Friday, March 23, 2012

My great big giant secret


I have a confession to make.  Over the past few months, I have to admit that my blogging has become a little sporadic, and I feel a little guilty about that.  As luck would have it, I do have an excuse.  It’s not that I haven’t been writing, it’s just that I have been writing in a different venue.  In fact, I just finished writing a book.

There you have it.  I buried the lead.

My very first ever, giant leap into the world of book publishing is about to come to life.  In fact, it’s at the printer as we speak, getting ready to be bound into real-life hard back books that will be found in real-life bookstores (electronic and otherwise).

And the title is?  Don’t laugh.


My face looks like I ate a bad piece of fish...
Weight Loss Boss:  How to Finally Win at Losing--and Take Charge in an Out-of-Control Food World

So what is this book?  Why write it?  More importantly, why read it?  Who’s it even for?

Allow me to answer in several blog posts leading up to (drumroll please) the book launch date on May 8.  Each post will make a case for why I wrote it and why one might be inclined to read it.  So here it goes, reason #1…

Reason #1:  To put my life on sordid display so that others may succeed

So who is the book is for?

I wrote it for anyone who is struggling or has struggled with weight – that’s most of us.  I wrote it with Weight Watchers peeps in mind, but I also wrote it for people who have never or even may never darken the doors of Weight Watchers.  Without pandering too much, I wrote the book for everyone that reads or has read this blog, and I definitely wrote for everyone who has ever posted comments on the blog (even the harsh ones!).  In fact, it was the people (you) who frequent my little blog that motivated me to write the book.

My motivation to write it came down to my recognition of a very simple truth:  none of us is alone in either our struggles or our victories.

I originally started writing the blog as a bit of an experiment.  I wanted to start writing about weight because I felt that too many guys avoided talking about the subject.  I felt that there needed to be more male voices talking about the challenges of living the healthier path, but most of us dudes were a little too sheepish to do so.  I made the decision to start opening up about my own challenges with weight, and I made the conscious decision not to write as the CEO of a big company.

What transpired over the next three years was both fascinating and ultimately critical in shaping how I would ultimately think about the struggle with weight and the obesity epidemic.  As I would start to share my demons in my blog posts, others would jump in and talk about how they experienced similar challenges.  People seemed surprised that the CEO of a big weight loss company would have so many of the same weaknesses and issues.  They also found it encouraging (or they simply liked watching me bare my soul), so I was egged on.  The deeper I got into my own self-examination, the more others responded in kind.

I originally thought that my blog would primarily appeal to male readers, but it quickly became apparent that I was off the mark.  I had many more women commenting and sharing their own experiences.   It seemed that the challenges that we face, man or woman, are much more alike than they are dissimilar.

All of this brings me back to that very simple truth.  For myself, when I’m having a bad day/week/month with eating, I tend to hold myself in bitter contempt.  I cannot help but beat myself up for all of my crummy habits that seem so hard to break.  I get stressed that this process of dealing with food seems never ending.  It’s easy to feel pretty alone, as if everyone else in the world has all of the answers and the discipline while I have none.  Yet what I have learned is exactly the opposite:  we all struggle with the same challenges.  When we share them out loud, we not only help ourselves, we help everyone in earshot.  Through this realization, we can learn to lean on each other and become stronger in the process.   None of us is alone.

So this brings me to the first reason I wrote the book.  If the CEO of a giant weight loss company struggles with all of the same issues and is willing to blurt them out loud, maybe others will be inspired to do the same.  So in the book, I bare my soul, my crummy habits, my peccadillos, and other bits of data that never needed to see the light of day.  I did it for myself, and I did it for anyone willing to toil through the book.

Next week.  Reason #2:  I’m pretty sick of hearing about will power

Important announcement

In making a decision to spend your hard earned money to listen to me blather, there is one important fact that you can take comfort in.  I made the decision to give ALL of the author (that’s me!) advance and royalties of the book to Share Our Strength (www.strength.org) to benefit their No Kid Hungry campaign.  You heard it right.  Neither I or Weight Watchers will make one red cent on this book.  Share Our Strength will spend the money much more wisely that I could ever hope to.

And yes, Amazon and Barnes & Noble have links active for pre-order.

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Loss-Boss-Losing----Control/dp/1609619013/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332511698&sr=1-1

24 comments:

  1. I will certainly pre-order for my Kindle! How generous of you to allow a charity to profit from your hard work. Yet another reason to admire you, Mr. Kirchhoff!

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  2. Awesome!!! I can't wait to read! (And love that Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry will benefit... bravo!)

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  3. So....is the "after" photo on your blog from the photo shoot for the cover? Or do you just happen to wear the same outfit a lot? :-)

    Can't wait to read the book!

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  4. I would have bought this book even if you had taken all the money right to the bank! What a generous offer you have made to Share Our Strength. You are good guy. I enjoy your blog so much and know that I will enjoy the book as well. Congratulations on this accomplishment.

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  5. I am excited to read your book. Will you be traveling around the country doing book signings?

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  6. First off - Congratulations on the book. Your decision to donate the money to Share our Strength is amazing!

    Can you please ask the publisher to make it available on Kindle?

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  7. Bravo! I'm thrilled about the book and wowed by the donation to Share Our Strength. Thanks for allowing us to share in your peccadillos. The reason I've devoted the last six+ years of my life to Weight Watchers as a Leader and a Coach is exactly that belief that we are so much stronger together than we could dream of being apart and one person's "weakness" is another's ray of hope.

    Kim

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  8. 1. Congrats! I look forward to reading it. I love that the proceeds go to charity.

    2. Dude, no Kindle? Flabbergasted.

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  9. I wondered what was going on with the sporadic posts. Congratulations I just placed my order.

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  10. Hi Dave, as one of your leader minions in the field, I also HATE the word willpower!! In my mind, willpower is all about deprivation...I prefer the term "wantpower"...as in "what do I want more, cake or weight loss"? :) Can't wait to read the next blog, and the book of course.

    Mophead in sunny FLA :)

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  11. You are awesome! I knew I was going to buy this book even before I read that you would be donating the proceeds to charity. It is nice to hear that other people struggle and beat themselves up like I do on occasion and know that I am not alone in my feelings/actions. Can't wait until May 8 and yes, I think you should do a book signing!

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  12. Thrilled about the donation, and about you putting yourself out there for our benefit. :) Thanks.

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  13. Really enjoy your blog and I know I will love the book, which I will be buying. Glad you wrote it. Congrats!

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  14. As another minion in the field (hi mophead!) I concur - I try to stress it's WANT power not willpower. And to know the proceeds going to charity - only makes me hold my head a little higher in the meeting room :) (Do you think that will make me look thinner?)

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  15. I can't imagine you have time to read comments, but I couldn't resist tonight. I just read this blog - 5 days after it was posted. The timing was crazy! I have been having discouraging thoughts because I just can't congratulate myself on losing 60 pounds when I have 50 or so left to go. I still see myself as the obese woman I am and it's hard to celebrate yet. Your post helped me realize that I am not the only person who goes through this. I am not alone.

    Thank you!

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  16. BRAVO to you and WW!! Can't wait to read it, and that the proceeds are going to help others is icing on the cake! This is a win-win-win for all involved...you, the readers, and the beneficiaries of the donations!

    Holly :)

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  17. I never knew you had a weight problem like the rest of us. I just thought you were the CEO of Weight Watchers and always as handsome as you are! It's brought a smile to my face that you have the same struggles we all do and that alone makes me want to buy your book!

    Congratulations!!!

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  18. Pre-ordered this book. Looking forward to the read!

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  19. Wow! As a fellow Leader I've enjoyed your column in the WW magazine. With so many more men in the meeting room now I look forward to sharing your blog and upcoming book w them. I agree that we have more in common than differences, but know that they will b motivated by your honesty and b able to relate. Going to pre-order my copy ASAP. looking forward to reading it :)

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  20. I can't wait to get the book and glad you are back to blogging! I see my writing as rewarding and therapeutic and I am sure you are finding the same. Congrats on the accomplishment and especially for the decision of where the profits with be going.

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  21. Just read the Comments. Kinda feel like I'm doing something illegal..? Not illegal like robbing a bank, but there's that whole privacy mail thing. I'm not finding that stopped me however... Congratulations on completing your book - what a journey, what a cool adventure! How wonderful for others to be able to share in your perceptions, your new-found revelations. There's nothing like the story of "the other" to make us feel no longer alone. We're so inclined to feel like an island, missing the finer points of relationship. Am looking forward to reading more...

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  22. As a WW leader and avid reader of your blog in the UK....

    Any advance order options for us across the pond? Kindle version will do fine! :-)

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  23. David,
    Wow-- thrilled to see this post! I have enjoyed your musings on the blog for some time, and am looking forward to the book. You are an example and a role model to so many, and your move to donate the proceeds makes my admiration for you raise even higher. Thank you.

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