Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I saw Stephanie Klein speak at SXSWi 2009 this year and because of it, I bought a copy of her book, Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp. In the book, she relates the tales of being sent to fat camp every summer.

I really expected her experience to be similar to mine. Every summer, my sister and I were sent to Montana to stay with our grandparents. Every summer, we dropped weight because our grandma was starving us and sending us to so many active classes that our bodies had no choice but to get slim. I ended up scarred with bingeing behavior built right into my personality, but Stephanie’s experience with fat camp was completely different.

Instead of damaging her self-esteem, it seemed to help her be stronger. Here are some of the awesome quotes I gleaned from her book:

I’d heard it all the time, ‘Live in the moment.’ But if I did that, I’d weigh more than a dump truck. Losing weight wasn’t about the moment at all; it was about having faith in the future. It was about knowing there would be another meal in a few hours.
– Stephanie Klein, Moose, 2008

I already knew to eat clean and listen to my body, to only eat when I was in a calm mental state. Everyone knew. But when you’re fat in the head, it’s never about knowing the answers. It’s about living them. – Stephanie Klein, Moose, 2008

When we die, no one remembers us for what we weighed. Our weight isn’t etched into our headstones.
– Stephanie Klein, Moose, 2008

That’s the thing about being a former fat camp champ: when asked if I’d change my past if I could, I always answer no. The pain of being an overweight kid, the humiliation, make you think twice before ever cutting anyone else down.
– Stephanie Klein, Moose, 2008

There’s something almost perfect in the ugly duckling syndrome. Because a sensitivity is tattooed on a part of you no one else can see but can somehow guess is there.
– Stephanie Klein, Moose, 2008

If you have been looking for a good summer read, check out Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp by Stephanie Klein. It was great fun for me to read and even healed my damaged soul just a bit.