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

by Karen Scalf Linamen

  Get to Know the New, Improved, Imperfect You!

The architects of pop culture have never been the leading authorities on what is best for you. So turn your back on the lies that you are not thin enough, not successful enough, and not glamorous enough! Physical perfection is not the goal.
 
Instead, let Karen Scalf Linamen take you on a journey from a limiting and unhealthy body-image to a life of feeling good about yourself—body included. When you learn the secrets in A Waist Is a Terrible Thing to Mind you can change what you crave, what you eat, how you think, and ultimately how you live.
 
Along with Karen’s trademark humor, you’ll find practical, common-sense tools to help you accept who you are today and take the steps that will make you the person you were created to be. Along the way, you’ll enjoy the new, improved, imperfect you!

Genres: Christian

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 2010

Reviews

[Suzanne Redford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of the UMW reading program and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a great book about loving and accepting yourself inside and out and she has a great sense of humor. It’s a fun summer read

[Carly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few good takeaways throughout the book but 80% of it was a weird mix of religion and weight loss advice which was not what I was looking for

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! Funny and serious.

[Jill K Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chock full of honest stories of women who've explored the reasons behind their disenchantment with their bodies, this book is both hilarious and helpful.

[Beverly Frisby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen Scalf Linamen uses humor, common-sense and practical tools to help the reader accept who they are as they are today and take the steps that will make you into the person you were created to be. Along the way you will learn to make peace and enjoy the new, improved, imperfect you.

Each chapter has humorous name, with a sensible sub-name (i.e. Chapter 1: What’s a Nice Girl Like Me Doing in a Size Like This? Making peace with yo-yo dieting.)
At the end of the chapter, Karen includes questions that can be used either individually or as a group discussion. The questions are thought provoking and encourage the reader to be honest and open about not only their weight but their life as a whole.

Karen takes us along with her as she starts working with a personal trainer. Her descriptions of their first meeting and subsequent workouts are humorous but also informative. The book ends with “notes” – a listing of where the reader can locate different material, quotes, people, and locations mentioned in the book.

You can find more information about Karen Scalf Linamen and her books by visiting her website at www.karenlinamen.com.

*Won in random drawing in WaterBrook Multnomah Discipleship enewsletter sweepstakes*

[Jennifer V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen Scalf Linamen's new book A Waist Is a Terrible Thing to Mind is a light discussion about self-acceptance and positive thinking. Her key advice is to focus on making small changes in life to reach manageable goals. As someone who's never had weight issues but still struggled a bit with body image concerns, the topic made for an interesting read. However, I didn't find anything especially unique about the author's advice when compared to other resources.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karen's focus in this book is on making small changes in your life and those changes will help you achieve a goal of weigh loss. This self help book will help you gain a perspective on your weight and weight loss. Even people who are at a normal healthy weight have problems thinking they are too fat. This book will help you deal with making manageable goals and having a good self esteem. A good read.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay book. It wasn't that overly motivated and thought parts were really sad and depressing. Some of the stories bothered me. Like the Extreme Makeover lady that weighed 137 lbs. when she came home. Within a few months she had gain all her weigh back and was now 180 lbs.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. It has helped me on my weight loss journey so much already. The best part about it is that is has helped me to change the way I think about myself and how I feel about my body.

[Carolina Duran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great and its a great read about how people can get used to their own bodies in a different way.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book due to a library catalog selection mistake. Not bad, but not exactly ground breaking. I really just skimmed it, so it might mean more to someone else.

[Linda Krueger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with a different perspective on losing weight. I've read similar books but I really liked her writing style. Enjoy!