Gym or Chocolate by Jane Harvey-Berrick and Stuart Reardon

 Gym or Chocolate 

by 

Jane Harvey-Berrick and Stuart Reardon

"The laugh out loud, feel good story you've been waiting for!"

Career girl and radio host hotshot Cady Callahan has never met a chocolate she didn't love. She has curves and doesn't care.
She's shocked when a raffle ticket bought to support a veterans charity means she's won a year's membership to Body Tech, an exclusive Manhattan gym, where all the top athletes train and all the A-list actors go to get in shape for their action roles. She's also won a personal trainer in the shape of far too tantalizing Rick Roberts.
Rick is less impressed when Cady's arrival leads to a media circus. The retired British rugby ace runs a serious training facility, and he definitely doesn't have time for anyone who doesn't want to work hard.
When curvy Cady challenges him to train her to run a marathon by the end of the year, it seems a solution to both their problems. If ... when she drops out of training, his gym will go back to normal.
But Cady isn't planning on losing the bet--she just wasn't counting on any complications. And surly Rick is very complicated. And as tempting as the tastiest treat.


Every now and then there is this unexpected book that finds its way into your life and has a huge impact on it. "Gym and Chocolate" is one of those books for me.

When I started to read this book, I just expected a nice rom-com and a good laugh. I knew that I loved Undefeated and Model Boyfriend by this author duo and knew that no matter what, Gym or Chocolate wouldn't be too fluffy or without substance. What I didn't expect though was how much this book would resonate with me.

First, the obvious part. You can't read this book and not love Cady! She is an amazing character, sure of herself, confident and full of life and laughter. Rick stood no chance against her no matter how much he tried to stay professional and to resist her. He was the one who stood by her and cheered her on when she tried to reach for her...okay...dream?...her nightmare?....oh, well,  when she trains for a marathon. Cady, on the other hand, was the one who stood by him when he had to face stalking exes and sloppy seconds (those are never a good idea unless it's a donut...), the temptation of donuts and laughter.

Cady always stays true to herself even if that means that others spurn or ridicule her. She is fat, yes, she loves donuts (among other things) and she has enough confidence that she feels alright in her own skin. The first thing everybody thinks of when they see her is  how much weight she might want to lose when she is training at the gym. The loss of weight means nothing to her though but the freedom
and the power that her getting fit gives her, that is something that she really enjoys. With Rick's acceptance of her and her stance on that, they make a formidable team. Together they could even be able to achieve their aim -  and maybe find some love along the way. 

There were times when I laughed so hard that I couldn't read on because I couldn't see anything anymore. There were others when I swooned or was p...upset or...
I really loved every single page of this book with its positive view of fit and fat and everything in between. You see, it's just a single letter, fit or fat, but it means the world. You can be fit and you can still be fat but as long as you feel good and as long as you feel right, everything is alright. Being fit is a gift that is worth everything. I
loved how Cady simply accepted that she was overweight. She loved to eat and she wasn't willing to give that up but she was willing to work hard to become fit. Despite everybody having an opinion (and usually not a favorable one) when it came to her weight, she just felt good. She was who she was and she was right the way she was.

As someone whose life has always been overshadowed by diets, weight loss or gains and accidents, it was a wonderful feeling to read about a heroine like Cady who simply doesn't give a sh...

When I was born, I was underweight because my mother fancied Twiggy, the anorectic teeenager model at the time and had lost too much weight to carry me full term. 
When I was twelve, I was normal seized, rather slender actually but my mother wanted me to lose some weight because she thought that my lower legs were too round. That started a plethora of diets, weight loss programs and insecurities. I was still slender when I got pregnant. Both kids left me with some additional pounds but nothing too bad. I was finally at a point where I had accepted that I would never live up to my mother's expectations and didn't care to do so. At that point, I just wanted to make sure that my daughters would never feel fat or just "less". Less beautiful, less attractive, less. I'm not sure that I always did and said the right things, after all, I'm just human but, well, I hope that I did at least better than my mother (Don't get me wrong, I love my mother and I know that she loved me. Loving someone doesn't prevent us from doing or saying the wrong things.).

When our whole life was turned upside down one day, I couldn't eat as healthy as I was used to do so
anymore and I didn't care enough because we were fighting for my daughter's life. I didn't eat more but I ate less healthy and gained 12kgs/~23lbs. I never lost that weight but gained more when I myself got ill and needed medication. As a side-effect of that medicine, I gained another 24lb in six months. We tried to use another one, that didn't work and the next three months brought me another 12lbs. Throw in some chronic pain and stuff and I can honestly say that I haven't felt that I look "right" or ~gasp~ even attractive for a long time because of my weight. 
A couple of weeks ago I started to eat differently and to chose more plant-based food which seems to help because I don't eat less but I have started to lose weight - but what is more, I started to feel better, needing less pain ,medication so now I'm working on becoming fit. 

Reading "Gym and Chocolate" made me realize that I don't have to lose all that weight to be allowed to feel good about myself. I knew that I wanted to be fitter and healthier but I still felt that nothing would be alright till I lost enough weight to be attractive again and that being fit wouldn't mean anything without it. 
That has changed. And guess what - it feels great. I had made the first steps before reading this book but this book made me feel that it is okay. That it's not just something that I tell myself to feel better about my weight but that it's something that I can believe. 

Fit and fat...one single letter but a world of difference!

Excerpt

Cady

“Your fat ass stuck in that chair or what?” sneered Jerry Winters, the resident misogynist who followed my show—a man so vile, he brought out the homicidal maniac in most people, especially me. He hated the fact that I’d gotten the fast lane of morning radio, and he’d been sidelined into the slow lane of pre-lunchtime chat.

Thank you, karma.

I smiled sweetly.

“Aw, Jerry! Did someone wake up with a pineapple stuck in his rectum or is it just the way you walk?” I leaned in closer, careful not to breathe in anywhere near his halitosis. “Yes, my ass is fat but I should warn you … I ate the last person who commented on it.”

Then I snapped my teeth at him, making him jump.

I laughed as I sauntered away, amused by his huffy comment, “so unprofessional”.

I had a thousand comebacks for guys like him, guys who thought they could upset me by commenting on my weight. Screw him, or rather not. I had a great job, fabulous friends, as much sex as I wanted (thank you, Tinder), an apartment that cost me an arm and two legs but had an awesome view almost to Central Park, and I was comfortable in my own skin. That’s what guys like him could never understand—I didn’t give a rat’s ass what he thought of me.

   Or do you want to know more about Rick? 

Cady

As I approached the stage, smiling so widely my lips were plastered against my teeth, I realized that the grumpy man I’d nearly shoulder-barged outside the women’s bathroom was standing on the stage: Rick Roberts, the owner of Body Tech. Six-foot plus of honed and toned body, sharp cheekbones, soft lips, dark hair ruthlessly pulled back into a man-bun, a short beard, shot through with silver, which personally I found very sexy, hinting at maturity and experience … but wow, those angry, storm-filled eyes. He stared at me with growing horror in his expression which he failed to hide as he wordlessly handed me a gift certificate.

I accepted the envelope, planting a bright red, lip-shaped imprint on his cheek, then posed for photographs.

Nice aftershave,” I whispered to him, amused to see a dull flush redden his cheeks. “Thank you on behalf of XKL Radio,” I said more loudly, smiling and waving my prize in the air. “We’re so proud to support this amazing charity for veterans, and we thank you all for your service.”

“

Rick and I left the stage together, the grim-faced man holding my elbow as we descended the four steps. It was a gentlemanly gesture, but I wanted his condescending hands the hell off of me.

No matter how good he smelled.

Or how hot he looked in a custom tux.

 

 Oh, did I mention that those two didn't really start out as besties...?  ;-)