I mentioned after we got back from Florida that I finished reading Skinny Bitch but I never got a chance to share my thoughts on it. Until now. I also wanted to have some time after reading the book to implement some of their strategies into my daily life before I reviewed it. I don't have time to go into major details and thoughts on it - I'll let you all be the judge after you read it! But I will say a couple things. This is my kind of book. I really enjoyed how Rory and Kim wrote this book...it kept my attention and had me laughing on almost every page. You really have to have a sense of humor while reading this and hopefully you don't mind a few cuss words every other paragraph.
This book stresses the importance of being a vegetarian and eating organically as much as possible to become a 'skinny bitch' and live a healthy life. I do agree with many of the chapters in this book, but I don't however obviously believe that you HAVE to be a vegetarian to be skinny. What I really took away from this book and often found myself shocked at (WITH the mouth open saying "OMG! Billy, I can't believe this!") were the parts about how the animals are killed (that was extremely difficult to read), what chemicals actually go into the meat you eat, what information the FDA hides from you, artificial sweetners, and the chapter on pooping. Yes, pooping. dropping the kids off at the pool. Billy even read a few chapters in this book after I kept reading certain lines to him and he too was shocked. It's an eye opening book that's for sure.
I knew right after I finished this book that I wanted to make some MAJOR changes. I already do eat pretty healthy and buy a lot of organic produce, but I wanted to make more of a change...
I decided that I'm going to try and become a vegetarian. I'm not saying I will forever be a vegetarian, or that I'm giving up meat completely, but I haven't ate it since and I feel wonderful. The only thing I am going to eat is fish..but I am going to limit it to maybe once a week since I am just starting off. I have noticed a significant difference in how much more energy I have and even how much better I'm sleeping at night.
My first step to this change was to CLEAN out our pantry and refrigerator. CLEAN HOUSE you could say. I threw away all baking items that aren't good for you (white flour, sugar, etc) and organized our pantry by putting the healthy things in front on eye-level shelves and the not-so-good foods (I threw out most though..sorry Billy) on the higher shelves. I absolutely love that I did this and would recommend this to anyone. We then went to Whole Foods and stocked up on all organic items..fruits, veggies, hummus, yogurt, beans, quinoa, agave nectar (to replace sugar), and the list goes on. We pretty much bought out a lot of Whole Foods. One of the small lessons I took away from the book is that spending the extra money to buy organic foods is worth it...you are what you eat. I spend tons of money on clothes, shoes, makeup, etc but I can't go the extra mile for my health?!
So let's fast forward to now. I haven't ate meat and I've only had fish (shrimp) once. Billy is still eating meat occasionally but he has actually been enjoying the vegetarian dishes I have made for dinner. I'm proud of him for cutting back a bit on meat. What am I making for dinner you ask? I will post some recipes next week, but I have been making a lot of veggie stir frys, black bean quesadillas (yumm!), and quinoa stuffed peppers. I never realized before how many options there are but there is.
I hope to continue with this vegetarian & eating natural/organic foods journey for a while so if you all are interested, I can continue updating you all. Hopefully this wasn't too boring to read, but I felt it was important to share as health is the #1 thing in my life and I wanted to document when I started this!
I would LOVE to hear from those of you who have read this book or those of you who are vegetarians now. And for those who arent..maybe this will inspire you to read the book! :)
and because no one likes a post without pictures...
have I mentioned how much I loveee avocado's? I could eat them by the spoonful. and I do.
have a great weekend!
xo. katie.
I did a post on this last week! I wanted to go vegetarian for awhile, but after reading this book I did. I didn't do it because they said you have to be vegan to be a veggie, but I did it because of the animal rights issue and that the book made me really think what I was putting into my body.. Loved the book. I can't wait to read the others.
ReplyDeleteI'm a vegetarian (for the most part) and my mom is a vegan! She is also a certified nutritionist so I grew up not eating meat..if you need and tips or recipes let me know!! My mom was actually the one that gave my this book along with the cookbook..it was def a very interesting book to read..very insightful!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book. Will have to read it. I did the whole vegan before I got married 10 yrs. ago and felt healthy and clean and kept it up for about 3 yrs after getting married. When I started to eat "some" meat again...made me feel blah and sluggish.
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to read Skinny Bia for a while now ... Think you were just my motivation to BUY IT NOW! :) Oh and I LOVE avocados too! I literally eat at least 2 a week!
ReplyDeletexo! Lauren @ tickled.
Sounds like an interesting book. I may have to check it out!
ReplyDeletei read this a while back and decided to cut some meat out.. but it's in my diet so much, that it wasn't worth cutting it all out.. I would rather eat fish anyway because I like it more, but it's not as readily available here :-/... hopefully your transition goes well! my sister became a vegetarian a while back.. but keeps fish in her diet.. and is doing pretty well on it.. but has to make sure she gets ALLL of protien and iron she needs still.. and that can be difficult. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm scared to read that book but it sounds super interesting! I'd love to hear recipes!
ReplyDeleteI bought this book last week and have put off starting it. I'm glad to hear a positive review on it and look forward to starting it. I sometimes need to hear someone else tell me it's good before I start it. I'll let you know what I think when I'm done. I can't imagine that I'll be ready to give up meat, but at the same time I haven't read the horrors that you have...and I know they're coming...
ReplyDeleteI LOVED how the authors wrote the book as well! They were hilarious! Kinda like you and I haha.
ReplyDeleteI obviously need to finish it...I think I could be a vegetarian. I just love seafood and chicken! I could take or leave steak and beef.
Remember our bet tonight? Because you made it into my blog about it haha Text me after work this evening I am going bridal shower shopping and TJ MAXX!!! My second home. LOVE YA!
I don't eat meat (except chicken sometimes) and no fish but don't know if I can totally go vegeterian. . . I'm interested to read this book but a little nervous after your review. . . congrats on your healthy eating changes.
ReplyDeleteMy friend read and loved this book. She stopped eating meat after reading it and lost like 13 lbs right away. I'm not sure how much she re-integrated meat into her diet...but she's pregnant now and I've seen her eat a little bit of meat...but she still looks great!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh can't believe I came upon this post. I totally planned on writing a post about this book. I read this book about 1.5 years ago, and just like you, my mouth was open during the whole thing. It made such an impact on me that I completely 100% went vegetarian. And you know what? I was the thinnest and healthiest I have ever been. I felt GREAT and looked great and it was, for the most part, pretty easy. I thought I would miss eating meat, but since I read that book? I have never ever been able to eat a hamburger, because I just THINK about what that book said, and about what it is I'm really eating. Chicken? Totally grosses me out now after reading that. Soda? Everything thing else in the book? It totally changed my life. I have come up with some the BEST vegetarian meals that even my husband, who is a true die hard meat eater, loves. I cook vegetarian meals for a good 3 our of the 5 meals I make him, and he never complains, because the food is so good! So good luck! LOVE that book!!
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to read this! I too am trying to cut back on meat...I don't think I could be a 100% vegetarian, but I can handle cutting way back. I've never liked pork and I've replaced any red meat with a poultry (mainly turkey) alternative! You brought up such a good point...you spend tons of money on make up and clothes so why wouldn't you buy the best food you can?! Never thought of it that way!!! Excellent advice! I can't wait for you to share your recipes...I always need new ideas.
ReplyDeleteLove that you are focusing on choosing the best ingredients! Have not read the book, but heard many great things about it, very similar to have how you feel. While I'm not vegetarian, I have cut out meat. I was surprised to learn how much cholesterol is in meat.... so I try to eat 1-2 meatless meals a day, and opt for fish more often. I use spinach in everything, it's an easy healthy addition. But it's no match for avocado! Mmm, love me some avocado, mmm. Are you meal planning? That is my new hobby, love it!
ReplyDeleteThis is such motivation for me to read this book! I have a (male!) friend that basically quotes me this book every time I see him--mainly because of my obsession with diet coke :)
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