Why Do I Love the ‘Hungry Girl’ But Hate the ‘Bitches’?
vs.
First, My Rant
I have to admit that I harbored a certain prejudice against the Skinny Bitches before I ever cracked the binding of their book, (which I did look through about a month back as I was killing time during a long airport lay-over). I didn’t like the idea behind their book, I didn’t like the title, and I haven’t liked the people I’ve met who rave about the book and how it’s changed their lives. My worst fears were confirmed when I read the first few pages and browsed the index and chapter headings. The book capitalizes on the worst of body-loathing and self-loathing that permeates our culture, but the ‘Bitches’ insist that their book is dedicated to changing the world by converting people to a vegan diet that will get them to eat better. But they aren’t just meat haters (a loathing which I can understand…. as I’m just not that into the harvesting and consumption of flesh myself). They hate on caffeine, sugar, wine, fun, and all human bodies that don’t live up to the painstakingly emaciated “ideal.”
The Bitches initiate their readers into their bitchy crew with heavy doses of castigation (they inform their readers that they are suffering from “bloated fat pig syndrome.” Ouch…. please miss, may I have another?), followed by model-body idolatry (“healthy = skinny”) , topped with a whole slew of rules we should all follow more closely than the ten commandments (like “sugar is the devil” and drinking alcohol “equals fat-pig syndrome” and “coffee is for pussies”). They also have a whole chapter dedicated to Pooping. Hmmm… do I smell former laxative abusers therein….?
More on the “Bitches” I hate, the “Hungry Girl” I love, and a chance to voice your views after the jump…
The Bitches’ website proclaims, “If you can’t take one more day of self-loathing, you’re ready to get skinny.” Worst of all, the Bitches have built a bitchin’ empire on this pyre of self-hatred and general immaturity. They have recipe books, a diet book for pregnant women called “Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven,” and they will soon be releasing a book called Skinny Bastard, a book geared toward men.
The NYT recently did a little piece on the new Skinny Bastard book: It is apparently a little less strident and much more flirtatious. Rather than screaming at their readers for being fatties and slobs, the Bitches coax the “Bastards-in-training” into dieting by stroking their egos a little, “Chances are, you haven’t done so badly, despite the few extra lbs you’re carting around” before hitting the “Bastards-in-training” with the book’s real message, vanity should rule your life, “don’t kid yourself, pal: A hot-bodied man is a head-turner.” Ugh!
I guess my main problem is that these gals obviously have all sorts of food and body issues and they are now profiting on spreading their disease to other, less-diseased minds. I tend to think their books are principally about vanity and only secondarily about food and health, and their tone and technique gives vegans a bad name.
Now, My Rave
Hungry Girl, however, I completely love. While the Bitches seem to take great delight in torturing their fanbase, Hungry Girl gently coaches her fans towards nutritional awareness. According to a recent Washington Post article on the Hungry Girl, 43-year-old Lisa Lillien, she wants her readers to think of her as their “crazy best friend,” the woman “who will go get the answers to what they want to know but don’t have time to get themselves.” And that’s exactly what she does! Teaming up with food chemists, she’s been known to challenge products that claim to be low-fat or low-cal when their healthy claims fail to stand up to lab tests.
I guess I appreciate Hungry Girl’s take on things because it’s so obvious that the woman loves food (and not just good-for-you food, but the food I sometimes urgently crave, JUNK FOOD) and makes no apologies about it. As the Post reported:
Hungry Girl speaks the language of chips, cake, cereal, breakfast sausage, taco shells, easy noodles. By doing so, she acknowledges something we all know about ourselves: For all our slow-cooking, sustainable gardening ambitions, we are a nation of snackers.
That’s right, while we aspire to consume that which is best for us, Hungry Girl understands that many of us have neither the self-discipline nor the desire to cut out all soda-pop and sweet and salty treats. The ultimate foodie consumer advocate, Hungry Girl’s website helps us sort through the not-so-good for us food so that we can settle on the best lesser-evil candidates to satiate our baser food instincts. She’s more of a food analyst than a diet crazed weirdo, though she has been on the weight-watchers point system for eight years. Hungry Girl is on a lucrative crusade: she’s written recipe books and has 700,000 subscribers to her website.
Maybe I’m just a sensitive chica who appreciates the difference in tone between these folks, but I think there is a substantive difference between berating people into eating and thinking like you, and giving people information on what the nutritional value is in the stuff they eat…. Am I way off base here? Am I a total hypocrite? Can you all suss out some other underlying reason why “Hungry Girl” appeals to me while I can’t stand the “Skinny Bitch” ladies?
And do you feel the same?
Pics: Hungry Girl & Skinny Bitch
I agree with your take! Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is about exercising moderation, not restriction. Another health-minded blogger posted her review of Skinny Bitch, with similar criticisms – http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2009/05/my-review-of-skinny-bitch.html
I really wanted to love Hungry Girl – I love her concept, but there is just way too much processed foods in what she eats. That said, I really really despise Skinny Bitches – they are mean and OTT and just generally rude. Ugh. Hungry Girl works for me in concept, just not in practice (ie I like the whole foods, no processed stuff approach) while Skinny Bitches makes me nauseous. And btw, the Bitches eat a TON of processed foods too.
While I have not read the Skinny Bitch book, I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I have bought the Skinny Bitch in the Kitch cookbook. I have to say I like the recipes they provide because often I find that with vegan cookbooks, like Vegan with a Vengeance, the recipes take HOURS, and are often not health conscious (yes, some vegan stuff is NOT healthy!) The words skinny bitch make me cringe though (I literally hide my cookbook when people come over). And hungry girl, just the name sounds better! I will give it a chance. But I do recommend Skinny Bitch in the Kitch if you are looking for super easy and healthy vegan recipes.
A DIET book for pregnant women!!!!!!
I don’t know about Hungry Girl, but I really dislike using weight as a ploy to get people to turn vegan. There are a TON of fat vegans… just because something is plant based does not mean it’s good for you :/
i don’t know much about either philosophy (ES is my only source of foodie news) but what i can say is being afraid of fat (hello james beard winner!) and being afraid to eat a wide variety of foods (everything from whole grains to avocados to potato chips) is not the way to live.
people need to fucking loosen up.
sure, its hard being an american woman. totally shitty standards of beauty and health. but fuck it. eating and cooking = fun and should not be full of guidelines (or recipes!)
but i will say one thing – get your ass to your local farmers market.
Also, just because someone is fat does not mean they are unhealthy.
I’m not totally in love with either philosophy, but I thing Hungry Girl beats the pants off of Skinny Bitch. If I have to live in a weight-obsessed culture, I’ll take Hungry Girl’s approach any day.
html fail! yay!
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Well after reading this post, I guess I don’t need to bother to get to know the skinny bitches. I like Hungry Girl & can decide in a moment if the daily email is worth reading or deleting. Although I agree with City Girl about processed food – it is nice to have a heads up about items before buying.
I was craving junk food this weekend, and oddly enough comprised with two of Hungry Girl’s recipes.. cheese sticks and calamari. I really amped up the spices & fresh parsley (from the garden) and it was good. I’ll save my fat for dipping bottomless fried chips into bowl after bowl of guac.
agree with City Girl regarding Hungry Girl and her processed foods. I also found the emails and her advice ridiculously repetitive. I didnt want to hear any more about those wierd shiraki noodles or encrusting my chicken with fiber one. i’ll stick to just healthy eating 🙂
I never meant to imply that fat people were unhealthy, if you got that from my comment I apologize. I only meant that I often see vegans trying to sell their diet as some source of eternal health while it can be quite the opposite, the Skinny Bitches being a prime example.
I don’t know much about either (first I’ve heard of Hungry Girl, though it sounds familiar, and I’ve heard of Skinny Bitches, the title just really irks me)… but I’m curious now, do either preach about exercise? Cuz going vegetarian for those 6 weeks didn’t do anything for my weight loss, if anyone’s keeping track at home… all of my weight loss came before that period… and is starting up again now 🙂
And yes, there are plenty of fat vegetarians/vegans, because lots of junk food is technically vegetarian… but still bad for you. Please remind that to the next vegetarian to get in my face about how fat I am and how I should stop eating meat to become skinnier. kthx. (No offense to any vegetarian ESers who don’t preach!)
Did you know one of the Skinny Bitches was a model and the other was an agent at a modeling company. Maybe that’s my they have such disordered eating. You’re right, Maid, it is a shame that they are trying to spread their disease to the whole world, and that they are profiting off of it too. The fact that they have a totally different tone with their male-geared book also really bothers me. WTF! What’s the deal with that?
And another thing: sugar is not the fucking devil! In moderation it is the most wonderful proof of god’s grace that exists! How else to explain the pleasure it gives me?
why can’t I vote… Sad. Well, I woulda voted for hungry girl. I think she rocks. I go to her site for creative recipe ideas all the time. Thanks Maids for doing this review. I’m proud to be your coworker!!!!!
@ Yvo – does that happen to you frequently, vegetarians getting into your face and telling you you’re fat and that you should stop eating meat? I think I’d slap-chop someone if s/he told me I was fat. People need to mind their own bodies and their own business.
@ 🙁 sorry you couldn’t vote… you’re opinion is duly noted.
Although it has been said before in the comments, I want to stress again that being fat and being vegan are not mutually exclusive. Also, this fat is not from just eating vegan junk food or other things that are necessarily bad for you. There are a ton of reasons why people are fat, not just diet.
I’ve been a vegan for five years, exercise, and eat a very healthy diet. I’m still fat.
That being said, I HATE the Skinny Bitches attitude. Using weight loss as a reason to go vegan misses out on the animal and human rights aspect of veganism ,not to mention that it probably doesn’t educate about sustainability, wearing animal based products, or fighting for compassionate living.
I’m not familiar with Hungry Girl, but the name itself attracts me.
Sadly, I can’t agree with the review of Hungry Girl. In addition to supporting the too much processed foods comment (made above already) I also noticed that some of her advice supported disordered eating behaviors. For example, in her tips to survive an office party, she recommends taking a piece of cake – eating one bite in front of people to seem polite and then disposing of the rest of the slice later. This is the same thing anorexics do. Instead of body shame and ways to not allow women to eat, let’s support body positive people – people who try for healthy eating at any size and don’t reinforce the stereotype that women must be thin to be worthwhile! Above all, let’s not support disordered eating for any reason. Let’s learn to be proud of ourselves and our strong bodies – and remember that it’s ok to sustain them with food.
First, I hate her website. Especially the titles of the links. I want to know if I want to be clicking a link before I click it. Also, in “who is hungry girl?” she says she tries the latest fad diets, chomps on new fat free food and diet products. Some fat free things don’t even have that much less fat than the regular one but taste worse (like yogurt) or the full-fat thing was “good fats” and it’s really a marketing ploy to get you to buy their product because it’s fat-free. Excess protein and carbs turn into fat anyway. Rant over.
Also, she is “obssessed” with how much food will make it impossible for her to fit in her pants. Honestly, if you are eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full and eating junk food in moderation you should settle at a weight (even though it might be higher than society thinks it should be) and shouldn’t need to obssess about finding “new low cal snacks”.
She just sounds so contradictory. Also, just because something is low calorie or low carb does not make it healthy. Carbs are what keep you alive.
the comment above said a lot of my issue with hungry girl-not only does she love love fake processed food, it’s all about having no calories, instead of eating either healthy or something that will satisfy you. Even if you take weight loss as a good goal, her type of advice(use fake substitutes to replace sugar/fat/whatever) has been pretty well debunked as uneffective, and likely to make you eat more. that said, no, skinny bitch has too many problems to count. fail on both of them.
Wandered in here from Feministing. I’m not a big fan of Hungry Girl — her Writing Style! Doesn’t appeal to me! I can only deal with SOOOOO MUCH of it! Then I start to feel like I’m dealing with a high-school girl!! (No offense to any REAL high-school girls! I love you!!)
Ahem. Sorry. Nor do I care much for her recipes: they’re overly reliant on artificial and substitute ingredients, and are largely based around the idea that if you *call* a dish X, then it *is* X or at least “as good as” X: witness her “potato salad” recipe made with steamed cauliflower, fat-free mayonnaise, and fat-free sour cream; or her “fish and chips” recipe, with fish rolled in powdered Fiber One and baked, and “chips” made from sweet potatoes.
That said …
“Skinny Bitch” may be the vilest weight-loss book I’ve ever seen. The back-cover copy — “If you can’t take one more day of self-loathing, you’re ready to hear the truth” — is stunningly ironic, because the message of this book is really, “If you aren’t as skinny as we are, it’s because you don’t loathe yourself ENOUGH. Not yet. But we can change that!”
GadgetChick wrote a stupendous, penetratingly acute review of it for Amazon.com: it’s at http://www.amazon.com/review/R2LVT0WBBC3RU3/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm . A sample:
“I have no issue with veganism…. What I have a problem with is the language that the authors use in the book to try to convince people to eat vegan – and I’m not talking about the profanity. You see, in addition to being an ex-vegetarian, I am also in recovery from an eating disorder. And so much of the language in this book is exactly the kind of thing I would say to myself to convince myself not to eat, when I was at the worst point in my illness and trying to eat less than 600 calories a day, while at the same time exercising 3-4 hours a day.
” … I didn’t hear two angry vegans speaking in this book. I heard two women who have major food and body issues that they’ve never addressed. A lot of people have objections about the authors calling other people fat, stupid, etc. – you have to understand that is not the authors talking about other people. Those are the voices they hear inside their heads, every single day, telling them that THEY are stupid, THEY are worthless, THEY are bad if they stray from this very strict diet they have devised. That’s exactly what happens when people have an eating disorder….
“As an ex-anorexic friend of mine said, this book is awesome for people in the throes of the disease because it basically gives you permission to food-restrict and negatively self-talk all you want, two of the behaviors that therapists try to eliminate in eating-disorder patients.
“I truly believe this book is not about veganism. This book is about how to practice a special brand of anorexia in which you view food as evil and avoid putting it into your body, but you still eat enough of certain things to avoid criticism from friends and family, under the guise of this pro-animal-rights philosophical viewpoint. The language they use is very similar to the language you see on pro-anorexia websites maintained by women whose goal is to trade tips for how not to eat and reinforce each other’s philosophy and behavior.”
I’m curious to know – where do strong women with varying athletic figures fit into that Skinny Bitch/Fat Pig dichotomy? I guess the minds behind that whole thing don’t suppose that women ever work out to get stronger muscles or be more physically capable – the employees at my nearest gym also figure that females are only there to slim down.
Hmmm… I agree that Skinny Bitch is evil. But I do like that they’re vegan. In other words, that they actually take an ethical standpoint on what they consume. Hungry Girl seems healthier from a body image point of view, but corroborates the idea that our food (and other consumerist) choices concern only us and are somehow ethically neutral, which frankly, is bullshit. It’s possible to be both ethical and have a healthy body image. It’s not a tradeoff. Both the Skinny Bitches and Hungry Girl are epic fails in my book, each for their own reasons.
another wanderer from feministing.
ive got to agree with OMG… re: a diet book for pregnant woman. unless this is book is full full of recipes that follow the blue ribbon baby/dr. brewer nutrition plan, restrictng calories during pregnancy has got to be the stupidest, most dangerous thing ive ever heard. i followed the BBB plan (being vegan it was a bit of a challenge) with my two pregnancies and both babies were over 9 and half pounds.
if i want yummy, relatively healthy and body positive cookbooks, ill take isa moskowitz.
I like the idea of Hungry Girl, and I especially like the name (girls are allowed to be hungry? girls can now base eating decisions on hunger, which is, you know, the actual reason why you eat? Count me in!) I get that it’s mostly processed, and I’m bummed that it’s not vegetarian, but I will definitely use it to help me weed through the junk food I crave.
P.S. Everyone’s already covered the reasons why Skinny Bitch is a disgusting book that promotes a TERRIBLE relationship to food based on harmful and sexist stereotypes, so I won’t re-list them. I’ll just agree.
As a nutrition major and future RD, I say they both bite, in a bad way.
I agree w/ everything you said about Skinny Bitch and more- such as their credentials include “self-proclaimed know-it-all” and they’re former models. Yea, there’s a real winner….. And they do give veganism a bad name. I’m vegetarian and veganism is just fine w/ me, but when you try to get people to do it solely to get skinny, you lose the real focus of why veganism can be so great for you. And they clearly have, or had, body issues.
Hungry girl does try to educate the readers about nutrition but at the same time their recipes are filled w/ artificial ingredients like artificial sweetener, HFCS ingreds, high sodium content, etc. So even though the food is low calorie there’s a lot of stuff in it you shouldn’t be eating constantly. I do like a lot of recipes of theirs and believe that you should use them as craving busters, not something you live your life by daily. That being said they do include recipes that DON’T contain a lot of artificial ingreds like their egg recipes. So I think of it as a “fine in moderation” type deal.
You do realize that Hungry Girl is written by someone with absolutely no experiance or education on nutrition. I do admit that the book is cute but personally I would rather take advice to someone who knows what they are talking about rather then the advice of a women who knows nothing about maintaining a healthy life style btw she is currently on the weight watchers program so how helpful can she be if she can’t even maintain her own weight with her oh so helpful book?
There is a middle ground between being a vegan & using highly processed foods in all your “home” cooking.
Using fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains & fresh herbs in cooking is not only healthier than hungry girl’s approach but can also be more delicious. Whole foods vs processed foods give you the nutrition you need, if you body is well fueled, your weight loss will be more successful and maintainable. Also, the amount of sodium in processed foods is horrendous.
That said, I like my junk food, candy & chips from time to time. I just enjoy only in moderation. So, I try to limit my processed foods most of the time & occasionally indulge in the junk stuff in small amounts.
I’m a lifelong WWer and went from a processed foods eating to a more natural diet. I strongly feel long term weight maintenance and health cannot be maintained by relying on diet processed foods.
Maybe hungry girl is okay from time to time but not as a full time diet. I would consider any recipes using a ton of processed foods as junk food & treat accordingly. I don’t care if they are non fat or low in sugar, if there are chemicals or a ton of sodium, that is not a healthy meal.
I just think they are two totally different approaches so it comes down to which one works for you, and then whether or not you can tolerate the personality behind it. HG is all about dealing with our consumer culture and junk food in a way that won’t be as unhealthy and might help you lose weight. The bitches want complete purity to the extent that not even all of their opinions can be backed up by 100% sound science – and I understand why they feel eating that was is the best. I think HG is slightly annoying, but way less annoying that the way the bitches insult you and berate you to do what they’ve decided is best. I agree that most Americans especially could benefit from their book, but I think perhaps an easier way to go for most of them would be using HG’s techniques.
I guess I am the only one who interpreted Skinny Bitch not as a diet book, but as a book about government bureaucracy, animal cruelty, and the many flaws in America’s food production system. The downside to the pushy and often crude tone of the authors is that the true message of the book gets lost. I felt enlightened after reading about the meat and dairy industries and their detrimental impact not only on the environment, but on the general health of every American. I eliminated all meat and dairy from my diet for my own ethical believes that it will promote better health for myself, for animals, and for the environment. Since doing so, the pounds have literally dripped off of me. I lost twenty pounds without even trying. I think that’s just common sense – when you eliminate things like cheese, pork, beef, poultry, milk, butter and eggs from your diet, you’re going to loose weight. All of those things are high in calories and fat… not to mention hormones, chemicals, and antibiotics if you don’t buy organic! That being said, my mom gave me HG’s 200 under 200 cookbook that she got for free from being on the Rachel Ray show. I’ve made the veggie stuffed peppers (minus the cheese) and they were great! But I literally think that may be the only recipe in the entire book that isn’t chock full of crap ingredients. HG takes things that are bad for you and tries to make them “better” by making them less calories. If something is bad for you to start off with (cheddar cheese), I doubt a highly processed, chemicalized version (fat-free cheddar cheese) can be better for you, even it is less calories. How about just eliminating it all together? Ahimsa.
Neither are good. I agree with the person who said that Hungry-girl supports disordered eating. It puts good/bad labels on food (ex: That cinnamon roll is DISGUSTING!! It has SCARY stats!!) We want to have balanced, healthy, “in-moderation” eating. Intuitive eating, not obsessive eating.
picked up Skinny Bitch in a bookstore one day, just to flip through and pass the time, see what all the fuss was about. Note to anyone suffering from an eating disorder: you do.not.need.this.book. Actually, make that a note to anyone. If you haven’t got one already, chances are, this book will steer you in that direction. I’ve got my own dose of self-loathing to administer every day; I don’t need a book to tell me I’m worthless because I decided to drink a cup of coffee that morning. OH SHIT THREE EXTRA CALORIES. How does this fuckery get published? Ironically, it was right next to the similarly modeled dreck by Bethanny Frankel or whatever her name is, who advocates drinking wine like crazy while only taking three bites of food per meal.
One thing that stands out in my mind only because it made me guffaw out loud right in the store: their insistence upon organic toothpaste. Yep. You’re an unhealthy, uneducated loser if you buy the regular stuff. How on earth can you live with yourself? I mean, don’t you KNOW what all of those chemicals are DOING to you?!
i actually like both. yes the skinny bitches may be rude but it’s also all part of the comedy to capture the readers attention(have a sense of humor, come on) but they hit many points that are pretty realistic. let’s be honest some of the food that women consume is pretty gross and i loved the animal cruelty chapters; so true and touching-it really has changed my life. hungry girl is cool, i like the swaping of the food for healthier versions. but not a fan of all the processed food.
Some ppl are GOING to be fat, some ppl are GOING to be skinny, and some in between. STFU, and get over it!!! D:< Stop judging ppl so harshly either way and just be yourself. Stop dwealing on one thing and move on with your life. Live Fast. Die Young. <(this is not a reference to a movie x3)
Re: commenters about how Hungry Girl is “not healthy.” Hungry Girl NEVER CLAIMS to be the healthiest way of eating; rather, she is low-cal. And she gives much better options for this nation who WILL eat fish-n-chips–so why not make it with Fiber One and bake it rather than dip it in oil!? If you are looking for an eating plan that focuses on whole foods, hungry girl is not it–but she NEVER CLAIMS TO BE.
Skinny Bitch, the title, was made to grab the attention of people. And they’re not really bitches, it’s just to make it comedic, lighten up.
Before I read Skinny Bitch, I LOVED Hungry Girl. But then I realized Hungry Girl is just a bunch of processed foods labeled ‘Light’ & ‘Fat Free.’ Diet Soda has been proven to be TERRIBLE for your health, yet Hungry Girl still recommends it? It makes you think about how healthy the other “lower-calorie” items in her book are.
I read Skinny Bitch, and it really opened my eyes. Yes, Skinny Bitch does recommend processed foods too, but overall, the lifestyle is healthier than Hungry Girl, and you know it.
Skinny Bitch ruined my life!!! I was anorexic when I read it, and it propelled me so far into the disease from thence on that I still don’t know how to get out of it. Skinny Bitch told me how to hate myself, be disgusted with myself, and be disgusted with everyone who wasn’t perfect. Which is disgusting in and of itself. The writers need to take responsibility for the sick way they have screwed up readers’ minds.
I can’t even eat anything but raw fruits and vegetables without feeling ‘dirty’ and ‘unhealthy’. Of course I have been prone to this thinking since before I picked up this book, but this book is what did me in. To think a friend recommended it to me.
No counseling yet has been able to stop my obsessing over food and rules and ‘clean’ food and ‘dirty’ food. SKinny Bitch is stupid. Coffee is not really going to grow fat around your stomach. Eating only fruit for breakfast will make your bloodsugar crash faster than a trainwreck. There are so many terrible, terrible ideas in that book.
DO NOT take Skinny Bitch seriously!!! It will ruin your ability to live like anormal person and enjoy life!!!
I totally agree with everything said in your article. I have never read the book, “Skinny Bitches,” but the title alone sounds like a bunch of superficial women (sorry it’s what popped in my mind). On the other hand I LOVE Hungry Girl to death! I know some people complain that Hungry Girl uses artificial sweetners and some processed foods…but it’s like hello, look at the society that we live in today. It is pretty darn hard (not to mention expensive) to steer completely from artifical sweetners and processed foods now a days. I say, Go Hungry Girl! And keep at it! 😀
I LOVE HUNGRY GIRL! SB may have some good points, but they ain’t my style. Thank you, Lisa!
As someone who holds a BS in biochemistry and an MS in physiology (will attending medical school next fall!!! sorry I have to share, I’m ecstatic!!)…. I’ll have to put my foot down on HG. Her approach is better but the foods she advocates for are incredibly processed. No doubt you’ll thin up with her approach but it’s not a very clean way to eat. I don’t really see here advocating for the foods you should be eating to stay slim…. like whole eggs, avocados, cruciferous vegetables, flax seed, etc. All she really does is tell you to keep counting calories and consume as little calories as possible with the aid of processed garbage.
The SBs have it somewhat right by advocating for whole foods and clean eating. However, they use processed vegan substitutes and excessive amounts of soy in their diet. Their mentality is disgusting and I ended up with disordered eating when I followed their plan. The “sources” they have cited in the back of the book are not even reliable sources; they use mostly tertiary sources. An educated individual who is writing about nutrition and well-being really should be using scientific literature directly from reputable journals to support their claims. This is the exact opposite of what the SBs do…. they’re highly misinformed and uneducated about the human body to be making such claims. However…. their chapter on dairy is invaluable. What they claim is indeed true…. I did my MS thesis on the effects of the milk protein (casein) in the human body.
I say take a hybrid approach. Don’t hate yourself and think positive. Eat whole foods, and if you’re going to consume animal products, do your best to use naturally raised meat and avoid the highly processed meats. Develop a sense of intuitive eating. For example, I break out and feel like garbage when I consume dairy (with exception of yogurt) and wheat. So I avoid it most of the time and trace amounts are fine. If eating lots of avocados and fish helps you feeling good, keep at it. Every body is different and has different needs; you have to experiment and find out what keeps you feeling and looking good. Just be sensible…. portion control is important, and try to get your carbohydrates from vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Limit your grain intake…. carbohydrate is just a fancy word for sugar. Grains are carb-heavy, so keep that in mind. Some bodies need more carbs, others need more protein, etc. Figure out what works for YOU. 🙂
I’m probably in the minority and I know I’m late to this thread, but I stumbled upon her TV show this weekend. She is just too cheery, too over-the-top in a Rachel Ray type of way and I just couldn’t watch her entire show. She is much more readable than viewable.
I’m a Hungry Girl all the way! I love that she takes the foods that we crave and make them in a way that is possible to have your cake and not cry tears of guilt after eating it too.
Wow, the Skinny B*tches really are b*tches.
…And my mom used to be just like them. She taught me to hate myself a few years ago during my teenage years; I wasn’t even overweight. What crappy mentality some people have.
I love Hungry Girl too, she has an excellent sense of humor and it alone has caused me to subscribe to her newsletter. But I have to say; her recipes don’t look too delicious, although they taste pretty good. A lot of them are filled with junk, like Splenda. Mmm, cancer. I think her recipes could use some tweaking. You know, like mix real sugar and some stevia in the stead of Splenda. It’s still lower sugar, and it’s not “fake”.
it kinda annoys me too that a lot of her baked good recipes call for cake mixes. Sure, they’re convenient, but I feel better when my stuff is from scratch. Hungry Girl has the right idea, but I think her recipes should only be used like 30% of the time; the rest should be whole or low processed foods.
Hungry Girl is the worst cooking show in the world. The recipes look and sound awful. Ick.
i am reading skinny bitches now… and i have to say i’m a little disappointed.
it’s a little hypocritical to tell people to stop eating processed food when vegan food is all HEAVILY processed.
how the eff do these bitches think soy products are made? i almost died laughing at their meal recommendations. “fake chicken patties” and “fake ground meat”
how is anything that’s fake better for you than something that is real???
i think their book has a lot of good advice that you can incorporate into your life and make positive changes.
but i can’t imagine eating a slice of fruit (slowly) and then eating another slice (say ten minutes later) and then breakfast is over.
yeah, that’s called starvation. no wonder you bitches are skinny.
i’m sorry, but real cheese only needs four ingredients. if i eat it in moderation and exercise, chances are i won’t be a fat pig. but don’t try to sell me soy cheese with it’s whopping 20+ ingredients and tell me that’s better than all the nasty animal products i’m putting into my body.
crazy.
Yessss thank you! I totally agree with everything you said about Skinny Bitch.
My sister read this book and now has not become the Skinny Bitch. She is literally this book impersonated, insisting that cheese is a drug, sugar is evil etc and generally makes life hell for the rest of us in the house who eat normally. Worse still, I’m fairly sure she has an eating disorder, and I honestly put a lot of it down to this book. She won’t touch anything containing sugar or anything non-vegan (of course) and even gluten she know sees as another food enemy. It’s insane and incredibly expensive for my family and frankly I’m disgusted anyone ever published a book that would encourage such a dangerous book to encourage such behavior.
You were spot on with the authors’ opinion of anyone who is not a bean-pole. I’m very small but have a tiny few pounds on my belly (that, yes, if I starved myself of everything I enjoy, I probably could lose, but frankly I’m not bothered) but am in no way fat, and my sister even has the nerve to call me flabby and even critisise my exercise regime, just like this book has done to her.
The authors of this book should be ashamed! They’re turning insecure girls into their own clones by attacking them on their own existing insecurities and it really makes me rage. The whole thing is shallow and disgusting. Promoting vanity, competition and general hatred of yourself and others is a disgusting way to make money. I want to say “I hope they are ashamed” but I don’t see the point, since they clearly aren’t too bothered about other people.
Anyway, rant over but your post really summed up all my own issues with this book and all its little spin-offs (whatever you call them!).