Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady (inset), keeps busy with reality-TV stints.

Here's a switch: Reality TV being used for good, rather than pure, unadulterated evil.

Maureen McCormick, the original Marcia Brady from The Brady Bunch TV series (1969-74), says her reality-TV stints in recent years actually have helped her feel more comfortable in her own skin.

"It has been an incredibly positive experience for me," said McCormick, now 52. "Maybe it's just because I feel so good right now at this time in my life, I don't know. But it has been very cathartic.

"This most recent show I did, Outsiders Inn, is the most fun I've ever had in show business. However, I have to say it isn't really reality. It's more of a hybrid, which I'm excited about, because it's mainly improv, so I felt like I was acting again."

Outsiders Inn debuted last week on the U.S. version of Country Music Television. It's essentially a spinoff from Gone Country, in which McCormick also appeared. But McCormick's first reality-TV experience came in 2007 when she lost 34 pounds and was declared the individual winner on Celebrity Fit Club.

McCormick admits she still fights the battle of the bulge, so she claims it's a really good thing that she gets asked about her weight all the time now.

"Totally, absolutely, because I'd probably weigh 500 pounds, you know?" she said.

"I'm 5-foot-3. I'm always up and down. I love to eat. But I just feel best when I'm at a slim weight. I get to a place sometimes in my life where I don't exercise. I'm an all-or-nothing girl. I get into things all the way and then I'll just back off all the way."

That's a pretty honest response in an entertainment business that doesn't necessarily value honest responses, especially about weight. But McCormick is in an honest mood these days.

"I was afraid of saying certain things and answering certain questions," McCormick said of her post-Marcia years, which included bouts of bulimia and drug addiction. "But I'm not afraid any more. I love to be very open."

With that in mind, McCormick -- who has been married since 1985 and has a daughter in her late teens -- has an autobiography coming out in October. It's called Here's the Story.

"Gee, where did that come from?" McCormick said with a laugh.

"I just think everyone will be surprised and shocked. Not that I'm any different than anyone else. We all have fascinating lives in this world. Everybody has a story. But I think my story was filled with a lot. I just felt it was time to tell my story and be real."

So will Barry Williams, who played Marcia's step-brother Greg Brady, get an advance copy?

"Are you kidding me?" McCormick said. "No way!"

When Williams' autobiography, Growing Up Brady, came out in 1992, it caused a stir with details of an alleged lusty relationship between Williams and McCormick, among other things.

"Exactly," McCormick said. "So wait'll he sees mine!"

bill.harris@sunmedia.ca