I thought I would start by sharing
some books and documentaries about health and wellness that truly changed my
outlook on what I was eating on a day to day basis.
I’m going to cover them one
by one, so I thought I’d talk about them in the order that I discovered them!
Book: Skinny Bitch
A No-Nonsense, Tough-Love Guide
for Savvy Girls Who Want to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous!
Years ago I saw Skinny Bitch
mentioned on E News when Giuliana Rancic (or some other super skinny E channel news presenter)
was speaking candidly about how the book’s sales had soared dramatically after
Victoria Beckham was seen carrying her own shiny new copy out of a book
store. So, naturally, a stampede of Mrs Beckham wannabes rushed out to buy the book too. And so came fame to Skinny Bitch!
Still, it wasn’t until my friend Claire
loaned the book to me, that I actually bothered to read it for myself.
Contrary to what the title
may suggest, Skinny Bitch is masquerading
as an inspiring read for dieters, while it's real purpose is to promote veganism. Skinny Bitch was
written by two headstrong all-American women – Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin,
who met while working at a New York modelling agency and somehow bonded over
their obsession with food (the unhealthy kind, I might add! At a modelling agency… Go figure). They
both admit that they were meat enthusiasts – every day, three times a day,
at disgusting proportions.
But one day, they saw
the light, did extensive research and felt so completely passionate
about what they discovered that they not only became vegan in their own
everyday lives, but they joined forces and wrote Skinny Bitch to share their
findings and encourage others to join the vegan movement too.
In short, Skinny Bitch tells
us that:
Carbs are okay!
However, do eat wholegrain options as
much as you can. White flour, white rice
and white bread have all been processed and bleached to get them to that point
and are not the optimum choice for a healthy diet. But wholegrain carbs are good for you! So, if someone says to give up carbs completely
to lose weight, ignore it – you need carbs to function properly.
Sugar IS the devil.
This means sugar and sugar
substitutes. In fact, the information
about aspartame (artificial sweetener) is staggering – I found it far more
terrifying to read about that than the effects of regular old table sugar. If I took anything away from this book, it
was that I never ever want to drink another Diet Coke again.
Eat Organically, or at least
Naturally as much as possible.
A muesli bar made up of
anti-caking agents, stabilizers, preservatives and a whole bunch of numbers is just code for artificial food and a lifetime of it sitting on the shelves. Substitute that snack for something else,
like some raw almonds and an apple!
Don’t eat meat or dairy.
Ok, so I didn’t quite take
this one on board, even though it's the sole purpose of the book! However, it is
interesting to learn about the reasons behind why we should consider a vegan
diet. If you’re someone who is currently vegetarian this book has the potential to
tip you over the fence and head-first into veganism!
They also delve deeply into the US Government’s negative influence on the food industry and
farming practices…. Obviously being a Kiwi this was as much of a ‘stir’ for me
– but still incredibly interesting and worth a read.
Rory and Kim do
insist that their book is not actually promoting extreme skinniness OR bitchiness. They
make it quite clear that they enjoy food, eat well and love their bodies as a
result. It’s more about feeling good
from the inside right the way through to the outside, and according to them, being
Vegan is the best way to do this.
Personally, I’m not a vegan
but I did LOVE the book. It’s
educational, opens the mind and is absolutely hilarious - guaranteed to make you 'laugh out loud'! xx
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