Skinny Bitch and Counting Calories

I just read Skinny Bitch and went to their website and watched one of their interviews. They mentioned that they do not count calories or even own a scale. Any new vegans who are following their way of life who are not really counting calories? 

I purchased the Skinny Bitch Body workout DVD last weekend, not knowing there was a whole line of books and DVDs to go with it. I've done the workout for three days now and my entire body is in agony now. I ordered the book, Skinny Bitch, and will be getting it in the mail today. I am excited to read it. I've read some excerpts from it and now know the authors are big proponents of veganism. I spent several years vegetarian, for weightloss/health reasons in my twenties and never had to count calories or worry about weight. I suspect once I read this book, I will be inspired to work towards becoming vegetarian again, if not vegan. I had a couple more pressing habits to eliminate, including nonstop coffee drinking and smoking, but now I'm ready for a new challenge. After my son was born in 2006, I used calorie counting and relied heavily on my scale to tell me that I was doing things right. I did drop all my pregnancy weight successfully using this method, however, I'd like nothing more then to throw out my scale today and stop counting calories. In the long haul of life, scales and counting calories seems a bit mundane. I just want to live a long and healthy life!

It won't be long now and I will in fact be a new vegan and following their way of life I think.

Oooooommmmfffffffggggggg.

I have been wanting to purchase Skinny Bitch for so long now..I didn't even know that they had workout DVDs!  Now I'm really sad :( lol

If you really want a long and healthy life I would recommend focusing more on how to quit smoking than on weight loss or vegetarianism.

If you can quit smoking you will have more energy and feel more like exercising, which in turn will help you lose weight. Smoking is a hard habit to break, but after you do you will be greatful everyday. Not to mention your son will get to have his mom around for A LOT longer.

I've actually already quit smoking jnbarrow. It was a shortlived phase used to deal with my husband's deployment to Iraq. Fortunately, I have found better ways to deal.

Sweet that your first post was to encourage my quitting. :)

Go to the local library and get the books and the DVDs...it is way cheaper...I must admit that I couldn't handle all the foul language in the book..totally turned me off reading it through...

I read Skinny Bitch because it was given to me by other people three different times, just a huge coincidence. I really hate diet books in general, I think they're all mostly fad-oriented and full of useless information in the long run, and my expectations were not high when I started Skinny Bitch...

but I am here to say that by the end of the book, I was decidedly 100% a vegan (was already vegetarian, but it's still a HUGE transition). It's been 3 1/2 months and I cannot tell you how much healthier I feel.

I didn't stop counting calories right away, like they encourage, because it was hard for me to get out of that habit and I still had a couple extra pounds that I wanted to get off. Now that I am at my goal weight, I have really been trying to transition into a non-calorie oriented diet. It's true, eating a vegan diet will not ensure that you remain the same/lose weight, because there are many vegans who live on junk food, but if you take to heart the authors' simple suggestions about how to make smart, intelligent choices, there is no doubt in my mind that one would be able to come to/stay at a healthy weight without obsessing over counting.

Plus, unlike other idiotic diet fads, this one actually tells you that it is necessary to combine a good diet with exercise if you want to be healthy. Whoda thunk??!

The reason that I like Skinny Bitch, and would recommend it to anyone, is that the information inside is true, practical and for once, healthy through and through. They don't tell you to stop eating anything, all they do is inform you of the healthier versions of bad food items. Eat wheat bread, not white. Eat complex carbs, not simple. Buy organic/local. Reading the book is like having a heart to heart with friends, because they are telling you things you already know in your heart are true, they just urge you to do something about it.

Personally, I think it would be awesome not to have to count calories anymore. As long as we feel good about what we're eating, right? Maybe we should rally all the CC vegans together and conduct an experiement! Haha.

Good luck with everything!

I bought Skinny Bitch in June jsut because I liked the title....seriously how weak am I? But I ahve a sick sense of humor and it caught my eye. I read it in 1 day and have since been vegan and have lost 40 pounds! I kinda stalled around the holidays as I was one of those junk eating vegans but I am back at it and feeling great.

I do count calories because I want to lose and it helps me make sure I am making good choices, once I am at goal weight I will  likely stop since my habits will be firmly changed.

I actually am thinking about pulling it out and reading it again, I love the drill sarge feeling and it made me laugh at myself and made me say, "I am so stupid!" many, many time!

Being a vegan is great and all, and I really do support those who choose that lifestyle...but some of the stuff in Skinny Bitch is just impossible....or borderline unhealthy...

I say, read it, pick the things you like, but don't feel that you have to use it as your Bible or anything.

I agree. there is no rules on eating as long as you are healthy and eat balanced meals and exercise.

In my opionion, it sounds no different than south beach or atkins, it's still a treand or fad.  Look, I don't care if people are vegan, but to insist that one way of eating is the "right" way is not true.  It comes across as not being a vegan is wrong and people feel guilty about food and that's not healthy.

i just bought skinny bitch and am reading it now. it's a total lifestyle change and i am all for it.

like many others who have replied. i am still counting calories and will probably do so until i reach my goal wieght.

i've decided to go vegan because i don't want to put any chemicals in my body and i feel this is the best way to achieve this goal. i am also doing it for overall weight purposes, but not as a diet.

i have been trying to go "natural" for a few months now and could not do it. and now i have cut out meat and dairy (only for a few days) and feel great. i still do yoga about 4 or 5 times a week along with walking my dog and taking the stairs whenever i can!

but i love the book and the way of life. i don't think it is a fad diet in any way....and i don't discriminate on those who chose not to eat this way. i just find it to be healthier and less damaging to my body.

I loved skinny bitch and it was the driving force in me becoming vegetarian last october. the book gives good advice overall but unfortunately some of the dieting ideas were just not working for me. the fruit idea is very true that it processes quickly and easily by itself but it left me hungry and then 30 min later hungry again lol. i tried that for monthsbefore i finally concluded it was not working for me.

i had to re-introduce things to my diet like eggs bc my body was simply not performing well without the protein. i was ravenous ALL the time and substituting meat for junk. i have currently settled into a niche of just not eating animals but i am eating animal products. cheese, milk, eggs, etc. if i had endless amounts of time and money im sure i could be without these things but i cannot do this now. i have 2 children and a family and a demanding job. i barely have time to do what i do now and i budget my money carefully. i just have more people to think about right now than just myself so i will just do what i can.

im teetering on the edge of adding fish to my diet only for quick protein fixes. i aim for a 40-30-30 ratio and im getting more like 40-20-40 -- too much fat. some days are more carby too i really have to work at it to get where i do get. i eat a serving of almonds, soy milk, yogurt, cheese, a zone bar, and eggs almost daily but it is just not quite enough.

one thing i know for sure is that bc of skinny bitch i am DONE with beef, chicken, pigs, etc. fish does bother me a little still but idk what else to do. perhaps if i hide the flavor very well i can trick myself lol. i tried for a very long time to trick myself into thinking i dont need to extra protein but sadly i do. so i stopped counting/logging for awhile but i have went back to it bc it simply works for me.

i have to do what works :-P

that book is awesome. the cookbook is awesome. read it. and if you can't handle the language try growing up a little.

These replies make me want to read it now too! :) I did some looking around and I found it online for two bucks at one of the auction sites.   Now how can I resist that. :)

Skinny Bitch is pretty awesome.  It definetly tipped me more toward vegetarianism than I had been before - I'm still not quite there yet, and honestly, may never be, but I see it as a personal challege to not eat meat all the time.  I have SOOOOO many male friends that eat meat in their meals 2-3 times a day - sausage biscuit, chicken fingers lunch, burgers, etc.  It has been a real eye-opener for how few restaurants actually offer vegetarian options for eating - ALMOST NONE! Even if I don't really want meat that night and I go out with friends, it's like you aren't eating a complete meal if you want - x pasta, no chicken, or x- salad, no chicken.   On the bright side, I cook at home more often, save more money by not spending $20-$30 on a single meat laden dinner, and I make more meals that my meat loving husband can enjoy that I can leave meat out of for myself, like individual quesadillas.

Wow, that got random and long.. too much coffee this morning, I'm betting.

I follow every piece of advice in Skinny Bitch - except for not counting calories. I've always had this control thing about food - I used to break down and cry if I had over 300 calories a day - awful I know, and I cannot stop counting calories. My dietician has said 1450 calories a day will help me lose weight. I'm 172cm... that's like 5'7" or something? Sorry, not sure. But anyway. I can't not count my calories, I'd feel so out of control.

One thing I love about being a dietary (non-ethical) vegan? Not having to freakin' count calories. I know the basis of this website is about counting calories, but it's really, really nice to not have to count them. In my experience, the only time I would ever count calories was if my vegan diet consisted of nothing but fried foods, starchy tubers (potatoes, yams, etc), vegan cookies, and breaded/fried meat substitutes. Stuff like that, you know? But the breaded, fried stuff I have on a very rare occasion (mmm, deep fried tofu!). Although, during my PMS phase, I ate a couple of cookies a day for a week, but it never affected me. In the first month, I lost ten pounds, had a lot of energy, was blissfully happy (my husband was PLEASED with the way this was working), and basically just felt great all together. I was also swimming 2 - 3 miles a week, as well. And not once did I count a single calorie.

Let me tell you, I adore this book. It's easily my favorite diet book ever written. I picked it up not having any idea it promoted vegetarianism, proud little meat eater I was (just kidding, I really wasn't ever a huge fan of meat in the first place, though I did eat it frequently), and I haven't eaten animal since I put it down. Seriously. That was in September '06. Going vegetarian was one of the best decisions I've made in my entire life; I've never regretted it for one single second.

I strongly suggest you all look into this book. I don't necessarily agree with all of it, but it's awfully legitimate and definitely worth the read.

LOVE THIS BOOK... had been on and off the vegetarian thing for a while and then after reading this book I went vegetarian officially, not vegan b/c Im addicted to cheese and I dont quite want to give it up....My bf (who loves meat) teases me that I decided to do this b/c of a book.... I started in January and have been goin strong- dont even miss meat actually. And im really happy with it, not that its really helped me lose weight but i just mentally/physically feel better. I eat sooo much more fruits and veggies and it brings me back to when I was little and my family was vegetarian.

I count calories to help me lose those extra lbs and it gives me a sense of control and knowledge about what Im putting in my body.

Soooo glad that there are others who feel the same way I do on here :)

I know a lot of people that maintain a healthy weight just fine w/o counting calories. To be honest I think the skinny bitch girls do tho and just try to say they don't... I absolutely freaking HATED that book. I'm a vegetarian nutrition major and some of their advice was just- a little off, I guess. I should've known when I saw they were former models (great people to give nutrition advice...) and one was a "self proclaimed know-it-all." It had some good info but there are many books that are FAR better with well educated authors.