How I Lost More Than a Quarter Ton and Gained a Life A moving funny tongue in cheek and deadly serious story about how one woman lost and found herself by going online Nancy Makin weighed an astounding pounds in May She was forty five years
A moving, funny, tongue in cheek, and deadly serious story about how one woman lost and found herself by going online Nancy Makin weighed an astounding 703 pounds in May 2000 She was forty five years old and suffered from diabetes and other obesity related maladies Thanks in equal parts to shame and logistics, she d been homebound for a dozen years But all that changedA moving, funny, tongue in cheek, and deadly serious story about how one woman lost and found herself by going online Nancy Makin weighed an astounding 703 pounds in May 2000 She was forty five years old and suffered from diabetes and other obesity related maladies Thanks in equal parts to shame and logistics, she d been homebound for a dozen years But all that changed after a gift from her sister a computer A technophobe, Nancy ignored it for months, until finally boredom and curiosity pushed her into cyberspace And there, in a political chat room, she found the friendliness, the connection, the acceptance she d been missing for so long Nobody flinched when Nancy spoke up people treated her with the same respect accorded to anybody else Thanks in great part to these new emotional connections, Nancy s life was transformed She followed no particular diet plan no pills, potions or ab crunching exercises played a part There was no silver bullet, no magical, elusive ingredient and yet today Nancy has lost than 530 pounds Nancy s tale is one of redemption, a story of reevaluating her worth and insisting she had value simply because she was human It will show a growing America that there is hope, there s always hope if you believe
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703: How I Lost More Than a Quarter Ton and Gained a Life - Nancy Makin
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Nancy Makin
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Title:
703: How I Lost More Than a Quarter Ton and Gained a Life - Nancy Makin
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Published :2019-09-15T19:33:27+00:00
Nancy Makin Is a well-known author, some of his books are a fascination for readers like in the703: How I Lost More Than a Quarter Ton and Gained a Life book, this is one of the most wanted Nancy Makin author readers around the world.
724 Replys to “703: How I Lost More Than a Quarter Ton and Gained a Life”
The outline of this book sounds a lot more coherent than it really was. It reads like an adaptation of one of the author's motivational speeches, and I am guessing it probably was, because that is how the author makes her living these days. So it's not in a conventional autobiographical format.Which is too bad, as there's some fascinating stuff there. The author was raised in an Irish Catholic family of girls in Seattle, only to be yanked out of that environment at a young age to be subjected to [...]
Not a typical weight-loss book, which is a good thing. After getting to an all-time high of 703 pounds, and isolating herself from all social interaction, the author has pretty much given up on life. Until she finds a way to reconnect with the people again through the Compared to society's negative opinions of the morbidly obese, internet friends don't judge on appearance, and Nancy is slowly able to rebuild her self-esteem. Once she starts caring about herself again and finding joy in living, [...]
This was a fascinating memoir of a woman whose weight ballooned to 703 pounds and who was homebound and living on disability. Her childhood was strange as she had 7 sisters and a strict Catholic mother who dominated her husband. When she was a little girl the family left their comfortable life in Seattle and joined an off-shoot monastic community in Quebec that had been formed in defiance of the Vatican II reforms. It is a horrible, bordering on abusive, experience that seems to be one of the ob [...]
When Nancy Makin weighed herself in 2000, she was 703 lbs. She was barely mobile, never left her home, and had all kinds of obesity-related health problems. Even though she knew her weight was problematic, she wasn't really able to do anything about it until she developed a sense of self-worth - this, oddly enough, she did by connecting with people online. Her sister gave her a computer and she went out onto the internet and forged friendships and relationships in cyberspace. This activity distr [...]
The book took a while to get off the ground, but was fairly interesting. Those looking for food plans or diet tips should look elsewhere. This book is the personal journey of someone who had a weird childhood and became isolated as an adult by her weight which eventually became 703 pounds. She talks about how overweight people have to think of things others don't think about. Spindly chairs, especially chairs with arms, are enemies. Narrow store aisles. Air flight? Forget it. Stairs? Another ene [...]
An admirable story, told in fairly plain prose with the occasional dip into self-helpy love yourself moments. While not a scholar or a gifted author, this book still has a few clear and important messages. Overeating is not about food, and yes, America has some issues with fear, control, and appearance. None of these things are new or surprising, but the author does a good job of laying her thoughts out simply and directly. Not an amazing read, but still, you want to applaud the intentions. And [...]
This book was . . . odd. It started out being a memoir about the author's childhood experiences in a cult, which was actually pretty interesting. The rest of the book, however, seemed to consist of a lot of "People were mean to me and then I moved, and then I lost my job and then people were mean to me and then I lost weight." And her weight loss "plan" appears to be "I got a job cleaning houses, and became so obsessed with the internet that I forgot to eat." I'm not really sure what this book w [...]
The author had a top weight of 703 lbs. She lost the majority (over 500 lbs) of that weight and recounts her story here in hopes of inspiring other people. It was a decent story. The author started the story as a child and worked her way forward, but there were large gaps in time in her story. I listened to the audio, so sometimes lost where we were: what age she was, what weight. I found her childhood particularly interesting. She never really said how she lost all the weight, but I still found [...]
This is a memoir of a women who works her way up to, and then back down from 703 pounds. I was morbidly curious, frankly I'm disgusted by people that get to be over say 350, and cannot fathom it. However, it happens, it happens a lot, and there has to be some very good reasons for it. I know that sounds terrible for me to say, but I'm sure I am not alone in the sentiment and it is true. Even with my Sociology degree, respect and understanding for the morbidly obese was not discussed and certainl [...]
I cannot imagine having a life like this author, her parents were a bit different. Especially her mother. They took the whole family to a convent type establishment in Canada and the children were seperated from the parents. Nancy, the author, adored her father and being seperated from him was extremely difficult for her. Food was scarce and many times rotten. She learned to hord when she could and to over eat when the food was good. After the convent she moved around and then ended back up ther [...]
Interesting read about a woman who loses hundreds of pounds -- except the book isn't really about losing weight, as much as it is a detailing of her abusive childhood and eventually finding affirmation in her adult life. It reminded me of The Glass Castle, except not as well written, since this book didn't have a solid theme. I scanned some reviews before I read the book, and some people were upset that she didn't give details as to her weightloss, which didn't bother me at the time -- I mean, w [...]
This is a surprisingly good book. This is not just another weight loss story this is a REAL overview of this individuals extremely real struggle with emotional eating and how she is able to turn her life around. As an eating disorder therapist it was great to read a book that did not revolve around a diet, but rather focused on real life solutions and a real life plan. Nancy is likable and you truly desire for her to make it to a better place in her life and it is a joy to watch as this unfolds. [...]
Really loved this book. Most of it took place in my hometown which made it that much more interesting. I've always been interested in people's struggles. She tells an engaging story with a wonderful outcome. Read the majority of it in one sitting.
Was good.I found the start a bit whiny - but she wasn't as near as much "victim" as I thought it would be. Which was amazing!!!I like how it didn't just chronicle the weight loss, but also from childhood, and her pregnancy and birth, and the actual gain of the weight as well. A great book - for those struggling to lose - as well as everyone else. We need to share our stories and become better for it - not stay in our own little world.
FAscinating book, although the editing could have made it a better book. The beginning went on too long, but Nancy is such an endearing narrator that you can't help but keep turning the pages. She is so frank and open and funny. Her outlook is refreshing and her story while perhaps shocking, is ultimately inspiring.
Well written, engaging and inspirational.
The tail end was full of eye rolls. She comes from a different era, kept insisting she loved men and wasn't one of those feminists. Meh.
Nancy, the 4th of 6 girls, grew up in a traditional home in Seattle as the daughter of an engineering father who worked for Boeing and a stay-at-home mother. Florence Makin was an extremely religious woman and certainly held all of the power in the Makin family. She singlehandedly decided that they would sell their home and move the family to a religious cult's compound in the wilds of Canada. Here the girls would be separated from their parents and each other and would live in dorms with others [...]
Like most weight loss memoirs, most of the book talks about how the author gained weight, and very little of the story focuses on the loss. It was a nice enough story, but not what I was looking for.
This is a memoir, and not really about weight loss, but more about personal discovery. While the author covers enough ground to show the reader her childhood on up through some pretty wild experiences through to her highest weight, and down the slide to a more conventional size and a great new life as a motivational speaker, it isn't *about* gaining weight or losing weight. It's about the author struggling to figure out what her joy is, her vocation, the thing she feels called by God to do that [...]
703 is the true story of Nancy Makin, who, at her heaviest, weighed 703 pounds. Her life was unusual from the start. As a child, she was sent by her mother to live in a religious cult which she hated. She got out a few years later, moving back home with her family. By 16, she was both a mother and a wife. As a young adult, she began putting on weight, and eventually, lived as a prisoner in her home, struggling to move around and rarely leaving her apartment. She felt trapped, alone, and desperat [...]
I wanted to read this book because I have been on my own journey of weight loss for over 2 years, and am currently hovering at 5 pounds away from my goal weight. I was hoping for a bit of inspiration by reading Makin's book, since she successfully lost over 500 pounds!Overall, I was a bit disappointed by the book. It focused more on Makin gaining her life than her actual process for losing weight, which was ultimately what I was most interested in. However, it was fascinating to read her describ [...]
The first third of the book was an okay read. Interesting and easy. Kept my attention.Middle portion I found myself hating her life choices and her points of view ("place of my own", I get where you are coming from feeling-wise, but a government housing isn't your own.) She got handed a lot of things because of pity, not because she earned them I have NEVER been given a car. The most I've been given by friends is a dinner. I'm not going to elaborate on the other handouts she got, but I seriously [...]
I read this book on a whim. It wasn't on my reading list but it was available from library when the one I looked for wasn't. Perhaps it was the title written in whipped cream or frosting that drew me in. At the beginning of the book I remember feeling uneasy and I considered not finishing it; and now I am glad I did not stop. It is a curious trend in America to look at people who are overweight with disdain, superiority, and even, disgust. We would never look at someone with cancer and say "you [...]
I've struggled with my weight my whole life, but I have not known what it feels like to reach a weight that traps you in your home. Nancy Makin lets us into that world and helps us understand just what it is like. I think a lot of people wonder how someone gets to a weight that keeps you from being able to move and she tells us that too. So many people think it's just laziness and that just isn't the case. Obviously I can't speak for someone at this weight, or for the author of this book, but I [...]
Chronicles the life of the author from an ideal childhood in Seattle to two trips to a cult because of her mother. There she is told she is a bad girl. She aspires to prove them right by becoming a teen mom. Marry and divorce, drunk, many jobs and eventually at an assisted living facility were she puts on weight to the extent she can no longer work and ends up in assisted housing herself.Her sister gets her a computer, she gets on-line and spends the day typing and forgets to eat! (Her salvation [...]
Interesting book about a woman who weighed in at 703 lbs and then lost about 500 of those pounds and gained her life back. I enjoyed reading her story.Most of the book was about the author's emotions and feeling trapped, but she was very, very vague on her eating, both before, during, and after her weight loss. She also seemed kind of judgmental at the end (towards the other contestants on Oprah and another oversized woman she got in touch with) which was a bit of a turn-off.What I found profoun [...]
Wow! This is biography of Nancy Makin. She, at one time in her life, was 703 pounds. This biography is an account of her rocky childhood and rough start to adulthood. I enjoyed reading her amazing journey through recovery, stability, and enjoying a thinner body and life was captivating. I loved her insight, her heart, and the sincerity to reach others struggling with obesity. Her mantra is that they are not alone, they are of worth and valued. That was the key. Nancy wants people to know that th [...]
This was an interesting book about a woman's stuggle with a food addiction which resulting in her weight to escalate to 703 pounds. The story was very depressing at the beginning, with her mother forcing the family to join a religious camp after Vatican II. It sounded like a living hell, and was so vividly described I found myself thinking of ways that I would escape as well.The story was more about how hard it was living in a 703 pounds body. How she dealt with everyday things. Food wasn't ment [...]
This was such an eye-opening inspiring book! It's so incredible what this woman went through; it's almost hard to believe it's true. In today's age where everyone seems to want to lose weight, mainly for appearance reasons, this book explains that weight loss comes only when you fully change your lifestyle and only after you've discovered the reasons you've gained weight. This book puts a human face on the obesity epidemic and should be recommended to everyone in an attempt to create an understa [...]