Skinny Bitch
Skinny Bitch is a book that promises to tell the truth about dieting, diets and the reasons for the fat that puts the junk in your trunk. Authors Rory Freedman, a former Ford Model, and Kim Barnouin, a former model with a Masters of Science degree in Holistic Nutrition, use some ugly language to guide readers into a strict vegan diet regime, which promises those who “use their heads will lose their ass.”
Chapters include tirades against sugar, soda, meat (or ‘flesh’) and slaughter practices, as well as some in-depth diet and menu ideas for those who want to get skinny. The book takes no prisoners when it exposes the nasty truth behind some of our favourite food addictions. Mass farming, aspartame, caffeine, drugs in dairy and the conspiracies behind the promotion of the average American diet are shocking. If you read the chapters titled “The Dead, Rotting, Decomposing Flesh Diet” and “You are What You Eat" word-for-word and didn’t retch the next time you bit into a chicken wing, you’re a callous soul.
As a promoter of thoughtful eating and a call-to-arms against blind consumerism, Skinny Bitch is a well-sourced academic paper written in nasty trucker slang. As a diet book, though, Skinny Bitch is troubling. The twist of adding foul language doesn’t go far to mask the promotion of near-anorexic caloric intakes. Worrisome is the chapter that follows the tirades against the average diet titled "Let’s Eat." The chapter title is ironic; it offers the reader the ideal eating pattern of a starving herself on a piece of fruit for breakfast, a green salad for lunch and a veggie dog for dinner. It insists that the reader will “…grow to love that empty feeling in your stomach and know that the initial headaches, nausea and hunger were just your body’s cleaning crew.”
The average person couldn’t keep this kind of diet going for long before they find themselves madly eating through the entire kitchen's contents, including the old box of Jell-O powder at the back of the pantry. It’s a sad situation we’re in when a book needs to add a restrictive menu and promises of “skinny” to sell, and can’t stand alone as a guide to eat thoughtfully and respectfully, of yourself and the earth.
Written by: Sarah Papple, March 4th 2007
seriously? a) they never mention anything about starving yourself, nor infer it:
"BTW: A Skinny Bitch is someone who enjoys food, eats well, and loves her body as a result. It has nothing to do with how much you weigh or what size you are! Skinny Bitches come in all beautiful shapes and sizes!"
b) no piece of literature should be taken completely as truth. any "diet book" should be interpreted as a guide.
i understand they push their "lifestyle," but it's worked for them and others as well, so why wouldn't they to make some money? certainly not the most romantic thing to associate with a book meant to promote well-being, but that's the way the world works unfortunately. capitalism wahoo.
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I have a BSc equivalent in Pharmaceuticals and Food Sciences. I read this book about a year ago, and got half way through before putting it down. I tried picking it up several times after, but could not get through it. My major issue wasn't the writing style, or their disregard for the readers' emotions, but it was their complete and utter lack of knowledge on the subject. I couldn't go a single page without finding a piece of information that was completely and utterly untrue. After reading the back of the book and finding that the authors actually had practically zero education on the topic of biochemistry, or even basic education in health sciences (sorry but holistic nutrition isn't exactly cutting it for me), I wasn't surprised. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone at all. It was poorly written and had completely made-up facts.
i have lived the Skinny Bitch lifestyle for about 6 months now and have never ever felt better in my life. I no longer feel toxic. I feel light and full of energy. My goal is never ever to be SKINNY, but more so healthy. My body rejects processed, non-foods now. IT's cool. I have friends that have taken on this lifestyle and have noticed the same changes I have.
I've been reading reviews online because I am considering buying this book online for three bucks :-) And in reading some of your comments, I figured, what the hell, I'll throw in my two cents, even though it doesn't matter what I think. Some of you are so deeply offended. And the comment prior to mine, claims that they don't address underlying issues, that they are assuming that everyone that reads is just "stupid and lazy." Well, certainly not all, but certainly some, are. Fact of life. Good for some, not good for others. Don't be so offended, just read some different literature.
I am deeply disappointed that this book made any best-seller list. I purchased it on a fly-by past the bookstand, and returned it the very next day. It is obvious that these two former "models" have no concept whatsoever of the true issues related to excess weight, nor how their repetitive references to the reader as a "fat pig" feed into the root cause of many people's weight problems. They offer no assistance to people to address the underlying issues behind their weight, instead assume that people are just stupid and lazy and by simply adopting a vegan lifestyle, their weight problems will go away. This book presents a stunningly shallow approach to weight-related issues and the presentation is such a disgusting, coarse and gratuitously vulgar dissertation that I could barely stomach it. I don't have a problem with cursing but this book takes "potty-mouth" to a whole new level. These two should have their mouths washed out with soap...a cruelty-free, organic, soy-based soap...but soap all the same.
Why aren't more people- feminists especially- calling these authors on the total BS they're writing?Their "advice" is based on complete, utter, unscientific claptrap (what the hell is a "doctor of Holistic Nutrition", anyway?) and they have the arrogance to act like complete asses while professing this crap.The success of this book is proof that if you throw around some naughty words and act aggressively self-important people will believe you. Another nail in the coffin of feminism...(And, BTW, I'm a hard-core vegan myself. And, unfortunately, I still have my ample ass. But hey- I'd rather be fat and kind than skinny and bitchy.)
The authors of the book do not only talk about eating to be skinny but also eating to be healthy. They bring up several good points and it makes sense that eating to be healthy will make you skinny. Health is their first goal, and skinny is just a bonus. The title really is just an eye-catcher!
I don't know, I've been eating their 'diet' for 2 months, I've lost 10 lbs and I've never felt healthier. I'm someone who used to eat a ton of food, as well but I don't feel as though I'm 'starving' on this 'diet'. No headaches either.Also, they only called it 'Skinny Bitch' because it was an eye catching title, the book goes into that.But, like with anything in this world, if it doesn't sound like your thing, don't do it :)
Sad that a nutritionist doesn't even explore the idea that "skinny" may not be ideal, and that eating specifically for weight loss always fails.