Meh. I picked this up thinking it was part of the burgeoning fat acceptance literature, but I was wrong. There's nothing revolutionary about celebrating one's achievement of slenderness, even when you call your diet the UnDiet. ( )

I needed a pep talk. I was feeling down about my stomach. Depending on the chair, my belly would touch my thighs when I sat down. I had gained some weight over my vacation. I need to go up a size in pants. I was talking a good game about loving my body as is and getting off the diet merry-go-round, but on the inside I was a hypocrit and self-hating. So, I returned to this memoir "Thin Is the New Happy" to see if it would give a swift kick in my well-padded rear.

It did, sort of.

Val got lessons in yo-yo dieting and self-hatred very early on in her life, and it took her nearly 40 years to get over it. She received from her mother, her classmates, her co-workers, and mainly herself (she internalized the criticisms and insults hurled at her). Val confronts her demons and then exorcizes them, and her exorcism is just more than a nice makeover. Eventually does pull herself together, and that it is motivating as hell.

Near the end of the book, she talks about healthy eating and not dieting, and how no-diet causes her to lose a dress size. I found this is a little difficult to swallow, because I want Val to not focus on losing dress sizes but focusing on how diets really don't work. It's almost like she is saying "I found another way to get slimmer."

It's a quick, funny and sometimes painful read but I recommend it highly even if your issue isn't dieting or body image. ( )

When Val was only 11 years old, her mother started in on her about dieting and losing weight. That has stayed with Val her entire life. This book tells of her struggle to stop the constant dieting.

I really enjoyed reading this. Val had a tough time, not only at home, but was teased at school, as well. Each chapter focuses on one main thing in her life (though there are a few chapters about her mother, with whom she does have a good relationship now) like school, her rebelling as a teenager, each of her two husbands, and more. There is a chapter where her friend and coworker, Stacy London (yes, from What Not to Wear) helps her with her wardrobe. It was really fast to read. I hadn't even realized that she has also written a number of fiction books, and I might take a look at some of those, too. ( )

It was fairly decent. ( )

I read this book for some perspective. Body image comes in many shapes and forms, literally and figuratively. I appreciate her candor and detail of a lifelong battle with her body.

The moral of the story resonates with my mission to spread the 'non-diet' mentality to everyone, regardless of weight management needs. I love to exercise. I love to eat. I love to feel hungry and make the connection between what I'm eating and how I use the food as energy. Val experienced this revelation after much digging into her past and current relationships and environments. Kudos to Val for preaching the most simple messages of all: Live life. Love yourself, and do so actively. Be who you are for you.

I suggest reading this book if you yourself are stuck in a diet rut and want a reality check. It doesn't matter what size you are, anyone who has ever struggled with wholly accepting his/her body will be able to relate to some aspect of Val's memoir. ( )