Cheri Erdman, author of Nothing to Lose: A Guide to Sane Living in a larger Body has written another very good book. While her first book was more narrative, Live Large! is a workbook. It is meant for women seeking a better life in their larger bodies, to interact with the bite-size bits of material on each page. Erdman subdivides the book in two ways: first, in sections for initiation into body-size acceptance, inspiration, determination, and living large. Within each of these sections, each page has a dominant theme which she calls "the big idea." Some of these big ideas include "my body, my business" (a catch-phrase she learned from her work with larger women), "body size is unrelated to the quality of a person's life," and "healthy bodies come in all sizes." Each big idea is "fleshed out" in an explanatory paragraph. Then Erdman offers an affirmation related to that particular big idea. Affirmations are a tool which I also recommend to my clients because they can enable people to change the self-critical voices in their heads into self-affirming ones. While these affirmations - positive sentences stated in the present and repeated to oneself - can seem like science fiction when one first tries them, they can actually establish a new truth in one's mind. Finally, she recommends a "size-wise" action, often accompanied by journal-writing, to reinforce the experience of the big idea. These actions are generally do-able pieces which together form a big picture of someone living a positive life in her own, present body. Erdman's doctoral research led her to the concept of a "spiral of size acceptance." That is, most people do not go directly from hating their bodies to accepting them. Their path tends to look like a spiral, where they advance and yet sometimes feel like they're back at an earlier place. Most of us can relate to feeling better about ourselves, only to have someone's nasty, lipophobic comment send us reeling. Erdman reminds us that such setbacks are only steps along the path. Because each person's path can be different, we can choose a "big idea" which fits where we are at that moment. We do not have to work through the book page after page. We can return to pages which relate to our current situation; we can meditate on a section or take a size-wise action. Her book offers support at every step. What I especially like, in addition to the thoughtful structure of Erdman's book, isits message that to live large is not solely about having a larger body. It is about expanding into our spirit, which is much larger than anything physical. It is about living our purpose. There is much wisdom in this small book, both in its construction and in the messages it imparts. I recommend it.

This is a fantastic book that every woman should read, large or small. It helps you with your self-esteem so that you can focus on the more important things in life. You will learn or perhaps re-learn how you don't have a weight problem, society does. You shouldn't change your body to fit the culture, that's not healthy and takes a big chunk of your time; time you could focus on more important matters like your career, school, children, etc.