|
Insurance Travel Information
Mike Living Large
Mike Living Large: A Big Man’s Ideas on Weight, Success, and Acceptance. - Critical Response to Living Large
"LIVING LARGE is a searingly honest and compelling account of one man's lifelong struggle with an addiction to food—by one of Washington's most successful lawyers and political operatives. Michael Berman's insightful guide to living a 'large' and happy life will be meaningful to all readers, large and small. It is also a love story—the story of an extraordinary man and his wife, written with humor and grace."
- Andrea Mitchell, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, NBC News
"[LIVING LARGE] will help everyone who knows anyone who's struggled with weight."
- Sylvia Rimm, Ph.D., author of Rescuing the Emotional Lives of Overweight Children and the New York Times bestseller See Jane Win
"Michael Berman's story of life in the throes of food and weight obsessions is, by turns, eloquent, heartbreaking, funny, and poignant. As one who has been there and escaped, I heartily concur that sensible eating, moderate exercise, and self-acceptance, no matter what your weight, are indispensable parts of any treatment program."
- Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D., coauthor of Runaway Eating
"LIVING LARGE is a candid, sometimes brutally honest story about living with obesity. Anyone interested in understanding obesity and learning how to deal with it needs to read LIVING LARGE."
- Morgan Downey, Executive Director, American Obesity Association
"There is a bit of Mike Berman's journey in anyone who has ever struggled with weight management. LIVING LARGE is not a diet or a how-to book but rather a brilliant memoir full of insight; its special wisdom will help the obese, their families and friends, and their physicians."
- Dr. Arthur Frank, Medical Director of the George Washington University Weight Management Program
- Living Large in the News
Washington Post Chat Transcript
Mike speaks with WashingtonPost.com readers.
Washington Post: "The Measure of a Man"
This in-depth profile of Mike chronicles his lifetime battle with weight and acceptance.
Good Morning America Appearance
Watch Mike and Carol's appearance on GMA.
ABC News/Good Morning America Book Excerpt
The "Living Large" introduction is featured on the ABC News Web site.
Hardball with Chris Matthews Transcript
Mike discusses "Living Large" on a recent telecast.
St. Paul Pioneer Press Q&A
Mike offers candid responses in this detailed Q & A interview.
Obesity Issue Looms Large
From The Wall Street Journal Online
The Politics of Fat
From Time Magazine
In 'Living Large,' Berman comes to terms with size and self
From AZCentral.com
In 'Living Large,' campaigner comes to terms with size and self
From The Ithaca Journal
"Obese Patients Increase Need for Specialized Med Care"
From Abundance Magazine
Big is beautiful, preaches lobbyist Berman
From The Hill (second story)
Leisure Reading
From deseretnews.com (second story)
The Note
From ABC News
Weighing in on Weight
From Roll Call
'Living Large' is natural to obese adults, author says
From Ft. Worth Star Telegram
Radio Interview: Wisconsin Public Radio
From "The Ben Meren's Show," 3/20/06
Radio Interview: NPR
From "Radio Times," 3/21/06
A Beltway insider is downsized
From "The Los Angeles Times," 3/31/06
Coming to Terms With Being Big
From "The Ledger" (Lakeland, Fla.), 4/4/06
Family Matters Radio with Caroline and Jacquie (Part 1 of 2)
Audio Interview
Family Matters Radio with Caroline and Jacquie (Part 2 of 2)
Audio Interview
- Living Large: Introduction from the Book
MY NAME IS MIKE BERMAN. I'm 66 years old, five feet nine inches tall, and I weigh 247 pounds. Today, that is. Over the course of my adult life, I've weighed as much as 332 and as little as 217. I've spent years commuting between 230 and 280; I've crossed the 300-pound threshold four or five times. I would reckon, conservatively, that when all my ups and downs are figured in, I have gained and lost well over a thousand pounds—more than three times my total weight, even at my heaviest.
In short, I am a fat man. But I am also a happy man. Yes, those two things can go together—though it took me a lot of years, a lot of pain, and a lot of psychotherapy to realize that.
Along the way I realized something else as well: that my best chance for peace of mind and also for controlling my weight lay in accepting my situation. I don't mean giving up on the hope of being thinner; I have always tried to lose more weight, and I always will. I mean being honest and realistic about what I'm up against. I've accepted the hard but liberating notion that I have a disease. My fatness is not a function of "will-power" or "discipline" or "laziness" or "weakness." It's the result of physical and psychological factors that are outside of my control. Like diabetes or flatfeet, my fatness is a chronic malady that can't be cured but can be managed.
Let me make it clear that having a disease is no excuse to shirk responsibility. I have a problem, but I am not helpless. I don't see myself as a victim. I refuse to be passive or self-pitying when it comes to my well-being. Every life has its difficulties, and being fat is one of mine. That's just how it is. Still, I have a choice—a choice made far tougher and more complicated by my disease, but a choice nonetheless—as to whether or not I eat that piece of chocolate, whether or not I keep my appointment with the treadmill.
But responsibility is one thing; guilt is something else. Responsibility is positive, a duty we owe to ourselves, a matter of self-respect. Guilt is destructive. Guilt breeds desperation—and desperation makes it even harder to make good decisions.
In recent years—after more than six decad
|
 |
|
Else Useful links
|
 |
|
|
Archives
|
|
|
