Nothing half-assed about Jennette Fulda's Half-Assed: A Weight Loss Memoir

Jennette Fulda, aka the Pasta Queen, was kind enough to send me a copy of her book Half-Assed: A Weight-loss Memoir to review. I knew she was funny from her blog, Half of Me, and I knew her story would be inspirational -- the girl lost over half her body weight. What I didn't know was how wrapped up I would get in her journey.

The book isn't just inspirational because Fulda lost 200 pounds -- it's inspirational because of how she did it, which Bethany touched on when she posted on Fulda's Today Show appearance. She doesn't promote any specific diet or plan in the book. Instead, she relies on good nutrition and exercise in a completely real way -- she doesn't cut calories in a way she can't maintain, and she doesn't let herself be hungry. She starts out walking for a few minutes a day on a treadmill in her house because she's embarrassed to exercise outside, and ends up enjoying running outdoors and doing Pilates.

So what makes all this so interesting? Why did I pick up the book and not set it down for 239 pages? Well, to be honest, it's really entertaining. Yes, of course, it's informative, but the girl has a wicked sense of humor. For example, when she was down to 269 pounds and realized she could feel the outline of her pelvic bone, she writes, "My gynecologist had told me I had a pelvis, but I thought she was just starting a rumor."

Additionally, she's honest. She's honest about how she felt when she was at her heaviest, and why she was content to stay heavy for so long. She's honest about what came easily for her and what was difficult. All of this made me root for her from one chapter to the next, cheering for her when she learns that she actually enjoys cooking new, healthful foods and when she realizes that a guy just hit on her.

Bottom line is that I really enjoyed the book. Fulda is so real in her writing that, by the end of the book, I felt like I knew her. And I was inspired -- she truly makes her incredible weight-loss seem attainable. It doesn't matter whether you have 200 pounds to lose or 20 -- this is a book that will help you feel confident that you can reach your goal.

The thing is, healthy living is important for everybody. As Fulda says, "All this healthy living was starting to make me feel alive. I'd never even realized I was half-dead." You can get a copy here, or check back here at That's Fit, as we'll be giving away a signed copy soon!