It Was Me All Along: A Memoir

Sad and eye opening, but couldn’t put it down.

It Was Me All Along a memoir by Andie Mitchell didn’t inspire me in the way that I was expecting but it did reinforce many of the thoughts and ideas I have used for weight loss in the past. I found that it was indeed thought provoking. I thought that it was very well written with vivid descriptions. It may be that this book was part of a promotion for her blog and cookbook but it was good reading. Andie Mitchel doesn’t offer a magic pill for weight loss but what she does offer is a message that through self discovery, hard work, persistence, exercise and proper nutrition a person can lose a huge amount of weight in a reasonable amount of time….and in her case 135 pounds.On a personal level I could relate to much of what she had written about her body fat, her feelings, and the emotional triggers that fueled her compulsion to eat.A turning point became apparent when Andie started thinking less about herself and her weight, focusing more on extra curricular activities. This improved her self esteem. Most fat high school girls probably don’t have those opportunities that bolster their self esteem.As a result she later approached dieting able to have good days which snowballed into good weeks.Everyone needs to have“that moment”, that aha moment when they are at the lowest point, when they finally come to the realization that they have to lose all the weight, once and for all. For Andie it was the day she stepped on the scale and saw the numbers 268, which to her meant she was approaching 300 pounds.On page 126 there is a reference and a basic endorsement of the Weight Watchers Point System for its structure and the required discipline. She was able to do this on her own which in itself is pretty amazing.She mentions journaling as a tool that taught her awareness of hunger & fullness, and accountability. She explains that it changed her view of food and changed her values about eating.On Page 127 how many times have I thought this very same thing and never said it out loud? Reality “…you’re going to have to keep at this another 10 months—give or take forever if you want to keep this weight off.”I wish I had a mother like Andie’s AND at the same time I am glad I didn’t have a mother like Andie’s. Andie’s mom loved her daughter unconditionally and never had a critical word to say about her appearance, even when having to pay extra money for alterations for plus size formal wear. I hope Andie pays her mother back with interest for the $15000.00 her mom took from a hard earned retirement account to pay for her daughter’s abdominoplasty. Andie’s mom celebrated every event with food and was unwittingly an enabler in her own daughter’s food addiction.Page 160 through 163 there were some powerful revelations and ultimate truths…She wrote” the only way to get through food addiction is by making peace with food and uncovering the reasons we use food for anything other than hunger, Recognize the danger of placing value judgments on certain foods like “chocolate cake = bad”. View food as a neutral entity.”“In order to heal, food must become a friend rather than the enemy.” She visits a therapist and discovers the root cause of her father’s alcoholism and her food addiction was depression. An antidepressant was prescribed for a short time. Often antidepressants can impede weight loss. She was fortunate that in her case it did not.She embraces the words once said by a lady she met from “Over Eaters Anonymous”. They were “Can You Do IT Today?” That’s one to remember.It Was Me All Along is about self loathing and self love, acceptance of self at any size, and a testament to personal growth and enlightenment as part of anyone’s weight loss journey.

I enjoyed this book and related to a lot of it, but I found it a little triggering when she would talk about her weight in numbers. Personally, I don't think being 5'9 and 200lbs is all that big, and she described herself like she was a whale. Those moments were a little insulting and harmful, but otherwise I enjoyed it.

I truly, wholeheartedly enjoyed every page, paragraph, and sentence of this memoir. Not knowing what to expect, and having found it by mistake as I was browsing the web, this book immediately became something I couldn't put down (I don't normally get this way with nonfiction). As I read through it, I realized there was so much good stuff in it that I wanted to remember, that I had to search the house for a highlighter. Even though my personal story with food addiction isn't as severe at Andie's, it still resonated with me. It was a relief to see my feelings and struggles put into words. I quickly realized that this book was about overcoming an eating disorder (overeating, binge eating, emotional eating). The best part about this book is there's a happy ending, which gives hopes to us all, even those suffering as bad as the author did. And if that doesn't help get you through the day, I don't know what will.Here are some quotes from the book that I loved. I hope you find this book as lovely as I did."I am a lifetime practitioner of secretive eating, after all. I knew no way other than eating to alleviate the loneliness, to fill in the space where comfort and security could have been.""Once you've decided on a binge, it's almost impossible to stop. Turning back is driving all the way to Florida from Massachusetts, straight through the night, and arriving bleary-eyed and exhausted, only to decide it would be better to turn around and head back up north rather than nap in the sun on the beach for a bit. It's starving for a day, only to enter a buffet line with no plate, no fork, no knife, no spoon. You consider using your hands, no matter how barbaric, how publicly embarrassing. It hardly feels doable to go back on what you've decided will be a swan dive into pleasure.""I cursed each ounce of flesh. As if the fat had arrived of its own accord and set up a commune on my hips, thighs, and love handles. I wished it would leave, quietly and quickly. In those minutes, losing weight felt all at once easy and impossible. I knew how to do it. Even a person with the most basic health knowledge knows how to lose weight: You must move more. You must eat better. And you cannot binge-eat.""I hated the binge last weekend, and I wished I could do it again. I wanted to eat less, and I wanted immediately to eat more."

I enjoyed this book for the most part. I'm glad that I have been enjoying my latest routine with lots of vegetables and fruits, and so all the food descriptions didn't really bother me or make me hungry. If nothing else, they became a little on the boring side. I wanted to say, "Enough with all this food already!" Also, I wasn't too happy hearing about her abusive father, but of course he played a part in how she started to abuse food. If people have dysfunctional families, they have a right to write about it; it's just that I wasn't expecting this.The roller coaster ride Andie Mitchell was on as a child, teenager, and young adult is an interesting story, and I felt empathy for all that she went through. I've had my struggles with food, and so I know that controlling one's weight and developing balanced attitudes in regard to food are challenging tasks. I applaud Andie Mitchell for a job well done.

This was a truly inspirational book thanks to Andie Mitchell's honest, no holds barred style of writing. I can really relate to her story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. People do treat you differently if you lose a lot of weight and you do feel under scrutiny and fair game for comments. The message of "it was me all along" really rings true as the people who love you do so at any size. Weighing more or less than average doesn't make you less of a person. Congratulations Andie on your journey and thank you for sharing it with us so eloquently. I shall check out your blog and I look forward to your next publication.

The best book I have ever read. Very moving and If you have ever struggled with your self image or body confidence, even ever had struggles with food this will help. Puts things into clear perspective and is one you can read every couple of years of you need a but of a pick me up.

This was a beautiful book. A truly inspiring story, about a beautiful girl. What laughs smiles and tears.I would recommend this book to anybody. I lovely memoir, I am looking forward to reading more on your blog.

A very open, honest and fascinating autobiography by a woman on a weight loss journey. If you are in need of a little inspiration you are likely to fine it in this book. I couldn't put it down.

The quality of this book's sheets is the same as newspaper's sheets. For £9.90 it should be of better quality. The writer shouldn't allow that. It creates a really bad first impression that understates the content of the book. That's a shame.