There are about 150 million overweight or obese adults in the country — with just about as many diet plans.

And Laura Galbato has just about had it with all the fad diets, weight loss pills and so-called experts touting the newest quick-fix approach to shedding extra pounds.

So Galbato, a former Niles resident and graduate of Niles High School, decided to do something about it in penning an in-your-face but comical self-help book titled “I’m Fat, Help Me.”

Dubbed as an “in-your-face guide for folks who want to lose their muffin-tops, cankles and big butts,” the book is “fairly direct,” Galbato said.

“We don’t have a health care system. We have an illness treatment system that fosters a mentality that it’s easier to pop a pill than take individual responsibility,” said Galbato, who writes under the pen name Laura Michina.

The tongue-in-cheek writing style and tough love approach to diet and exercise might turn some people off, but she said she hopes it will serve as a “wake-up call” to many readers.

“Some people could be offended, even though it’s not my intention,” she said in an interview from her Seattle home.

“I decided there are enough books that take the sensitive, politically correct approach. I’m trying to balance waking people up and writing in a style that’s interesting.”

Galbato, whose day job is in business consulting, has had an interest in writing since interning at the Niles Daily Star in 1980. Fitness, health and wellness are also among her passions. Throw in her sharp wit, and there were the makings of a book.

“I was concerned about the 150 million adult Americans who are overweight or obese. There are a ton of weight-loss books out there but why aren’t they working?” she said.

“This is a direct, practical approach.”

In about 150 pages, Galbato offers practical advice such as avoiding elevators and escalators — she calls them “mobile ass wideners” — and parking the farthest distance from the store rather than grabbing the closest possible spot.

“It’s about shifting paradigms. Why do we always park in the closest spot? That’s the type of thinking we need to change,” she said.

The book, which she self-published on createspace.com and was released last month, is available on amazon.com. Copies are also available locally at Majerek’s Readers World in downtown Niles.

For more information on the book, visit Galbato’s website imfathelpme.com or follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/lauramichina.