Anyone read "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

Carrie3146 · 06-28-2008, 09:44 PM

Just curious if anyone here has read this book? I'm reading it now, and finding it very interesting. I never would have thought that a messy house and overeating would have anything to do with each other (and I'm sure that sometimes they don't), but for me, I can now see how a lot of things might tie in.

For me, I think maybe I was dealing with overall pattern of "neglect." I never thought of it that way before, but I was letting junk just sit around my apartment for no reason - it was just easier to leave a broken TV sitting in the same spot on the floor for two years than to get rid of it; it's easier to leave piles of papers, catalogs, etc. on the table than to put them away, etc. So I neglected my home, and I certainly neglected myself, letting myself get to this point. It was easier to eat than to be bored or hungry...and probably it was easier to have being overweight as an excuse for various issues too.

In the month or so that I've been trying to lose, I've also felt an urge to clean up and fix up my apartment, and I've started to do that now too.

Anyone else going through anything similar? And/or does anyone have any feedback/comments on the book?

Suzanne 3FC · 06-28-2008, 10:14 PM

I read it and loved it! I recently went on a serious decluttering spree and actually did lose a few pounds in the process. I'd like to read his other book!

djay · 06-28-2008, 10:21 PM

Carol,
You are telling my story! I think I knew it was alltied together in a general catagory of not taking care of myself. I will have to read this book.

auntie g · 06-28-2008, 11:29 PM

I read it and loved it too! I also read the other one "It's All Too Much". I love the way Peter Walsh says things- he makes you look at things in a different, direct way. I highly recommend his books!

snapless · 06-29-2008, 12:01 AM

No, but I saw it in the store the other day and almost bought it.

I can't stand clutter...but yeah, the more I let my body go to &*($#, the less I wore makeup, the less I cleaned, the less I de-cluttered, the less I cooked healthy meals.

My husband has not only commented on the weight I've lost, but on my taking better care of myself, our house, our family. The better I feel about myself, the better I make my environment.

mizm · 06-29-2008, 12:26 AM

I saw the author on Oprah and then I bought "Does this clutter make my butt look fat?" I borrowed "It's all too much" from the library just yesterday. I think both are very insightful and help me understand how things can get out of hand. I'm dealing with my family home which has three generations of stuff filling the house and our farm buildings. Both my mom and I tended to put emotional significance to objects because they help us remember the past. My mom also never wanted to part with anything that she thought might be needed sometime in the future. In fact this was a major issue between us, even though I have the same issues. I'm a very visual person, so if I just look at something it will bring up lots of memories. Now that mom passed away, I'm dealing with heaps of emotion and guilt about needing to just get rid of some of it. Both of these books help me deal with some of these issues.

auntie g · 06-29-2008, 08:34 AM

" Now that mom passed away, I'm dealing with heaps of emotion and guilt about needing to just get rid of some of it."

This is what I love about Peter Walsh- a lot of times we need to be reminded that the THING is not the PERSON. Guilt is not a good reason to keep stuff. The things around us should bring us pleasure, and if they don't, then out they should go! And if something IS really meaningful, then it should be displayed, not stuffed away in a box. Best of luck to you, mizm!

Carrie3146 · 06-29-2008, 10:50 AM

I don't actually keep that much stuff just for the sake of keeping it. The things I keep as reminders of special times, people, etc., are generally small, and as auntie g suggested, either on display, or put away where I can find them if I want to. I'm a big fan of photos, but I haven't been IN a photo I can stand to display in a while now.

My problem is more with just leaving stuff lieing around. Maybe it's laziness (some of it definitely is!). And I've been real big on putting things off too ("I'll do that next week," "I'll eat better tomorrow," etc.). I actually feel good when I throw out piles of stuff, and always have. But I have to get to getting around to it.

Chelby29 · 06-29-2008, 12:03 PM

There is another book called "Body Clutter" by Marla Cilley. She is also known as The Flylady. That book examines the correlation between being overweight and the clutter in your home and life. Her book is more of a 'how to get rid of clutter' book. It's a good read.

auntie g · 06-29-2008, 12:30 PM

Another good one indeed, Chelby! Gotta love FlyLady!

snapless · 06-29-2008, 08:29 PM

Flylady's website

Carrie3146 · 06-29-2008, 09:48 PM

Thanks for the FlyLady tips! I did the sink-cleaning today

When I told my sister I'd scrubbed the kitchen sink (a day after I'd said my floors were even shiney in some places), she said ,"Who are you, and what have you done with my sister?!"

sheski · 06-29-2008, 10:15 PM

I have not read the book, but I know for myself that it is just since I have started to try and get serious about removing the excess stuff from my life that I have suddenly gotten the urge to make a serious attempt at getting rid of the excess me in my life. I have a lot of ups and downs in my moods and willpower, but there definitely seams to be a correlation between my surroundings and my eating habits. Lately when I get rid of 'things' that I do not use or do not need, I feel kind of exhilarated and then realize that a salad sounds better than pizza for dinner. I will find the book and read it asap, because I am still a battling the reluctance to get rid of everything unnecessary. Thanks for bringing the book to my attention.

Ailey60 · 06-30-2008, 04:32 AM

I've got "Does this clutter,,," reserved at my local library. Apparently i'm not the only person in my neck of the woods asking that question

I hadn't heard of his other book but i feel like "it's all too much" a whole lot so i probably should get my hands on that one too.

As for Marla Cilley and her bodyclutter book i'm familiar with her and her flylady ways and tried to get that whole program going several years ago. However i found myself resisting doing things exactly her way but couldn't give myself permission to adapt her program for me. What i'm doing now with my weight loss plan is exactly that--i'm taking some basic ideas and figuring out how to work with them and them with me. So maybe there is hope for me revisiting the flylady and her flying ways and doing the same with her ideas. This is the first i've heard of her bodyclutter book.

sounds very intriging

Carrie3146 · 06-30-2008, 09:13 PM

I signed up on the FlyLady website. I have to say, at a time when I'm trying to get rid of things and simplify, all those daily emails are a bit much! Plus they send you 31 steps and you're supposed to do one a day...I don't know about that. I did do the sink-cleaning, and actually did feel, good about it. I even went in there tonight and thought, "Wow. That sink has NEVER been so shiny!" But I already get dressed very day for work, and I'm not going to clutter up my newly clean areas with post-it notes all over the place reminding me to clean up! LOL! Like Ailey said, I'm going to see what I can get out of her ideas by adapting them...

Meanwhile I'm still reading the Clutter book and it's making me think a lot. I can't say I ever thought of the relationship before, but it makes lots more sense now.