(Spoilers)
My wife got me the book How to Get Fat from the store Sidecca that’s inside the Montclair Plaza to help me gain weight and because the title sounded funny. It doesn’t have a specific author but rather was produced by Knock Knock Productions who are based in Venice, CA. How to Get Fat is a small, short book with a colorful cover and illustrations for each chapter. Knock Knock has produced a whole series of “self-hurt” books including this one along with How to Get into Debt, How to Drive Like a Maniac, and How to Tramatize your Kids. But this isn’t just a book of jokes, but rather a book of practical advice on how to get fat. It does contain a lot of humor along with information and encouragement and some surprisingly important lessons.
How to Get Fat is split into many chapters on the different aspects of gaining weight. It covers what to eat, where to eat, how to eat, and the proper mindset or “fattitude”. It includes formulas to determine how many calories to eat and how much weight to gain. There’s so much more to gaining weight than simply eating more unhealthy food and not exercising. There’s shopping for food correctly (when you’re hungry), and making sure to buy bulk so you never run out. There’s the proper way to order at restaurants such as getting more fattening tempura instead of sushi when eating Japanese. One of my favorite foods, fajitas, is actually listed among the foods to avoid at Mexican restaurants because they’re too healthy. They recommend ordering chimichangas instead.
I learned some things from the book that I didn’t know before such as the fact that once you’re full, leptin is released in your brain and makes you feel full. However, the common sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) inhibits leptin secretion and your brain never gets the message that you’re full. I also learned that the ingredients listed on food labels are in descending order and the first item given comprises the greatest percentage of the food.
The book contains a lot of humor along with all the useful information. It is written in a fun, comical tone. It doesn’t make fun of itself or devolve into sarcasm or parody, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, either. One part describes how a sedentary person burns fewer than 1,750 calories per day while an active person burns 2,200 calories. The book goes on to say “that 450-calorie difference equals roughly nine Oreos. If you’re sedentary and you eat the nine Oreos, that’s like a 900-calorie gain.” (p. 52-53) Another part indicates how exercise is unnecessary. Modern transportation means we only have to walk a few feet to get anywhere so there’s no functional reason for physical fitness. “Toning your muscles and increasing your endurance is therefore a waste of valuable time that could be spent eating.” (p. 167)
Much additional humor and information can be found in boxes separate from the main text. One box describes how “decades of American farm bills have reduced the cost of staple commodities such as corn, wheat, and soy with $25 billion in subsidies.” (p. 110) As a result, healthy foods such as lettuce and berries are 40% more expensive than they were in 1985, while the cost of soda, that’s rich in high fructose corn syrup, is 23% cheaper. I’m not sure whether that’s all true but it sounds interesting. Another box describes how all branches of the U.S. Military have weight restrictions and if you exceed them and conscription is reinstated, you won’t be drafted. Many of the boxes contain funny and profound quotes from famous people including:
“When we lose 20 pounds, we may be losing the best 20 pounds we have! We may be losing the parts that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty.” –Woody Allen
“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.” –Orson Welles
With all its humor and interesting information, the book also presents some important lessons that aren’t just applicable to getting fat. It describes how when you try to get fat, you’ll have two types of detractors: those who disagree with your goal of gaining weight and those who don’t want you to succeed in anything due to their own issues with self-loathing, lack of discipline, and jealousy. The book advises to agree to disagree with the former and drop the latter because they’re toxic. An earlier passage describes how thin people have to fight off unwanted advances and never know whether people like them for who they are or what they look like. Once you’re fat, you don’t have to worry about that. You can base your self-worth entirely on your character and know that people like you for the right reasons. Towards the end, the book describes how “the true accomplishment is recognizing the control you’ve taken over your body and your life and knowing that you can achieve anything that you set your mind and mouth to.” (p. 179-180)
Overall, I enjoyed the book. The only drawback was that it seemed to gloss over the potential health effects of getting fat. It actually offers at least one health benefit. In my opinion, society pulls us in two directions: one is the “cult of thin” and the other is all the best-tasting, fattening food we can eat. How to Get Fat is refreshing because it just focuses on one direction.
My wife got me the book How to Get Fat from the store Sidecca that’s inside the Montclair Plaza to help me gain weight and because the title sounded funny. It doesn’t have a specific author but rather was produced by Knock Knock Productions who are based in Venice, CA. How to Get Fat is a small, short book with a colorful cover and illustrations for each chapter. Knock Knock has produced a whole series of “self-hurt” books including this one along with How to Get into Debt, How to Drive Like a Maniac, and How to Tramatize your Kids. But this isn’t just a book of jokes, but rather a book of practical advice on how to get fat. It does contain a lot of humor along with information and encouragement and some surprisingly important lessons.
How to Get Fat is split into many chapters on the different aspects of gaining weight. It covers what to eat, where to eat, how to eat, and the proper mindset or “fattitude”. It includes formulas to determine how many calories to eat and how much weight to gain. There’s so much more to gaining weight than simply eating more unhealthy food and not exercising. There’s shopping for food correctly (when you’re hungry), and making sure to buy bulk so you never run out. There’s the proper way to order at restaurants such as getting more fattening tempura instead of sushi when eating Japanese. One of my favorite foods, fajitas, is actually listed among the foods to avoid at Mexican restaurants because they’re too healthy. They recommend ordering chimichangas instead.
I learned some things from the book that I didn’t know before such as the fact that once you’re full, leptin is released in your brain and makes you feel full. However, the common sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) inhibits leptin secretion and your brain never gets the message that you’re full. I also learned that the ingredients listed on food labels are in descending order and the first item given comprises the greatest percentage of the food.
The book contains a lot of humor along with all the useful information. It is written in a fun, comical tone. It doesn’t make fun of itself or devolve into sarcasm or parody, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, either. One part describes how a sedentary person burns fewer than 1,750 calories per day while an active person burns 2,200 calories. The book goes on to say “that 450-calorie difference equals roughly nine Oreos. If you’re sedentary and you eat the nine Oreos, that’s like a 900-calorie gain.” (p. 52-53) Another part indicates how exercise is unnecessary. Modern transportation means we only have to walk a few feet to get anywhere so there’s no functional reason for physical fitness. “Toning your muscles and increasing your endurance is therefore a waste of valuable time that could be spent eating.” (p. 167)
Much additional humor and information can be found in boxes separate from the main text. One box describes how “decades of American farm bills have reduced the cost of staple commodities such as corn, wheat, and soy with $25 billion in subsidies.” (p. 110) As a result, healthy foods such as lettuce and berries are 40% more expensive than they were in 1985, while the cost of soda, that’s rich in high fructose corn syrup, is 23% cheaper. I’m not sure whether that’s all true but it sounds interesting. Another box describes how all branches of the U.S. Military have weight restrictions and if you exceed them and conscription is reinstated, you won’t be drafted. Many of the boxes contain funny and profound quotes from famous people including:
“When we lose 20 pounds, we may be losing the best 20 pounds we have! We may be losing the parts that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty.” –Woody Allen
“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.” –Orson Welles
With all its humor and interesting information, the book also presents some important lessons that aren’t just applicable to getting fat. It describes how when you try to get fat, you’ll have two types of detractors: those who disagree with your goal of gaining weight and those who don’t want you to succeed in anything due to their own issues with self-loathing, lack of discipline, and jealousy. The book advises to agree to disagree with the former and drop the latter because they’re toxic. An earlier passage describes how thin people have to fight off unwanted advances and never know whether people like them for who they are or what they look like. Once you’re fat, you don’t have to worry about that. You can base your self-worth entirely on your character and know that people like you for the right reasons. Towards the end, the book describes how “the true accomplishment is recognizing the control you’ve taken over your body and your life and knowing that you can achieve anything that you set your mind and mouth to.” (p. 179-180)
Overall, I enjoyed the book. The only drawback was that it seemed to gloss over the potential health effects of getting fat. It actually offers at least one health benefit. In my opinion, society pulls us in two directions: one is the “cult of thin” and the other is all the best-tasting, fattening food we can eat. How to Get Fat is refreshing because it just focuses on one direction.
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