The book "Skinny Bitch"

hi ya'll,

I was just wondering if any of you have read the book "Skinny Bitch".. I finished it today and i find myself so disgusted by the meat/dairy industry. So much so that vegetarian seems to be the way to go. (not only due to animal cruelty but also for overall health). I just want to know if any of you have read it and how it's impacted it you (if it has at all).

thanks,

analise

I want to read that book now, it sounds good, I want to be a skinny bitch. lol

Read the book, INSTANTLY became a vegan. I had been halfway there for years, I havent eaten red meat in over 5 yrs, and the only thing I had to give up was chicken, and fish and dairy and refined sugars.  NO SWEAT! I am on week 2  and doing wonderful.  It would be easier if I didnt have to look for eggs in ingredients, and look for the bad sugars .. but hey.. I feel GREAT! I have a cup of ginger tea with soy milk and raw sugar everymorning, fruit when I get hungry.  Salad for lunch along with a sandwich .. pb & j or soy turkey and soy cheese.  I eat organic bread, and I have soy icecream bars for treats.  I love endangered species dark chocolate.  I am SET..

But.. the one thing I have noticed.. I can not eat whatever I want. Unlike what the book says.  I must stay within 2000 cal / day. or i gain weight. So.. I still have to watch it. WHICH SUCKS.

I just bought and read this book a few days ago.  It was good, funny and educational.  I am currently working on being vegetarian, and then will work my way toward becoming vegan.  It may be hard at first, but I think it will be the best thing for my health in the long run.

Just, i don't think i will ever be able to give up leather bags and shoes.  I know, I know, but i just don't think i will be able to.

I was vegetarian for 10 years before reverting back to meat about five years ago. I never really had a good reason as to why I went back... probably laziness... and that's probably how I ended up gaining so much weight in my early 20s. Since I joined calorie count this past January I have been on a mission to not just lose weight to be skinny, but to lose weight to be HEALTHY. I am only 15 lbs. away from my goal and have never felt better. Long story short I have been waiting to buy this book because I knew the minute I started reading it I would remember why I was a vegetarian and would not be able to eat meat any longer. Well, I finally bought it... and with it came back all of my memories of the horrible, horrible things that the farming industry does to its animals. I chose to be ignorant for the last five years, and I can't do it anymore. I talked to my fiance about it too, and he is being very supportive as well... not going vegetarian, but he loves vegetarian food, so it's okay. This book had a lot to do with re-awakening me, so to speak, but so has my animal science class at Iowa State (I am pre-vet). The professor is obviously well-educated, but he is so detached. I wouldn't be able to do that. It is crazy the way that the people at this university talk about the beef or the diary industry without even thinking that they are talking about living creatures. anyway.... the book is great... sorry for rambling.

So this book has really caught my interest, can anyone tell me why dairy is so bad though?  I can understand meat is not good because of what they put into the animals and cruelty to animals, but I'm confused why dairy would be bad?  What is the general overview of the book?  Thanks guys!

cmama,

I don't know if this is in the book, but dairy is bad for a host of reasons.  Dairy consumption is closely associated with autoimmune diseases such as MS, Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and type I diabetes.  Populations with the highest intake of dairy have the highest rates of osteoporosis.  (Yup, dairy is a factor in brittle bones!).  Dairy intake is "one of the most consistent dietary predictors for prostate cancer in the published literature," and those who consume the most dairy have double to quadruple the risk.  Increasing intakes of casein (the protein in milk) promoted the development of breast cancer in experimental studies.  And casein has been shown to increase blood cholesterol and atherosclerotic plaque.

You can find out more specifics in the book The China Study. 

As soon as I was given the book, I did not put it down till I was done. I thought it was great.

Yeah... I just bought the book today and could not put it down. I've definitely decided to go vegetarian already! ...not quite ready for vegan though... I'm just gonna ease my way into it I think

I'm personally against any militant or extreme action. Ism's are bad in my book. It means that a balance is lacking somewhere and it's easier to feel bad if you slip up. My diet is about 98% Vegan. I will occasionally toss in some cheese or milk to please my husband. I read and own Skinny Bitch and agreed with quite a few points but I dislike the chapter on fasting. Try moderation over an extreme diet change. It removes some of the pressure and makes cooking and eating fun again. After a while you won't crave the unhealthy stuff anymore and you will be a ble to stick to your diet in the long run. 

*WARNING GRAPHIC POST*

Why is dairy so bad? Apart from the health issues that others have mentiioned, cows can only produce milk iF pregnant, done through artificial insemination, over and over till their bodies are worn out and they are shipped off for slaughter after just a few years.

When they give birth, the female calves become dairy cows, the male calves are destined for the veal industry, which means confinement in a tiny crate so small they can't even turn around to keep the meat tender, some are fed an exclusively milk based diet (I'll spare you the details of the effect that has on the GI system!) and then they're slaughtered at about six months of age.

So really it's impossible to call yourself vegetarian and eat dairy; the meat and dairy industries are inextricably linked. If you drink milk or eat cheese, you're supporting the veal industry and other forms of cruelty to dairy cows.

Go vegan!!!

I finally read this book.

Wasn't too impressed. Foul language, insults, and a general hatred against people who are overweight... not my cup of tea. Plus, most of what they said came right out of any other vegetarian diet: eat sensibly, eat vegetables, avoid saturated fats, remember that meat and dairy aren't so great for you and why (taken almost straight off of Peta.com) lower your sugar intake, stop having soda, bla bla bla.

Not worth buying, that's for sure. Check your local library if you are still interested. 

I am definitely intrigued and will read the book soon!  I've been pescetarian for about 15 years now, still doing dairy and eggs, although that may change after reading the book...?!?  Luckily, I have a source for fresh eggs---a friend raises chickens on her little farm (really just a huge backyard) and I know for a fact that these hens range free, eat vegetarian feed, and live a happy life while laying their eggs!  They even all have names, so when I scramble some of their products I like to wonder who laid 'em---was it Henrietta, Guinevere, Lucia, etc.? 

Dairy is a problematic issue.  I've switched to soy milk and "tofutti" cream cheese and sour cream, use olive oil instead of butter, but when it comes to that first cup of morning coffee, there's nothing like (organic, of course) half-and-half! 

 Bottom line, I think that whatever we do, be it much or little, to be mindful of what we eat and where it came from is a step in the right direction.

  

OUCH!!!  Just read girlier's post up there somewhere and am feeling SO ashamed!  I confess that I have many pairs of fine Italian leather shoes and boots in my closet, plenty of Coach bags, and (worst of all) a black female mink jacket given to me by my husband for our 20th anniversary.  And the cappucino-colored nappa-leather stroller with the huge fox collar---oh, my God, what was I thinking?  I thought I was such a SAINT for not eating cruelly-slaughtered meat, and all the while...oh, dear.

So, question, everyone: if I swear to never again purchase leather or fur, can I be absolved of prior sins and keep my pretty-pretties?  Or would a really good person give these away to charity?  If I do that, though, they'll still be worn by someone, and the poor animals are just as dead as they ever were...

 I suppose you can all tell I'm a Catholic.  This guilt is a terrible thing!  I hereby vow I will never again buy leather or fur.  But can I please keep the things I already own...?  They're good enough to last the rest of my life anyway.

Nothing says "you're a low-life animal abuser" like having Alec Baldwin narrate some lopsided, selective argumentative documentary on a gem like "meat.org."

Read the book, saw the little video, still not convinced. The fact that all of this "poor animals" mumbo-jumbo is backdropped by this shrewd, pretentious, "we're better than you and you're going to hell if you don't change your ways" attitude does not help the cause.

It really only gives this long-time meat-eater more reason to say: "Hey, fine -- more steak for the rest of us. That's how the food chain works, baby. 'Til evolution kicks in, cheers!"

I bought the book after hearing about it here. I have been vegetarian for more than 10 years and am working on becoming vegan now. I have quite a bit of adjusting to do, not to mention clearing out my cupboards. It's not going to be an instant transformation, it's going to be a slow transition starting with the obvious things like eggs for breakfast and cows milk on my cereal and moving on to cutting out regular bread, cookies and refined sugar.

I have always known than eating plenty of fruit and vegetables was the best way to lose weight and it has helped me lose 27kg (about 60 pounds) so far. Now that I have stopped eating eggs and dairy I am definitely feeling better and my weight has dropped faster even though I'm eating about the same amount of calories. Maybe this is just a coincidence, I'm not sure.

The "tough love" approach of this book really worked on me. Maybe the book is not entirely true in parts, but I know that I will be happier and healthier on my new diet and that is all the proof I need.

Original Post by sadiejane:

Original Post by jdroller:

Nothing says "you're a low-life animal abuser" like having Alec Baldwin narrate some lopsided, selective argumentative documentary on a gem like "meat.org."

Read the book, saw the little video, still not convinced. The fact that all of this "poor animals" mumbo-jumbo is backdropped by this shrewd, pretentious, "we're better than you and you're going to hell if you don't change your ways" attitude does not help the cause.

It really only gives this long-time meat-eater more reason to say: "Hey, fine -- more steak for the rest of us. That's how the food chain works, baby. 'Til evolution kicks in, cheers!"

Seriously? C'mon. "saw the little video"? "gem" of a site? Who has the attitude, exactly?

If you're truly interested in animal cruelty and related topics (I assume you must be, or you wouldn't have read the book, watched the video, and posted here; what a waste of time that would have been) I recommend you try other sources for further information. To avoid Hollywood celebrity, you can always go to the UK's Vegan Society (http://www.vegansociety.com): they're the organization that first coined the term, and there's alot of good information on the site. And the Brits are never pretentious like us Americans, baby. Cheerio!

 

edit: Of course, it's still a vegan site, and therefore presents facts within a specific, stated perspective. However, I see that you know how to use the interweb and can therefore independently verify claims made by vegan websites by accessing peer reviewed journals and other such dependable, objective sources of information. Good luck!

It's the "little videos" and "gems" that give me a cynical attitude in the first place. It's not like I came into this thinking it was a crock; that was developed carefully (albeit quickly) by this holier-than-thou approach.

I have read the book, and I was also raised on dairy and cattle farms.  The book is a little extreme, but it is important to be a knowledgeable consumer.  Buy products from local farms (many of which you are welcome to visit).  Any drastic changes in diets should be monitored by a professional....so make an appt with your doctor and nutrionalist. 

Was I the only one who was revolted by the hypocrisy of the authors? They advocate all kinds of strict guidelines, dishing out insults and other people's research to explain why you suck if you don't follow them, then said at the end "but don't be surprised if you see us stuffing our faces or chugging beer bongs". They said similar stuff throughout the book that gave the impression they don't live by their own standards.

Then they admitted they wrote this book because they didn't want "real jobs". So, ultimately, they got rich for being catty, judgmental, and childish, while citing other people's hard work to back up insulting opinions. Skinny bitch reads like a lazy, foul-mouthed eighth grade book report.

I couldn't get over how "pro-ana" the whole thing seemed either. I had an eating disorder, and I've talked to lots of girls with eating disorders, and these girls sound just like them. (Some anorexics use veganism as an attempt to disguise their habits or avoid eating in public, orthorexics feel superior because they fixate on eating only healthy foods, and almost all of the eating disordered people I've met cut others down just like the authors of Skinny Bitch did). When they advocated fasting for weight loss, I died a little inside.

Some parts of the book were funny. A few lines even made me chuckle. But by the end of the book, their commentary was more annoying and much less entertaining - stupid things like "ugh" and "that just makes us sick" placed after research that almost made them sound credible.

This book is overrated. 

Original Post by sadiejane:

Original Post by jdroller:

It's the "little videos" and "gems" that give me a cynical attitude in the first place. It's not like I came into this thinking it was a crock; that was developed carefully (albeit quickly) by this holier-than-thou approach.

But what is the crock, exactly? Your first post implies that all of veganism is a crock, an opinion apparently based upon reading one book and watching one video.

Any doctrine, movement, moral code, religion, what have you, has it's propaganda. To judge and consequently reject the entirety of veganism based upon two documents produced by purveyors of veganism seems irrational. If one book and one video are your only sources of information on veganism or animal rights, you can hardly be said to have carefully developed your opinion. A sample of two is not generally considered a good sample. I hope you read more, if you are truly interested in the topic.

Best~ and I won't post on this again, as I think we're supposed to be discussing a certain book. Sorry, all, if I hijacked this thread a wee bit. I couldn't help it.

This here seems to be the eye-opening, earth-shattering material I've been redirected to by mostly anybody I ask about veganism; "you should really check out meat.org or hit up PETA's website."

I rarely eat meat, anyway (the occasional chicken breast, fish filet) and almost never eat red meat. And yet I still encounter this "we're better than you" attitude everywhere I go. Unfortunately, a group that is so self-assured is naturally going to feel a little "above the curve," and that really comes off when they try and spin their lifestyle to you.

And, to be quite frank, I don't feel like I'm undisciplined enough in my meat/cheese intake to even try and scrape that dogmatic film off the top and dig deeper into the lifestyle.