Karen Linamen - A Waist Is a Terrible Thing to Mind: Loving Your Body, Accepting Yourself, and Living Without Regret

A book is crafted by many hands and hearts, and I wish I had the space to list the names of everyone who has contributed to this work. I dont, of course, but heres the short list.

I simply must thank all the irritating and/or clueless folks in my life who have, wittingly and unwittingly, driven me to cookies. And ice cream. And especially chocolate. Im not saying that seeking solace via chocolate is a good thing or even something one should try on a regular basis. But I can say that without my own struggles to make peace with my body and my emotions, this book could never have been written. At least not by me.

The people who have contributed to this project in a much more enjoyable fashion include my agent, Steve Laube, and Ron Lee, senior editor at WaterBrook Multnomah. Both of these men have proven themselves mentors, friends, and handholders extraordinaire. Kudos also to WaterBrook Multnomah production editor Laura Wright for her talents (and patience!) and to publicity manager Melissa Pirate Wench Sturgis and her amazing team of Elizabeth Johnson, Lynette Kittle, and Allison OHara. Thanks also to Joe Ramirez, a personal trainer who makes house calls, for rescuing me out of my carb coma and forcing me to work it in the discomfort of my own living room.

Finally, very special thanks to all the transparent and beautiful women who allowed me the profound privilege of getting to know them and sharing their stories in the pages of this book. Exploring their storiesand my ownhas been the stuff of transformation in my own life, and for that I am eternally grateful.

O kay, fine. I admit it. Im the girl of a thousand diets. Ive tried them all: Atkins, Grapefruit, Egg, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Diet Center. On and on, to ad diet nauseum.

Actually, the diet with which Ive had the most success is the Yo-Yo Diet, also known as the Dj Moo Diet, the diet I turn to whenever I get the feeling that I haveonce againput on weight and feel like a cow. I wish I could tell you that going on all these diets has made me svelte. Actually they have, if svelte stands for Still Voraciously Eating Lotsa Treats Enthusiastically.

Unfortunately, many of my friends share the same problem. Maybe theyre not bouncing up and down the scale on yo-yo diets like I am, but almost every woman I know has something she would love to change about her body, her shape, or the way she looks.

Knowing this about other people brings a bit of relief. Not that I want my friends to suffer. (In fact, I wouldnt wish this problem on anyone, not even the woman who whipped her car in front of mine and stole the first-row parking space I was about to claim in the Krispy Kreme parking lot.) But knowing that other women (and men) struggle to change their bodiesor, at the very least, struggle to change how they feel about their bodiesmakes me feel a little less well alone.

Apparently were all in this together. Even celebrities have this problem, which always amazes the rest of us because most celebrities have the money to hire personal chefs and personal trainers and personal fashion consultants, not to mention their own fleet of personal air-brush artists. I wouldnt be surprised if the wealthiest stars even hire personal binge doubles who wear the pounds in the relationship. Heres how it works: a movie star pigs out for a weekend and her binge double gains seven pounds. (If Dorian Gray had been raking in a movie-star salary, he would have gone this route instead of the more budget-friendly oil on canvas.)