The Fattest Guy in the Room: 10 Reasons Why Being Fat Sucks! and 3 Reasons Why It's Not So Bad

by Sangiamo, Big Mike

• ISBN13: 9781456797720
• ISBN10: 1456797727
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-09-26
• Publisher: Author Solutions

Summary

Some people say we live in a society that is experiencing an obesity epidemic, a negative health trend that is crippling our country and hurting the future. In The Fattest Guy in the Room, Big Mike Sangiamo turns this topic on its head with an often humorous and occasionally serious account of his life as a thirty-two-year-old overweight man in today's America. While it may sound like a "scared fit for the fat man" type of book, its real target is society as a whole. Mike's straightforward and sometimes whimsical observations are brought together with a final life-changing message for everyone who reads this book. No matter who you are, whether you're built like a blimp or Mr. America, you will gain a brand-new perspective on life and on the challenges fat people face in their daily lives. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll laugh some more while reading this groundbreaking take from one of the most talented new authors to hit the literary scene in a while.

Excerpts

My name is Mike. As I'm writing this, I'm just two months away from turning 32 years old. The idea to write this book has been on my mind for a few years now. I always wanted to share my observations as a fat man in a skinny man's world, but I was never motivated enough to sit down and put the words on paper. That is, until now. I should also mention that as I type this out on my keyboard, I'm enjoying an ice cold can of red (Coca Cola), and one of my favorite snacks, a Nutty Bar made by Little Debbie! With that, you have a brief insight as to my problem, but before I go deep, I'll give you the broad strokes of my situation. I'm 5'6" and currently weigh about 330 pounds. In my opinion, I am extremely overweight and a disgrace to all those around me. Well, that may be a little melodramatic, but it is important for you to realize that I have a slightly warped view of myself. I have been a fat person my entire life. In fact, I was close to 300 pounds by the time I was 15 years old. At a very young age, I developed a pretty basic understanding of what being fat meant. Ya see, my dad was always a fat guy and although I had seen wrestlers who were bigger than my dad on TV, like Captain Lou Albano or King Kong Bundy, they kind of seemed imaginary and so for all intents and purposes, my dad was the fattest person I knew. For as long as I could remember, I would gauge my fatness based on the people around me, and in my mind, I was always the fattest guy in the room. I don't remember this being on my mind until I was in the 3rd grade. That's the first time I can recall actually noticing that I was the fattest kid in class. I think it's because there was another fat kid in school who was also named Mike. But I digress. I was in the same class with essentially the same people until the 8th grade, so I was branded as "The Fat Kid" early on, and I GREW into that role, year after year! I realized that being fat, by definition made me NOT COOL. So, being the social introvert that I was in those days, I just acted weirder and weirder to LIVE the NOT COOL lifestyle. How I got out of grammar school without being killed, I'll never know. One day I wore a Star Trek uniform to school and eventually, I earned my own row. This was a direct result of me hating my classmates because they made me feel like a piece of shit for being the fattest kid in class. I don't think I endured any more or less ridicule than the average over weight American kid. I don't remember being called the classic names, or anything like that, but I was teased and made to feel like something was wrong with me. I believe most of my feelings of being an outcast were related to the schoolyard. So what's the point of that part of the story? Here it is.... When I was 23, I looked back at photos from Grammar school and High School and while it may have been true that I was the fattest guy in the room all those years. From the photos; I didn't really look THAT FAT. In fact, I remember playing sports every single day after school. So while it was true that I had a big appetite and I was chubby or husky all those years, I wasn't really THAT FAT. Could this be true? I was really bothered by this. It's almost as if my terrible view of myself, as a result of always being told that I was fat, caused me to create this personality where I owned being the Funny Fat guy, which then lead me to actually become the horrible image I had in my mind. This was devastating to me, and I then entered a period of my life of intense depression. This is a period I have not come out of yet, but, it has afforded me a very unique opportunity to have a life experience as a Fat Man in a skinny mans' world. Like I said, I've wanted to share these thoughts for a while now, but that begs the question, WHY NOW? What is it about today, at this hour that I've decided to put my ideas to print? Well, here's what I think. All of my friends from High school; the ones who loved the funny fat guy, who kept me in their lives all the way through, they're all married and having babies now. They've settled into the life style that they will be in for the next 30 years until they retire, but I have not. Why is this? Is it because I'm fat? I don't think so, but it definitely could be. However, I think the most important reason to write this book is to help people that were like me back then. I took the crucial turn in the wrong direction and the wrong turn was OWNING my fatness. So, whether you're skinny and reading this for entertainment, or fat and reading this for answers, here we go. 10 Reasons why being FAT SUCKS!