703: How I Lost More Than a Quarter Ton and Gained a Life

by Nancy Makin

Book Overview

A moving, funny, tongue-in-cheek, and deadly serious story about how one woman lost and found herself by going online. Nancy Makin weighed an astounding 703 pounds in May 2000. She was forty-five years old and had diabetes and heart disease. Thanks in equal parts to shame and logistics, she'd been homebound for a dozen years. But all that changed after a gift from her sister: a computer. A technophobe, Nancy ignored it for months, until finally boredom...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525951377
• ISBN13: 9780525951377
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

awesome book for people with a eating disorder

Wow what a great book for people who are either overweight or Obese or have an eating disorder. I recommend to anyone.

703 How I Lost More Than a Quarter Ton and Gained a Life

Read this book in two days. Inspiring story that is about much more than weight loss. In fact the weight loss was only a side effect of reaching out to others. Nancy's positive attitude and wit are uplifting.

703

This was an awesome book. This is one book I couldn't sit aside for a few days until the next reading. I had to finish reading the entire book well into the night, It certainly shed light on these issues of overeating and how this dysfunction can begin during childhood. It was so sad the course she had to take in life, but met wonderful people as she progressed. And, what a supportive son, who stuck beside his mother. I must commend her for a well-written book. It certainly helped me. This book had my undivided attention.

Could not put it down!

I just finished reading this book and was blown away by it. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone looking for motivation....not only to lose weight, but to get any part of their life back on track. Nancy's tale is a about her life and experiences, some of which are horrible, but in the end it's about being human and learning to love yourself for who you are on the inside - a lesson many people could stand to learn. It is not a book about "I only ate fruit and walked 5 miles a day", because there is so much more to her journey than that. All in all, I give it 5 stars.

A fantastic read!

What's probably going to get lost in all the hype that always comes with the subject of weight in this country is just how well written, how well organized, and how engrossing this book is. I went to bed the other night at 10, thinking I would read the first chapter. Well, the first time I even thought to look at the clock, I was 150 pages in and it was 1am! The last book to do that to me was some vampire teen book who-shall-not-be-named-because-I'm-holding-on-to-my-dignity-till-the-end. I never thought a book of this description would be so hard to put down. Nancy is funny, clear, direct, and always honest. She doesn't beg for sympathy or, for one second, pretend that she isn't responsible for her life. She lays it all out on the table and the result is surprisingly fascinating. This is neither a maudlin tale of woe that will have you rolling your eyes nor a bunch of cheerleading, "motivational" drivel encouraging you to walk off those pounds! You will probably hear that it's inspirational and it is. I would like to point out that it is so because it's so honest and so clear. Nancy doesn't veer off into cheap sentimentality or melodrama, even though her life story is very emotional and dramatic. It didn't make me cry so much as help me understand and that's what sets it apart. Nancy seems surprised by what she learned in her descent into darkness and her climb out of it. She offers that information to the world in this book with clear eyes and a fresh perspective. I was surprised myself. I hope you are too.