Skinny Bitch Book Review

This week I picked up the book titled “Skinny Bitch” at Target because I’ve heard a lot about it from the blog world.  I read it in two days.  It’s a really quick read..and no..I’m not a super fast reader either.

The whole book is about changing your lifestyle to becoming vegan.  I felt that most of the book is very one-sided.  It’s either go vegan or go home.  For the entire book, I felt that if I were to follow the guidelines of what this book was teaching, I could barely eat ANYTHING.  Even the foods that they say are healthy to eat, still had some negativity behind them.  It made me feel like everything I eat is poison to my body.

There is one chapter that was extremely nasty.  You can probably guess what the topic is.  Yep, it’s the MEAT industry.  The book goes into detail about how they slaughter animals and how some of them make it through down the chain and are still alive.  This chapter was HARD to read.  It was disgusting.  My boss said she read this book and gave up meat right after closing the book.  I can see why.  I understand there are hormones, steroids and chemicals in factory meat, but the book also tries to take a spin on how we don’t need animal protein and can get what is lost through a B12 vitamin.  I don’t know..it just isn’t flying with me.  I’m not giving up meat, but I may eat a bit less and look more for organic.  I just wish the FDA would do something about the meat industry and really look into the health of it.  Then again, why would they? It’s a billion dollar industry that they can control.  Gross.

Some interesting things that stuck in my head after looking back to the book are:

1) Milk has been portrayed to “do a body good” through marketing.  According to studies in the book, those who drank more milk in their life were MORE prone to osteoporosis in their later years.  The authors basically rip milk a new one…not good stuff.

2.) You should eat fruit for breakfast.  Fruit alone.  It’s quickly digested so by the time lunch comes around, you have a stomach that’s hungry and ready to take on new food. 

3.) Cheese can be an addiction.  Most people have an addiction to cheese.  It has something in it that releases endorphins in your brain, specifically from cow’s milk.  I can say that I think I’m addicted to cheese and didn’t know it!

One topic that made me mad in the book was about fasting.  The authors were PRO fasting.  They think it’s a great way to get your body empty so it can start “cleaning up” to get healthy and rid of bad cells.  To me, this is bull.  I’ve read a ton of articles about how fasting is not healthy.  It will mess up your metabolism and sometimes make your weight gain worse when you start eating again.  Not a good message to put out there girls!

Overall I got a few lessons from the book, but a few things that I just disagreed with.  I’m glad I read it because it’s a controversial book, but unless you want to go completely vegan, you’re going to disagree and/or not follow along with many things in this book. 

12 thoughts on “Skinny Bitch Book Review”

  1. ha! I totally have a cheese addiction.

    After I watched Food Inc I couldn’t eat meat for a week, just because I kept visualizing the factories. But then I got a hold of myself and decided pretty much the same thing you did — I like meat. I do try to buy grass-fed/organic/free-range, and I really only eat meet a couple of times a week. But I think it’s silly to be so one-sided. I guess if it works for some people, that’s okay! 🙂

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  2. Yeah I’ve heard about that book. I’m no expert but I do know a lot of them and the body needs meat, dairy, and most importantly FOOD. Also my nutritionist says for breakfast its important to get carbs, protein, and fat because it keeps you full/digesting longer. Fasting is counter productive because your body clings to the fat for survival….anyway. Yeah you’re right to be skeptical!

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  3. My roommates in college read this book, I’ve stayed away from it just because it pushes a vegan lifestyle on you so hard and that is just not for me.

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  4. Thanks for your review. I didn’t realize this book was about veganism, but I’m glad to know that now. I was a vegan throughout college, but over time, I felt less and less healthy and kept gaining weight, probably because I never felt full.

    And I agree with you about fasting. I don’t think it’s very healthy, although I support people who fast as part of their religious practices.

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  5. I’ve read this book and I also work with many nutritionists. It is true that we, as humans, are not supposed to eat meat. Our bodies were not designed for it and it puts poisons into our body. U.S. citizens seems to be under this false impression that we need meat in order to get protein, etc. This is completely absurd as many vegetables and other things such as soy are a way better source of protein. This book is saying that you should go vegan or go home because they are simply telling it how it is. We should not be putting poison into our body and they are not going to lie to us like the rest of the food industry and tell us that things like milk are healthy for us, when in fact they aren’t. As far as fasts go, all of the nutritionists that I work with say that they are very good for you but you just have to do them right. Additionally, as the authors said in the book, a fast doesn’t necessarily mean not eating. And I think the fact that people think if we can’t eat any of this stuff that they are saying is bad for you then there is nothing to eat is plain proof of why this country is so obese.

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  6. Chapter Three… I remember it well. And never finished it.

    I really liked the book for the no-nonsense writing and random info I picked up (like the cheese being addicting)- but I do agree with you. It’s very “if you’re not vegan, you’re horrific”.

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  7. Love the title of the blog!
    I read some of it and it was over the top. I felt like it was intended to be outrageous so that it would sell copies… I got it from the library and lost interest in it.

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  8. I was thinking about getting and reading this book but, thanks to your review (and overview), I think I’ll pass. And, FYI to the vegans…..we need to consume a wide variety of food to be healthy. The reason obesity is so out of control in this country isn’t so much what we eat, but more often the quantities consumed!!!

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  9. I read it when it first came out and they bring up a few good points but in general, did not like it. They could have used a lot of work in their execution in the book and if one of those women were to talk to be in my person, they would seriously have to watch themselves.

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  10. I JUST got that book in the mail with the cook book too. I couldn’t wait to read it but you’ve scared me now, haha. I have heard that it’s very pro-vegan.
    And I do LOVE cheese. Hmmm.
    Great post! Thanks!

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