I just finished reading a book called The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl.

The book is written about Shauna Reid, who chronicles her weight loss journey over the course of several years.

In the beginning of the book, Shauna is extremely self-conscious, depressed, and frustrated. Her sister convinces her to go to a Weight Watchers meeting, where Shauna faces the grim reality that at just 23 years old she is just over 350 pounds. From there, she becomes a “dieting super hero” and starts a blog so that she can share her experience with others. I think it was also a forum for venting

I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. Here’s why I loved this book:

1. Shauna Reid uses humor throughout her process. Even though at times she obviously wasn’t feeling humorous, she managed to bring lightness into her writings. As a result the book is a real joy to read.
2. Shauna shows just how difficult losing weight can be. I think a lot of us think it should be easy (wasn’t it easy to put the weight on?), and so we get discouraged when the weight doesn’t peel off at our slightest effort. Shauna’s book shows us just how much effort it really is to lose weight and keep it off.
3. I loved seeing how Shauna transforms during her process. In the beginning of The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl, she was very focused on the number on the scale. I also felt she was very focused on herself – worrying about what everyone was thinking about her,  how she looked, her failures in the workplace. And as she lost the weight this really didn’t change at first. It wasn’t until she started really living her life that she began to look around her and see that there are other things in this world besides her. She shifted her focus to being happy and sharing that happiness with others. As she focused less on her self, she started to go on adventures and take risks – to enjoy her life.
4. The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl is overall a happy book. It felt good to read it. There aren’t any murders or tragedies. Although she has her moments, Shauna is constantly picking her self up and striving for a happier life.
5. The book is inspiring. I don’t need to lose 150+ pounds – I’m more in “maintenance” mode -  but seeing Shauna struggle with her weight issues – both physical and mental – enabled me to take a step back and see my own thought processes about weight. I feel inspired to “stay on track” without getting “neurotic” about it.
6. There is a clear message to parents about how to communicate with your children about weight issues. I don’t know if Shauna intended this or not in The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl, but I thought the connection between parental criticism about weight and future weight issues was crystal clear. I hope parents will read this and consider how they talk to their children.
7. Finally, the best part is that this book lives on after you’ve read it! You know how you read a good book and you don’t want it to be over? Well, in this case it’s not because you can keep up with Shauna on her blog. How cool is that?

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