It Was Me All Along

Andie Mitchell's memoir It Was Me All Along could be the story of many a person who struggle with their weight.

That didn't make it less interesting to me.

Instead, I enjoyed Andie's story, which begins with her childhood and the home she grew up in.  It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to see that her relationship with food had something to do with her father's alcoholism and her parents' marital troubles.  I'm not sure you can blame Andie's overeating on this entirely, but it does seem fairly obvious that the stress in the home caused Andie to turn to food for comfort.

As she enters adulthood and has a physical, her doctor says her weight aloud: 268 pounds, putting her on the path to weigh 300 pounds if she continues with the way she is currently living.

This causes Andie to take a look at her eating.  There are ups and downs, some binge eating, but Andie begins exercising and looking at how much food she is eating, making better choices.  The weight loss journey isn't easy.  

And it isn't just about the food.  Even after Andie has reached her goal weight, there is still the issue of food - this time restricting her eating too much.

I was instantly sucked in to Andie's story, and inspired by her own account of overcoming her issues with food.  A picture at the book's beginning shows Andie both before and after her weight loss, and it is easy to see that she is a beautiful woman at 268 pounds or 130 pounds, and as I read it became obvious that the beauty we see on the outside is also present inside.

It Was Me All Along is a must read memoir for anyone who has struggled with their weight, and even for those who haven't , to gain a better understanding of what people with food issues struggle with on a daily basis.