Any Skinny Bitches Out There Who Want to Support Each Other?

Hi,

My name is Mary and I have been a vegan for 17 years. I read the Skinny Bitch book and am a total addict! What a hilarious book and it was a good kick in the pants for me. Just because you are vegan doesn't mean you are eating healthy foods.

I recently gave up all the nastiness that was in my diet...for example, aspartame, caffeine, preservatives, chemicals, white flour, refined sugar etc. I eat organic as much as possible and run away from processed foods.  

I'd like to share recipes, stories and just good laughs and support with anyone else who is equally "on the program."  

Mary 

I forgot to mention this in my previous post, but steponme reminded me.  The Skinny Bitch book recommends a lot of soy products.  LIke one of their quotes is something like..."These chikn nuggets are so f*ing good you'll do cartwheels in your living room naked!". 

The best thing to take away from this book is the part where they say to not trust what any body says about food, including themselves.  This is the most important part!  Research all the food for yourself! When I did that I decided to not include any of the soy fake meat products in my diet.  So, although it is an awesome book, they could've gone one step further. 

Do the research yourself.  There's a lot of topics in here debating soy, so start there and go check them out.

I have the Skinny Bitch cookbook and it is fantastic! Same funny comments and some really good recipes. I cook out of it at least once a week. I also have a slew of other vegan cookbooks as well as internet sites I haunt for recipes.

I'm so glad this thread took off and we have a Skinny Bitch Club going on! I'm really proud of the people who have gone vegan recently and shared their stories. Its a wonderful thing and definitely making a big difference for you and for the animals. One at a time, our team grows!

I've been vegetarian for 17 years and did it for both health and moral issues. I still ate chemicals and crap. Now that I gave up coffee, artificial sweeteners, etc. I feel amazing. Better than I have in ages. I sleep better, I feel better, I have more energy and a better mood. This could not have happened by coincidence.

CC is helping me with portion control and calorie burning activity. I've lost 5 lbs since Feb 6th! YEAH! 

I'm also doing hot yoga. Its fantastic and definitely a VICE for me. Who needs a latte when I've got hot yoga! Its another philosophy of treating your body as a temple kind of thing. Amazing! Hot yoga burns about 800 calories in an hour! WOOHOO!

Got the book 2 days ago, I've gone cover to cover and reread the more pertinent sections to me.

I am a pescetarian at the moment, but I eat very little fish (it is forced on me by my parents)- about 1 small wild salmon filet a month, but though I cannot change the fact that I have to eat fish for just another few months until I move out, I definitely have the motivation to cut out not only dairy and eggs in their pure forms (which I have not consumed for over 6months)  but products containing even trace amounts of either. It is shocking how much this limits, but it also makes it very certain that cheating is difficult.

Like many calorie counters, I am majorly guilty of Splenda. Hurray, lets have a little cinnamon dolce arsenic to spice up my Latte today shall we? I think I may have to splurge on a  latte once in a while, but no more sugar free. Mind you... I still can't decide what is worse, arsenic, or charred animal bone. 

What they say about meat and dairy is so true though... When I went pescetarian first, I lost about 10 lbs, and I have maintained it and lost a little more. From 143 to 137 was the change in my first month, and since then I have steadily dropped to 128. 

I'm going to get the book.  i've been a semi veg for 11 years, a full veg for 5, and i was a strict vegan for 2.5 years then i slowly started to eat a bit of dairy/eggs in birthday cakes and icecream.  when i bake or cook, i cook vegan except for the evil sugar free jello pudding that i make sometimes and the yogurt (tasty unfortunately) or cottage cheese (as a diet food - it grosses me out otherwise) that i buy.  i think this book will motivate me to give up splenda, yogurt, and cheese and become healthier and a real vegan again.

I wanna be a skinny bitch too!  I read the book a couple of weeks ago and it really changed my life.  After reading it, I can't even put a piece of meat in my mouth (I tried, but was too grossed out).  Same goes with milk and eggs.

So I went to my regular grocery store and found so many alternatives.  I can't wait to explore my health food store too. Eating like this has been great.  I have so much more energy and just feel good about what I am doing for my body and the world.  And I don't have to count every calorie this way either - which is a plus.

I hear you about the diet soda thing - I also craved for a little bit.  But I started putting 1/4 cup of whatever juice I like (grapefruit is my favorite) into club soda and adding a little stevia and *poof* no more diet soda cravings.  Oh, and havasmile they make soy yogurt that is absolutely better tasting than regular yogurt.

I love this thread!  Can't wait to read more and get more tips!

OMG I love chocolate yerba mate by Guayaki! I haven't had coffee in a few days now and this is totally a yummy replacement. I also drink ginger or peppermint tea or hot water with lemon to give me healthy energy without the caffeine. I'm used to drinking two cups of coffee a day, but I just finished reading Skinny Bitch and I'm reading Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford and they both talk about how coffee makes the body too acidic. Cancer and other degenerative diseases live in an acidic environment. I might have  a cup of coffee occasionally in the future, but I need to break the habit of having it every day.

I'm also going to try to take Skinny Bitch's advice to eat fruit in the morning before eating anything else.

How closely are you guys following their advice?  

I am following what feels right for me.  It is pretty close though.

There is a low acid, certified organic, free trade coffee on the market that is pretty darn good.  I have a cup of that in the morning now (with some soy milk) instead of the 3-4 cups with half and half.  I figure that I made a pretty large change so that one cup of coffee (especially since it is low acid) isn't going to hurt me.

I like their advice about making small changes every week instead of "cold turkey".  I resolve to make a small change each week/day and it has really worked out for me.

A great alternative to Splenda is Stevia. I get it in small packages in my grocery store and also in loose for baking. Its great! I bring a stash to work with my herbal teas/green teas and also keep a bottle of pills (looks like saccharin if any of you remember that - but its actually good for you!) in my purse. Stevia is made from a plant and has no calories. Its sweet and relatively easy to find. If not the health food section of your grocery store, then definitely health food stores have it. 

Yeah, I don't think that amount of coffee is going to really harm you, gamey.

I was just diagnosed with a medical condition and I have to avoid caffeine for a little while to clear it up, so it was nice to have additional reasons to avoid it.

I think I'm going to buy a juicer!

I read the book and only finished it a few days ago. I think that's what got me to really wander into this forum. I'm not a vegetarian, but I eat many foods that are. I do love my chicken, but to really think about the hormones and antibiotics I am intaking when I eat it has me taking a second look at my diet.

Ah! I gotta get ready for this change.

I've been an on-again off-again vegetarian for years (it's tough when you are a part a very Italian household filled with traditions and expectations regarding food).  After reading this book, I've decided to try veganism.  I understand it's tough, and I really know nothing about it other than the yield of a few days worth of research.  I already feel better though.  Cutting dairy out seems like the hardest - and most beneficial - part so far.  I'm just looking to learn about the 'hidden' animal products, such as albumin (egg whites) etc.

Congratulations and admiration to those of you who are already successfully living a vegan lifestyle, and good luck to those like me who are willing to try and experiment with this amended way of eating & living.

I'm not skinny yet but I will be a skinny bitch.  I read Skinny Bitch on February 23 and I've been vegan and healthy since then.  I lost 10 pounds in the first week since I changed over to a vegan life style.  I wish more restaurants would get on board.  They may have veggie burgers but they're usually still made with dairy.  I've resulted to mainly always eating at home and packing my lunch.  It's just amazing how much my body feels since I became vegan.  I now work out atleast 5 days a week.  I've always been such a yo-yo with my weight and for once I finally feel like I'm going to do it all the way.  People give me such a hard time about becoming a vegan especially since I'm in the south with a bunch of hicks.   Once I found out about the food horrors though I couldn't even try to eat meat because I would remember all the stories and graphic images and I'd be repulsed.  I think way more people need to get on board and make a change for the better.  Veganism is definitely a better way of life.  So when we're out living their sorry asses and we look like we're 30 when they're 50 joke will be on them.  We'll be the sexy skinny bitches.  I've discovered some yummy recipes and I love to cook and I'm experimenting in the kitchen so I'll share them.  I made some delicious organic whole wheat vegan carrot spice muffins.  So delicious!

I bought the book today and I know that I will not become a vegan. (not because I don't want to just because I cook for me and my bf and he can't live without meat).

Should I refund this book if I'm never going to become a vegan??

I think it's worth read, gomui. If you decide it's not for you after reading it, then that's fine and your personal choice. But you might find some of the information interesting.

Thank you thread, you have reminded me to reread my copy!

I totally love this book. I bought it for a train ride from NYC to WDC and I finished it before I got the station. Talk about lifechanging! I've been meat and dairy-free since the day I read the book almost a month ago. Headaches for the first week, but now I feel incredible! I'm so totally stoked that someone else has started a thread about this!

Isn't it sad that we have a country that would rather protect it's money than its citizens? How sad is it that our tax dollars pay for the USDA to make us sick just so that the medical fields will give us a pill--at an expense--to cure us. I'm not sure that many people would be able to survive if they didn't have a Starbucks or a McDonald's to feed them. God forbid they had to actually make a choice and prepare it themselves. How sad. My goodness, they've made mac and cheese even more instant than it was when you cooked it in a pot. It makes you wonder what some people would do to feed themselves if there were rolling power failures.

My boss, who is a real jerk, has commented on my weight several times. He dropped about 30 lbs. with the NutriSystem meals, which is wonderful, but he's only skinnier, not healthier. He lives on coffee for the 8 hours at work and has the worst breath, but he had the nerve to give me crap about being overweight. I'd love to throw this book at him and say: read this you pig! (I'd love to know what the 5 packets of Splenda each cup is doing to his innards!)

Keep up the good work, folks! Hopefully we will be one of a few in our senior years who aren't sickly or on heart medication.

If anyone is interested, I am doing a "skinny bitch" challenge, search for it it the games section!!!

I wish they hadnt used the name "Skinny Bitch", it was cleary a marketing tactic and reinforces unrealstic body image... but at least they clarified at the end of the book its about being healthy, not skinny.

I'm already vegan, and about half of what I eat is organic (Im working my way up).

I know i need to switch from aspartame to stevia... but its hard to find, and the one time i did find it i couldnt buy it because it was too expensive. At one coffeeshop in vancouver, they actually had stevia packets next to the splenda! So exciting! Hopefully it will continue to show up more and get cheaper. I dont want to use raw sugar because of the calories, and sadly my tastebuds have gotten used to very sweet tea and coffee. (In a large coffee, Ill put 4-7 packets!!!)

The only part of this book I dont intend to follow is caffeine. Ive seen studies that it can prevent alzheimers, and that in moderate amounts its notthat bad...plus it boosts your metabolism and supresses your appetite. Every time Ive quit caffeine Ive gained weight. Coffee is my diet staple!.

If only starbucks would make frappucinos with soymilk and stevia..... I wish! I miss those things, even if they are like 700 cals.

Hi thought I would join this thread as well before I start one myself with my questions....I just got Skinny Bitch earlier this week and I loved the sarcasm, but was extremely hard to get through the Dairy chapter (Nasty).

Anyway, so far I have been able to eliminate things daily. There was some major headaches with the diet coke withdrawal (but I have been able to get off of the stuff in the past). Today is my last cheese day.....

My only concern is that its going to be a bit harder for me I think...I live in Ireland and let's face it its not the land of vegetarians and vegans! I was able to get some soup today that was for vegans, but I get some shock with the carbs and it worries me! It was really yummy too.

My mom has been a vegetarian for a year now and the lifestyle suits her well, but she's also back in the States where its much easier....not that I don't think I can do it, I just find that compared to other countries around Europe, its not going to be so easy to find variety.  Also, the stuff I have found screams CARBS GALORE and my brain is still trained to say stay away!!!!

One question, I like to use salsa on my salads but it says its made with sugar, still ok to use or is that out of the question?  Thanks a million for your help with my questions!!

Cheers!

Regarding the salsa, it doesn't need to be made with sugar. Try a different brand or make your own. It's really easy. I use fresh tomatoes, red onions, jalepenos, a little garlic, lots of cilantro, lime juice, and a little black pepper. You could also add bell peppers or any kind of peppers for that matter. Or anything else you like.

I've never been to Ireland, but I hear it's a meat and potatoes kind of place.