Skinny Bitchin and No S

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 2:55 pm

I found the Skinny Bitch diet book in my car one day and wondered who could've thought I needed to read a book titled that! My husband teaches an argument/persuasion class and covers freedoms/rights so the whole meat industry happened to come up and a student gave him the book because some of the points in the book matched the discussion in class.

I picked it up and gave it an honest look. It basically encourages you to stop eating meat and dairy and give convincing reasons why. My husband has been vegetarian for almost a year after having bad reactions to beef. So we had eaten a lot of poultry for awhile, so much I got tired of it myself.

I had a wedding to attend last month and so the months before I tried to give up meat successfully in combination with No S. I have found it to be very successful. I mentioned to my husband that we've really cut down on eating fried foods and that's a good thing. Less options are working out better for me. I do have dairy and I do eat fish.

I would never have thought I would be vegetarian, but I am finding that it is making No S work even better and I am losing lbs so I am happy!

Also, one of the main keys to my No S success is a food journal I keep in either a blog or a word document. I make a chart with columns for date, breakfast, lunch, dinner, exercise and water consumption, and weight. Yes I do weigh myself and I just can't help it!!! I can see how what I eat and drink affects my weight daily.

Well, I am not going to be preachy and tell people to give up meat because I never would years ago. But I think my cholesterol can thank me for it. I only gave it a 2 month trial and I am thinking I am making a life change. I will still have meat on special occasions if I really want it. Happy No-s-ing!

~reneew · Post by **~reneew** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:06 pm

I've heard that as being called "flexitarian". When you mostly eat vegitarian, but have meat sometimes. I think it's a great way to eat, especially when trying to loose weight or save some money.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:08 pm

A vegan diet works well for some people and not so well with others. I followed a vegan diet for a while (maybe 5 years?) and never really felt good. I started feeling better and had much more improvement with labs, etc. when I resumed eating meat, dairy and more fats and gave up overly refined and processed foods.

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:09 pm

AND suprisingly I am losing weight now instead of having that goal date wedding to lose weight by. Now I just do it because it's working, not that I have to rush and lose so many pounds in a certain amount of time. That's unrealistic!

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:02 pm

~reneew wrote:I've heard that as being called "flexitarian". When you mostly eat vegitarian, but have meat sometimes. I think it's a great way to eat, especially when trying to loose weight or save some money.

That's us. I was so pleased when they came up with a name for it.

We do eat poultry/fish, and occasionally red meat (MUCh less often), but we also eat a lot of bean/cheese/egg dishes for protein.

flightisleavin · Post by **flightisleavin** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 6:21 pm

I am headed down this road also - the flexerian. And I never thought I would be that way either because I love a good steak. I was the typical meat and starch kind of person along with convenience foods at every opportunity.

But I realized that other cultures who eat less meat and more whole REAL food (not processed) seem to be healthier. They are doing something right in my opinion.

I know people that are vegetarians and I think that is cool but they struggle with weight and health issues also because what I see is them filling up on empty processed carbs or fake chicken nuggets, etc. That would not appeal to me, but I can fully understand and support people who chose not to eat any kind of animal meat.

I have found that eating less meat, not so much chicken and a little bit fish encourages me to eat more vegetables on my plate and not eating processed foods encourages me to eat fruit for the sweetness. It has helped a lot with not snacking or wanting to snack.

Eating is such a personal thing. I think you could eat whatever appealed to you and follow the S plan and lose weight because it encourages not overeating whatever you choose. That seems like the most important lesson in sustained weight loss.

~reneew · Post by **~reneew** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 7:27 pm

If I stopped to think about what I eat, I'd be a vegetarian. So many things gross me out... almost all fish unless it's battered and I can't see it. Any red meat especially if on the bone, but I love well done roasts and hamberger. I used to love chicken until I had a cornish game hen... poor thing. I now buy bneless skinless chicken breasts. I am married to a carnivorous hunter and fisher, so I make amends and try not to think about it, then I can make almost everything. My pet peeve is when people say "tuna fish" instead of just "tuna". I like to live blissfully ignorant.

Post by **reinhard** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:49 pm

I can't comment on the substance of SB.

And I'm not so into the tone...

But I find two things about it profoundly inspiring:

1) it took 3 full years for the book to take off (when Victoria Beckham was spotted with it)

2) the main author's last name starts with F so no-s is shelved right next to it. Can't hurt to be in such close proximity to the best selling diet book, right?

Other than that... I'm German, I need my meat

Though I do feel sorry for it, so I get most of it from here:

http://www.chestnutfarms.org/

Reinhard

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 11:33 pm

Very cool, Reinhard! Wish I could locate something similar near us.

We do mostly buy organic meat, but that doesn't always translate to "humane", though the odds are better (and I look at labels for some indication). I don't object to eating animals - it's that circle of life thing - but I do object to the cruelties of factory farming.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 11:39 pm

The reviews of the book at Amazon are interesting. I look at the negative ones as much as the positive, and this certainly has negative ones -- partly for language and partly for very inaccurate content. Unfortunately, I've found that to be true of many books that promote a vegan diet -- the truth is stretched and studies wrongly interpreted.

I guess I'm a flexitarian. I kind of follow Mark Bittman's way of eating: vegan until dinner. Though, honestly, I was doing it before he wrote about the idea.

http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/simple ... ople/artic

flightisleavin · Post by **flightisleavin** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 11:59 pm

KCCC wrote:Very cool, Reinhard! Wish I could locate something similar near us.

We do mostly buy organic meat, but that doesn't always translate to "humane", though the odds are better (and I look at labels for some indication). I don't object to eating animals - it's that circle of life thing - but I do object to the cruelties of factory farming.

KCCC. Have you tried this site? www.eatwild.com They have a list of organic humane farmers that are local.

I am on board with your last paragraph. It is the cycle of life and the food chain. It is indeed a controversial subject but when I watch Animal Planet and the lioness takes down a wildebeast to feed her cubs I think nature does not prioritize one animal over the other except in order that it has been done for a gazillion years. It is the inhumane treatment and deplorable conditions of the industrialized farming that I don't like.

One of the things that M. Pollan said is to "spend more but buy less" which again goes with the idea of moderation. I am willing to pay more if I can have assurance that the the farming is done in a way that farmers have done for years. I'm also aware that some of the organic farms are not much different than the industrialized ones but it still seems like a better plan to me.

I was watching a video of a dairy farmer on Youtube who switched over to organic. I liked his quote of "it's about biology and not mad science." That is what happened when they feed the cattle from the feed lot instead of the grass. It makes them sick, they don't produce as much milk and then they need hormones and antibiotics. Evidently cows can become very stressed under poor conditions.

I notice that their "earrings" actually had names. It is probably mostly psychological but there is something that says to me that "Gloria" and "Dolly" are treated more humanely and have sweeter milk than "2115A".

I know there are a lot of tense opinions on this subject (one only needs to read posts about organic vs. industrialized) but the old fashioned farmer is my personal choice.

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 5:19 am

Wouldn't a flexitarian be an omnivore? On the otherhand I noctice my wife and I eat less meat during the summer. Just seems to be a natural shift.

J.

bonnieUK · Post by **bonnieUK** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 9:26 am

I'd advise caution to anyone considering a vegan diet, my advice would be make sure you get plenty of protein and good fats. There are a lot of vegans out there who will tell you you don't need to worry about protein if you eat enough variety of vegetables, grains etc. but in my experience this was not the case.

I turned vegan (from vegetarian) when I was 19. For the first few years I felt great, lost some puppy fat, had more energy, better hormone balance etc.

But from my mid-late twenties onwards my health deteriorated, I was ravenously hungry ALL THE TIME, exhausted ALL THE TIME, gaining weight and having weird horomonal stuff (absent/irregular TOM).

Last year I re-introduced some animal products (organic eggs, butter & occasional fish) and felt better within a week. I've also generally been eating more fat and protein from all sources, and have had better energy levels and better success with No S as a result.

I guess I'm now pescatarian (vegetarian + fish) but in practice eat vegan style probably 4-5 days out of 7.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:46 am

Over43 wrote:Wouldn't a flexitarian be an omnivore? On the otherhand I noctice my wife and I eat less meat during the summer. Just seems to be a natural shift.

J.

Technically, yes. But I think "flexitarian" implies that one is eating more plant foods and fewer animal foods.

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 1:19 pm

wosnes wrote:
Over43 wrote:Wouldn't a flexitarian be an omnivore? On the otherhand I noctice my wife and I eat less meat during the summer. Just seems to be a natural shift.

J.
Technically, yes. But I think "flexitarian" implies that one is eating more plant foods and fewer animal foods.

LOL, OK.

J.

marleah · Post by **marleah** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 1:44 pm

I'll just pop in to mention I've been vegan for over a year and vegetarian for over 5, and I read Skinny Bitch a while back. I didn't mind the tone, but it's definitely not for everyone! I haven't had any problems with my diet; in fact, along with increasing exercise (and being more athletic than ever) I've lowered my cholesterol and blood pressure, and my iron levels are actually better than they were prior to me going vegetarian. Lots of energy, feel great.

Just wanted to speak out in support.

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:54 pm

I know the book is not for everyone. I actually did not read the whole book as there was much gruesome stuff about the treatment of animals and the meat industry. I got the idea about it. Since my husband started eating vegetarian, I am giving it a trial and so far I feel really good. I did not stop eating meat because of SB, but it came at a time I was considering it so it gave me that extra push. When I was food journaling on NO S I saw I was eating a lot of Bacon. Lots as I love bacon. And I have high cholesterol. So it should be down by now. I'm hoping. The leading cause of death is usually heart disease and I'd rather not die from that!

I also went to a weight loss hypnosis seminar years ago and you had to visualize disgusting dripping with grease meats and want to avoid them, so there's that in the back of my mind.

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:40 am

oliviamanda wrote:I know the book is not for everyone. I actually did not read the whole book as there was much gruesome stuff about the treatment of animals and the meat industry. I got the idea about it. Since my husband started eating vegetarian, I am giving it a trial and so far I feel really good. I did not stop eating meat because of SB, but it came at a time I was considering it so it gave me that extra push. When I was food journaling on NO S I saw I was eating a lot of Bacon. Lots as I love bacon. And I have high cholesterol. So it should be down by now. I'm hoping. The leading cause of death is usually heart disease and I'd rather not die from that!

I also went to a weight loss hypnosis seminar years ago and you had to visualize disgusting dripping with grease meats and want to avoid them, so there's that in the back of my mind.

I used to wor near a dairy. I drove by it and saw/smelled it daily. It took me quite sometime to enjoy a chocolate milk again.