by Shauna Reid
She told me to undress and make myself comfortable. I couldn’t believe this was really happening. Back when I made my list, I was ashamed to hang my knickers on the clothesline, let alone parade them in front of a stranger. But here I was, six years later, in a soft-lit room, completely naked except for my brand new size 12 knickers.
I lay down on the massage table and put my face over the hole. Her hands were warm and tender but my body was knotted tight. It felt strange and shocking to be touched with such firmness and purpose.
But soon I could feel myself letting go, as if I was melting into the table. I’d never felt so aware of my body, the space I filled and the shape I made. I imagined I was floating above, following the path of her touch. I felt her fingertips press into the strong curve of my shoulders, then down to my arms with their firm biceps and wobbly undersides. Then her palms were on my hips and waist, tracing over the stretch marks that used to repulse me so much. Now they seemed like battle scars, tiny silver souvenirs. She moved on to my legs with their crazy blend of firm and dimpled flesh. She finished with my feet, once cracked and dried from supporting so much weight, but now soft and slender with painted toes.
I cried for the entire fifty-five minutes. My weight loss has been so slow—spread over two continents and six years—that I’d never quite grasped the enormity of the transformation. But today I finally felt the full scale of all this change. Six years ago I couldn’t bear to look at myself in a mirror, but now I felt proud. Every lump and bump of my body belonged to me and told the story of where I’d been. The emotions finally swam to the surface and poured out of my skin. So I cried, great honking sobs of joy and relief and release.
And that’s when I knew I’d found my Perfect Ending. I actually found it a long time ago, but it’s taken me a while to see it. I always thought I needed that number on the scale to prove that I’d earned this happiness, but from the moment I looked in the mirror and began to appreciate the view, I was already winning the prize.
I don’t know where the scale will end up, but after 333 weeks and a lifetime of angst, I’m not going to waste another minute worrying about it. My journey was never about what I weighed or the size of my jeans. The true reward is finding peace and acceptance and embracing my own skin, with all its quirks and charms.
So this is how it ends, my friends. There’s no scale or tiara. It’s just me here on the massage table, stripped down to my knickers and dripping tears and snot onto the floor.
It’s time to make a new list. To Do Now that I’m Happy. It’s time to find out what’s next.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Warmest thanks to Jeanette Perez and all at Avon and Transworld UK. Thanks also to my friends, family, and Dietgirl readers for your kindness and support.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SHAUNA REID grew up in Australia. Her writing has been featured in Grazia, Cosmopolitan, and Elle (UK). She has been blogging at dietgirl.org since 2001.
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PRAISE
“Dietgirl isn’t your typical weight-loss memoir—it’s a whole lot funnier, thanks to Reid’s terrific wit and sharp observations.” —Wendy McClure, author of I’m Not the New Me
“The satisfaction you get from reading it is not only in its humor and honesty, but learning that belief in yourself is all you need to turn your world around.” —Sunday World (Ireland)
“A moving, heartfelt journey.” —Susan Blech, author of Confessions of a Carb Queen
“Honest and smart, funny and insightful… Shauna is spirited and kind—the sort of superhero we all want in our corner.” —Erin J. Shea, author of Tales from the Scale
CREDITS
Cover image © nes/Shutterstock
COPYRIGHT
This book is a work of nonfiction based on the life, experiences, and recollections of the author. In some cases names of people have been changed to protect the privacy of others. The author has stated to the publishers that, except in such respects not affecting the substantial accuracy of the work, the contents of this book are true.
THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF DIETGIRL. Copyright © 2008 by Shauna Reid. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Corgi, a division of Transworld Publishers.
FIRST AVON EDITION PUBLISHED 2009
EPub Edition © MARCH 2012 ISBN: 9780062194084
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reid, Shauna.
The amazing advantures of dietgirl / Shauna Reid. —1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-06-165770-2
1. Reid, Shauna—Health. 2. Overweight women—Australia—Biography. 3. Weight loss—Australia—Biography. I. Title.
RC628. R 443 9009
362.196’3980092—dc22
[B]
2008016195
09 10 11 12 13 WBC/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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