Being Tubby and Podcasting About It: Listening Recommendations from Alan Zweig
By Alan Zweig, host of Tubby
Why Tubby & Why Now
I have a podcast called The Worst and another one called Tubby. The former is basically about criticizing all the bad shit in your life. The latter is about just one bad thing in your life — you’re fat.
The idea for Tubby came after I had spent the last three or four years listening to hundreds of podcasts about how to lose weight. I wondered if I could make a show about being fat that wasn’t about losing weight, or at least wasn’t only about losing weight, or at the very least if we ran out of topics and we had to talk about losing weight, we wouldn’t get too deep into HOW to lose weight.
Weight For It was the first podcast I heard that made me think my concept was feasible. I didn’t hear anything in his podcast about adipose tissue or triglycerides or even much about calories. It was just a fat man sharing his fat life. I found the show inspiring but I admit it was also made me wonder if there was room in the “fat space” for my show. We’ll see. Ronald Young Jr., the host of Weight For It, graciously agreed to be a guest on our show. If you’re asking me to recommend an episode, I think it was episode 4 where Ronald talked to a woman he once rejected for being too fat. Who knows how many times women rejected me for that reason?
Alan Zweig, photo credit
A few weeks ago I went looking to see if there were any more shows about being fat that don’t give you a bunch of weight loss advice. Shows about being fat not hosted by doctors or scientists.
Fat Guy Forum seemed to be a show like that. I liked the title. It gave me hope. It also scared me. If this was what I thought it would be — a bunch of fat guys sitting around talking about their bellies — then the only hope for my show would be people not knowing about this show.
I listened to the show and it’s more about weight loss than I initially assumed. The host was once 500 pounds and he is a big proponent of the keto diet, which he talks about a fair bit. But I do like the show. And I think he’s smart for going that route. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to sustain a show if I don’t veer hard into that territory. He’s done over 300 episodes, so the proof is in the pudding, as long as it’s sugar free.
The last episode I listened to of Fat Guy Forum, episode 321, the gentleman named Joel kept me on the edge of my subway seat as he gained and lost weight. There was a part in the story where he had just lost 120 pounds and was feeling so good and everyone in his community was proud of him. And then somehow he gained back 150 pounds in six months and was afraid to show his face in his town. That was a beautiful story.
I don’t wish to single out any shows that give you hard scientific facts or informed opinions about how to lose weight. I have listened to a hundred of them at least. If you have one that you particularly like, I’d be interested to know. I lost weight and then I gained weight and now I’m losing again and I am constantly looking for extra little hacks that can prevent me from gaining it all back.
Maintenance Phase was one of the first podcasts I listened to when I started to become obsessed with weight loss — about five years ago. That show is all about debunking nutrition advice. And that stuff needs debunking, though all the debunking they and other shows do, can drive a person crazy too. And if you listen to all the debunking, you might start to feel like losing weight is impossible.
Tubby podcast cover art
How “Tubby” is Different
I had a guest like that on Tubby. This person was all about Fat Acceptance, and if you can’t lose weight you better find some acceptance. I’m not there yet.
One of the hosts, Aubrey Gordon, wrote a book called “You Need to Lose Weight” and 19 Other Myths About Fat People. Something tells me that the hosts of that show would not like Tubby, but I think if you want to listen to shows in what I’m calling the “fat space,” and you want a balance, add a little Maintenance Phase to your diet.
Intuitive Eating and Body Positivity is another podcast I found in that same fat acceptance phase. The reason I’m recommending another body positivity podcast here is to offset the possibility that some folks might think of my show, Tubby, as a fat-shaming show. I’m about acceptance too, even if I can’t get there myself.
I was attracted to this show because of episode 163, where they talk about how people look different in different mirrors or in a reflection in a store window. I have talked a lot about mirrors in my podcast, and often a store window reflection has ruined my day.
Apparently, there’s a scientific reason why you look fatter in a store window. Good to know.
Death, Sex and Money is a show I’ve been listening to ever since I had Anna Sale as a guest on my other podcast, The Worst. I love the idea that it’s a show about things we don’t usually talk about. I’ve done a number of films with a similar theme. My latest film is about suicide (Love, Harold, 2025). My latest podcast is about being fat. I imagine Anna has also done an episode about being fat, but if she hasn’t done one yet, I know a guest she could book.
Thank you to Alan Zweig for sharing this list with us. Listen to Tubby here.