Ugel got a wake-up call on the subject of his weight (263 pounds) after his wife taped him snoring one night. The sound was deafening; he suffered from sleep apnea, and his doctor told him he needed to drop 50 pounds. The ensuing quest (“akin to turning around a cruise ship,” he writes) is the subject of this intimate, humorous account from Weinstein Books. Ugel stares down his “inner demons” while acquiring a trainer, a nutritionist, and working out daily in his struggle to “draw the line between being a lifelong foodie and a food addict.”

Source: Penthouse

Who doesn't obsess about favorite foods? Pizza, egg rolls, a creamy milk shake with whipped cream on top. But Edward Ugel's comical confessional, "I'm With Fatty," reveals food addicts suffer from food obsessions far deeper. Over time the weight packs on, the sleep apnea starts and suddenly you're strapping on a continuous positive airway pressure sleeping mask or facing a shorter life.

In his new book, Ugel bluntly chronicles the ups and downs of his "Fatty Project" quest to lose 50 pounds in a year in order to ditch the CPAP and save his life. He lost major weight with the help of a trainer and an empowering nutritionist who helped him realize he is a food addict. For all the guys who shamefully lust for food like a secret lover and the confused women by their sides, this book is for you.

That's Fit recently spoke to Ugel about the distinction between food addiction and simply loving food and how he's keeping the weight off now that the book is published and the unromantic sleeping mask is history.

That's Fit: How does a person know he's crossed the line into an eating disorder, such as compulsive overeating or binge eating versus just being a foodie?

Edward Ugel: Food addiction is something we can all relate to. For me, it was being asked questions by someone other than myself [his nutritionist, Janet] that maybe I knew the answer to but never asked myself. Do you eat late at night? Do you eat when you're angry? The same questions they ask other addicts. You start to realize this isn't just about me loving food, this is about me having some really unhealthy relationships with food at the same time.

Where is the line? Have you asked yourself the tough questions? Have you gotten on the scale and looked at your food history? Having a food journal was a real eye-opener to see if I was addicted to food or compulsively eating. I didn't go into Janet's thinking I was a food addict. Maybe that was incredibly naive, but I walked out of there completely comfortable with saying I'm a food addict.

TF: Are you still off the CPAP? Was it a trigger to the book?

EU: I am. It was a hell of a trigger; it sent a shock wave through my life. There's no way to look cool in it. There's no way to woo your wife in bed. There's no way to not feel like a complete schmuck wearing it. You have to wear this contraption because you have let your weight get out of control.

TF: At the beginning of the book you ask, "Can someone love food, love eating and still be able to change his body?" Now that you're nearly 50 pounds down, do you obsess about food the same way you did at 263 pounds?

EU: I am still passionate about food. Am I obsessed with it? No, not on a good day. But food is such a big part of my life. I grew up in a family of restauranteurs and am drawn to the art and passion that cooks share. I don't blame food for my weight; I blame me. The goal of the book was not to get rid of this food addiction but to recreate this relationship in a healthier way. I still look at the deli case, but I won't order anything, or it will just be be a slice or two, not a pound and a half.

TF: You lost more than 10 percent of your goal after colonics followed by a juice cleanse. Is this a winning combination for lasting weight loss?

EU: No, absolutely not. It's an unintended result of removing the toxins. But it was a hell of an experience and gave me great material for the book. It was an unbelievable week, doing things to or for my body that I'd never dreamed of. It was a real kick-start.

TF: Why the word "fatty" in the title?

EU: I purposely chose to use the word "fatty" because it's not only polarizing, but my weight and body issues have been a problem for me since before puberty. "Fatty" is a punch in the nose, I think it's going to draw people's attention. But for me it was really about trying to swallow this word so it no longer had such an impact on my personal life. I've always been so ashamed of my weight that it has precluded me from doing a lot of things in my life that I've wanted to do.

TF: If you can afford just one -- trainer or nutritionist?

EU: Absolutely, unequivocally, trainer. But if Weight Watchers was an option, I'd choose Weight Watchers. The last line of my book is, "I'm supposed to be here [at Weight Watchers]." I thought I was better than Weight Watchers, but it took about five minutes to realize that was a bunch of hooey. That place is for all-comers, and as long as you're willing to be honest with yourself, they can help. After the book was written, I went up a little bit, and I've used Weight Watchers to go back down. For someone in my skin, this is going to be a lifelong battle. I'm going to win some rounds and lose some rounds.

It's refreshing to see a new weight loss book with humorous stories a guy can appreciate -- like Ugel wolfing down box after box of Chinese while his wife was out of town. Now men may lose weight easier than women, but are they as equally insecure about being overweight?

Soure: AOL

We tend to think of fat women in this culture as tragic. But a fat man? Now, that's comedy! Except when it's not. What if the fat man-who is, admittedly, a very funny fellow-is a depressed and emotional eater who, at 36, doesn't want to leave the house and, after being diagnosed with sleep apnea (he snores like a rhino), faces the humiliating and scary prospect of wearing a mask with a chin strap to bed? So Ugel poses a challenge for himself: Drop the 50 lbs. he'd put on the past year in the same amount of time. "I wasn't looking to go on Oprah in a bikini...I just wanted the American dream: to sleep like a normal guy again so my wife could see my face when she refused to have sex with me." What follows is a witty account of colonics and juice fasts, punishing workouts with his trainer, and his five-day bender on Chinese and Thai takeout when his wife leaves town. The ending is predictably upbeat, and we cheer for him. But he, and we, know the truth: He is locked in a lifelong battle with Crispy Beef and Peking duck.

Source: People

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.

Source: SacramentoBookReview.com