Skinny Bitch Book Review: Making Intelligent Choices about Food
(With a whole heap of attitude!)

My husband and I were walking around the book store, and he held up a copy of the book,Skinny Bitch, and said in his ever so cute German accent, “How about this one?” I crinkled my nose as he flipped it over and inspected the back. “It looks like the authors really ARE skinny bitches!”

I cracked up and grabbed it out of his hand, and as you might have guessed, I ended up buying it. Why? Well, let me tell you. The back cover sounded interesting and one particular quote really hit home for me, “You cannot keep shoveling the same crap into your mouth every day and expect to lose weight.”

As we walked to the counter my husband asked incredulously, “Are you really buying it? Do actually think reading it will turn you into a skinny bitch too?”

Of course he was teasing me. I smiled at him as I pulled out my wallet. I knew I already had part of the equation down. I could hardly wait to get home to learn about the skinny part.

Reader be Warned:
The authors of Skinny Bitch use “colorful language” and lots of it throughout the book. I really didn’t find it objectionable (some people might), instead it made me feel like I was talking to a girlfriend, who was giving me the straight scoop about how she felt. In other words, a wake up call, wrapped in conversational tones, that came through loud and clear about the dangers of being overweight.

Now that you’ve been warned—brace yourself—for comments that fly off the pages and slap you right in the face. Not that we don’t need to be slapped, mind you. I guess the authors believe that if the message is going to sink in, their words need to be bold. My mother always said, “You need to suffer from an significant emotional experience before you are able to change.”

Here are a few of my favorite “significant emotional experiences” from the book:

~“The first thing you need to do is give up your gross vices. Don’t act surprised! You cannot keep eating the same shit and expect to get skinny.”

~“Whenever you see the words ‘fat-free’ or ‘low-fat’, think of the words ‘chemical shit storm’.”

~“You might be fat because you don’t poop enough.”

~“You need to exercise, you lazy shit.”

Who can argue with kind this logic? I know I can’t!

If you can’t read the above quotes without being shocked, then I strongly suggest that you don’t purchase the book, because this is just a small sampling of the language generously sprinkled across the pages. I actually laughed at it because I can see what they are saying is true. We do make ourselves fat, and if we want to change, we have to practice “tough self-love.”

One of the major themes projected by the co-authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (Who by the way were both former models—don’t you just hate them already?) is, “You are what you eat.” The book offers an incredible amount of interesting information about food additives, the evils of soda and sugar, nutrition facts, organic foods, the USDA, dairy products, and the dairy industry; and probably more information that you would ever care to know about the meat industry. (Again readers be warned: the information about the beef, chicken, and pork industries is very graphic.)

One thing I didn’t know before I bought the book was that the authors are suggesting that to be skinny, one should adopt a completely vegan lifestyle. I’m not sure I completely agree with that, but I do agree that people typically don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables in their daily diets.

Pros:
This book takes an honest look at how we eat and why we are fat. The conversational tones make for a quick, entertaining read. There is a great section in the back of the book that lists bad or potentially bad food ingredients that we should look for when reading nutrition labels (I had no clue about some of this stuff), and it includes a great vegan/vegetarian resource section.

Cons:
The book advocates a vegan lifestyle and condemns the consumption of all animal products. It does offer a menu to follow, but if you really are interested in starting to eat this way, I feel the book definitely falls short. I think a newbie to this type of eating needs more guidance than this book offers.

Bottom line: Vegan or not, Skinny Bitch is interesting to read and contains a lot of valuable information and as the writers say themselves, “Use your head,” when it comes to being healthy. Read labels, be informed, and above all….take control of your own eating. In my own words, “Get off your lazy butts, stop making excuses, eat right, and exercise!” Wow, I’m already sounding like a skinny bitch.

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