Publisher's Weekly

Ugel (Money for Nothing), freelance writer and Huffington Post blogger, opens his newest memoir with an evocative and eye-grabbing lead sentence ("I'm haunted by mirrors") as he allows us to follow the fat as it melts. He begins with his Bethesda, Md., family life, explaining how he became a freelance writer after he was fired in 2006. Snoring and sleep apnea sent him off to the Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders in Chevy Chase, where he learned he had to drop from 263 pounds to 213, which he saw as a monumental challenge: "Starting a real diet after so many years of eating anything I wanted was akin to turning around a cruise ship." Ugel's task becomes clear as he documents battles lost at lunchtime, candy binges and secret eating: "Every bite tasted like failure." As he visits a health club, gets a trainer, plays racquetball, starts a food journal, does daily workouts, and meets with a nutritionist, the pounds vanish. Recalling embarrassments, triumphs, and defeats, Ugel shares intimate moments of his struggle. After much denial and shame, confronting emotional and psychological issues while fighting his "inner demons," he eventually was stepping on the scales with a Rocky-like determination. When he details the delights of food, one can get hungry just turning the pages. (Aug.)

I am haunted by mirrors. With that opening line, Edward Ugel begins his journey to lose 50 pounds in 50 weeks. Perhaps it’s a hefty goal, but Ugel realizes dieting doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. After his wife Brooke shares concerns about his snoring (which she taped and played back for him) and he takes part in a sleep study, Ugel’s doctor hits him with the tough words: crisis and death. Thus, a deal is struck: Lose 50 pounds and you’ll no longer need a CPAP machine to help with breathing during sleep. Oh, and “you can see your wife’s face when she turns down sex.”

Ugel offers a humorous look at what it means to be male and overweight in America. His struggles to maintain an exercise routine and conquer his poor eating habits push him to find the root of his eating problems.

“But as much as I love food, I love my wife and two daughters more . . . I think. I want to be healthy so I can watch my girls grow up. I want to grow old with my wife. I want to be there for all of them as long as possible.”

A blogger for the Huffington Post and a freelance writer, Ugel comes to several startling conclusions. One is that he’s an emotional eater and food addict. He drops 46 pounds in 50 weeks, and although he doesn’t reach his goal, he feels successful about his year-long fatty project. And most importantly, he realizes maintaining the weight loss will be a life-long process that’s bearable with like-minded weight loss friends.

Ugel’s comedic, honest story of weight loss is better than a box of glazed donuts.

Reviewed by LuAnn Schindler