Tommy Tomlinson's 'The Weight I Carry'

I am 5-8 and got up to nearly 300 pounds late in 2017. Along with some family members (wife, sister-in-law, etc.) I went on a medically supervised diet through one of the medical groups here. No surgery involved, but they put you on an 800-calorie diet consisting of powders we turn into puddings, shakes, soups, etc., plus a nutrition bar. I was very skeptical when I started, but in late September I reached my goal of 170 pounds. I am off all diabetic medicines and my blood pressure in well into the normal range. I'm now eating some "real" food and I realize this is the way I will eat the rest of my life. I went off the diet for a week to attend a funeral and put on 7 or 8 pounds, which emphasized to me that I must change my eating habits forever.

 

Congrats, Bud.

 

And therein lies the rub...

Way to go getting it started...it's not easy.

 

For those interested, it looks like Tommy will appear on the Today show in the 9 a.m. hour on Wednesday, Jan. 23. From Tommy's newsletter:

Some breaking news...

If you were at one of the book signings this week, word about this leaked out a little, but I haven't shared it to the general public yet, so you newsletter subscribers are getting it in print first:

I'm scheduled to be on the TODAY Show next Wednesday (the 23rd).

This is, of course, a Very Big Deal -- a chance for a big national audience to hear about the book. I'm excited, and of course a little nervous, too.

My understanding is that I'm scheduled to be on in the 9 a.m. hour. I could always get bumped if there's a big news story, of course, but that's the plan for now. I'll put it out there on social media on Monday, and I hope to know a little more then -- check my Facebook or Twitter feeds for details.

 

Holy fucking shit, this is a good book. I bought it last night and read it until I absolutely had to go to sleep. And yes, I’m up in the middle of the night and picked it up and can’t put it down.

I’ve never really “struggled” with my weight — for me, being overweight means weighing 162 when I want to weigh 155 — but I have struggled with bad eating habits and I KNOW they’re gonna catch up with me some day. I also deeply love some people who are genuinely in mortal danger because of their weight. I think Tommy’s story is going to help them, and reading it is going to help me help them when they need help (and to know when I need to back off.)

And it’s also just so well-written, in exactly the right voice. Back to it; should be finished before sunrise.

 

I got the book from the mail at 6:30 the day it came out and was done by evening of the next night. Knew immediately what page I wanted Tommy to sign once I was done reading, and he was gracious with a note. I'll re-read this book a few times over the years, and like you, I don't struggle with weight, but this book is beautiful, honest and endearing.

 

I've now read "The Elephant in the Room," and I'm glad I did.

It was so human, and so recognizably true to a recovering overeater's/food addict's experience that it was uncanny. As I posted before about the excepts from "The Atlantic" article, I felt like I could've written that book, almost word for word, by changing just a few minor details. But...

Although I found the writing wonderful -- not above anybody, very visually descriptive, occasionally subtly humorous, and always very relatable -- I also found the book vaguely depressing, and myself wanting to speed through in order to get done with it. This rarely happens with a book I'm liking, and I have to put this feeling down to the subject matter and exactly that incredible relatable-ness.

It was almost TOO relatable for anyone who has ever struggled with food addiction. I'm glad Tomlinson referenced his habits as such several times throughout the book, for that's what it is, in many instances. It's not uncommon for obese people to eat alone -- to PREFER to eat alone -- or to hide food -- usually junk foods -- in bedroom dresser drawers, their pockets, their purses, etc., and to stash the wrappers/bags in their cars to throw into trash cans away from home. It's not unheard of for people to eat healthfully, or attempt to, when eating in front of people, but then ALSO eat crap food later on, on top of that, once others have left the scene, etc. They frequently, seemingly, cannot stop, for the life of them, from picking on the almost pure sugars provided by candy: M&Ms, Hershey's Drops, and even more-healthful raisins, are favorites/big offenders because of their being, essentially, easy and clean "finger foods," with little evidence left behind.

And Tomlinson wrote of scenes referencing all of those things, or similar ones. It was amazing, and I wished I could talk to him, find out how he's doing now. The book covers a one-year span in detail, with an epilogue at the end that includes later, more recent progress, but that was last year, and I hope his slow but steady weight loss success has continued since then. Based on past experience, I wonder, though, just because it's just so easy to re-gain, and so hard to maintain if you do lose weight.

Thanks, Tommy, for sharing all that you did. Despite your struggle with weight, you are indeed fortunate in many ways, and it was wonderful to see you write of those blessings, as well, especially the wonderful, obvious love between you and your wife.

 

Tell Me I’m Fat - This American Life