Nothing to Lose: Fitness for All Shapes and Sizes

Dee Hakala's memoire of her struggle with weight and dieting was very well-written and completely inspiring to me. Despite our differences (e.g. I am about 15 pounds overweight), I identified with her as a woman stuck in a culture which values women most for what they look like, and especially how much they weigh. Her story was riveting and so much more interesting than what you find in typical diet and exercise books. Her no-nonsense advice is right on target. She is a living, breathing example of assertiveness and taking life by the tail. I will read this again!

Dee Hakala understands the difficulties and emotional pain involved with a person who is overweight. Her book shows how she overcame and is still dealing with the problems involved in changing ones life to be happy. Good reading, and helpful.

Finally a person honest enough to say what being obese can mean to a person. Dee Hakala's words have become a healing force in my life. Never before had I read anyone who told the truth about this burden we bear in the way that Dee was able to do. Her words brought tears to my eyes and gratitude to my heart. Her courage in the face of the many obstacles of her life comes across on every page and enabled me to see many of the same obstacles in my life. I will use her words to help me "get up off my butt" and to recognize that the lonliness and dissertion that I have often felt in life really has affected my whole life. For the first time in my 46 years, I feel hope for finding a way out of this battle of the bulge. Dee has opened my eyes and opened my world to possibilities that I had never believe before. I have given or recommended her book to numerous friends that are in the same boat and overwhelmingly have heard from them the same praise all of them

It would be wrong to want to read this book in an effort to lose weight. What Dee Hakala wants you to do is get moving no matter what your size. If you've ever been the fattest person in your aerobics class, you can relate. Yes, the author has lost weight, but she's gained energy, confidence and her life back. There is very little weight loss stuff here per se, and, in fact, she makes the point that diets are NOT the answer, that exercise is a goal in and of itself. You will be inspired to get up and move after this book. One of the best books on size and fitness, easily as good as GREAT SHAPE.