Why We Overeat and How to Stop: Book Giveaway!

image: clipartfest

By Crabby McSlacker

Does anyone else out there struggle with eating too much, or eating the wrong things, or not feeling sufficiently motivated to exercise?

Even those of us with fancy degrees and initials after our names, who've studied this stuff extensively for decades and know exactly what we should be doing... we often screw it up just as badly as anyone else does.  We may even be in the "healthy weight" range, yet only manage it with much unnecessary angst, inconsistency, martyrdom, acting out, and ill-tempered griping.

So WTF is up with that? Why can't our highly evolved brains save us from self-defeating decisions? And how do we best deal with the seemingly ridiculous problem of not being able to control our own behavior?

Elizabeth Babcock's Why We Overeat and How to Stop isn't a magical solution to overeating. Alas, there is no magical solution. But I think it's as good a book as I've ever read on the subject, and I found myself with many new helpful insights into my cherished but often maladaptive ways. She provided a number of new strategies and practical tips , as well as the motivational boost that comes from taking a fresh look at old assumptions.

Bottom line: I'd highly recommend you buy the book. But heck, you might as well try to win it for free first, right? We've got a physical copy if you like (and are from the U.S.) but also have an (admittedly low-tech) electronic option, so as not to leave out folks who are not from the United States.

So, what's so great about it and why do I recommend it so highly? And how do you win a copy?

Giveaway: Rick Hanson's Hardwiring Happiness and The FBG's Anti-Diet Book!

By Crabby McSlacker

So today we have a giveaway featuring 3 copies of each of these fine books...

So SIX Winners!

Plus the giveaway includes Canadians!

And yeah, this is the weirdest blog post formatting ever, and I shudder to think what happens on a mobile phone, but I couldn't figure out any other way to not put one book "on top" and the other "below."

Both are well-written helpful books by writers I'm already quite fond of: The "Fit Bottomed Girls," (Jennipher Walters and Erin Whitehead), and Rick Hanson.  So it would bug me not to treat them equally--even though I know the authors themselves don't give a f... um, fig! who goes on top.

At first glance these titles might seem to have nothing to do with one another. So one might wonder why on earth I've combined them for this giveaway.  (Aside from the fact they have the same publisher, which I did NOT know until after I already decided to put them together.)

But there's actually something interesting they have in common:

The End of Overeating: Review and Giveaway

Sometimes people fail to realize that we have two bloggers at Cranky Fitness: Crabby McSlacker and Merry Sunshine.

(Crabby is the Crabby one, and Merry is the Nice one.)

Of course, some of the confusion comes from the fact that our byline gets dropped on some feed readers and email subscriptions and there's no way to figure out who wrote the post.

Note to self: FIX THAT SOMEDAY!

And other times, folks have noticed a similarity in our styles and come to suspect that we are actually the same person writing under two different names.

Well, in case you had any doubts, here is proof we are two different bloggers entirely:

If Crabby and Merry were the same person, "Crabby" would not have undertaken to write a book review post the day after "Merry" wrote a thoughtful, entertaining, and informative book review post! She would have given you a cat video instead, or she would have, as "Merry," written a lamer, lazier post so the contrast wasn't so obvious.

But, alas, Crabby is a whole different person from Merry, and did not think to check with Merry before scheduling this review and giveaway. So somehow, Crabby has to entice you to read her book-related post, even though we just ran one yesterday on a different book.

Hmm... How to do this?

By taking the low road, that's how!

So here are 5 good reasons why you should follow Crabby over to the product review page to find out more about "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite."

1. The End of Overeating is near the top of the New York Time Best Seller List and everyone else is reading it so you might want to at least find out what it's about!

2. You might want to learn all about "orosensory self-stimulation" and the "hedonic hotspot," even though the first term is not actually as dirty as it sounds and the second is not the name of a trendy new nightclub in L.A. where you can spot celebrities.

3. The book has some fascinating accounts about what the food industry does to make you willing to sell your grandmother for another bite of their strangely compelling concoctions.

4. You can WIN A COPY of the book by leaving a comment!

5. And, in a completely pathetic bid to compete with Merry's scholarly analysis, I've included a whole new photo of the nearly naked Italian Men's soccer team. Which I won't even pretend has anything to do with the subject at hand.

So c'mon, everyone, come join me over at the Cranky Fitness Product Page and learn more about The End of Overeating!

UPDATE: Sorry, I didn't make it very clear that you need to go to the Product Page link to enter the contest! I'll include the first 10 comments here in the drawing too, but from now on, please go comment there if you want to win the book. But if you just have an observation, this post is good too! (It has to do with advertising guidelines--we can't do product giveaways on the main page). Sorry for the confusion!

--Crabby

Eat to Live: an apologetic book review

At Cranky Fitness, we don't usually review books, because it's hard to be both polite and cranky. In this case, I thought it was necessary.

I first read about Dr. Fuhrman last year on Diet Blog. And -- I'm sorry if this sounds mean -- I wasn't quite sure if he was legit. Even allowing for the fact that a blog post doesn't allow room for a well-thrashed-out thesis, his talk of Toxic Hunger sounded very similar to catch phrases like Toxic Fat, which have a "marketing to scare people so they'll pay money" sort of feel about it. So I was prejudiced.

And it does seem counter-intuitive that hunger doesn't originate in the stomach but rather in the throat. I haven't experienced that myself -- but you know what? That really isn't relevant to the main point of this book Eat to Live so I'm going to skip over it.

I was impressed with this book. For one thing, it is very, very well researched. Some chapters, it seems like every other sentence has a footnote referring to a peer-reviewed research study that was published in a well-respected journal.

I’ve read diet books where all the references cited lead to other books written by the same author. Fuhrman’s references lead to studies reported in journals that even I have heard of. That’s impressive. One study, or two or three, I could refute/ignore/disagree with out of laziness or feeling contrary. When I find study after study after study all backing up what he’s selling, then it’s a lot harder to disagree with him.

On the other hand, this guy's never going to become a millionaire selling this book.

How not to get rich writing a diet book:

- He doesn’t use the book to promote a lot of His Own Special Brand^TM supplements. He promotes eating fruit and vegetables. Unless he’s got a whole lot of stock in Safeway, he’s never going to make a million $ with this approach.

- He’s more concerned with health than with weight loss. (Yeah, like people are going to go for that. What was he thinking?)

- He’s not taking a few facts and stringing them together into a clever theory embellished with a lot of long, pseudo-scientific jargon. (How can you impress people if you don’t use jargon?)

I have to admit to a certain prejudice against Doctors Who Are Selling Something. This always causes me to go into auto-cynic mode, which is probably not fair since some of these doctors are well-intentioned, and doctors have as much right to make a living as anyone else. The thing is, I want them to sell knowledge rather than Success Pills for three easy payments of $45.99. What Dr. Fuhrman does is encourage you to eat foods that you can grow yourself, or at least can go down the road and buy at the grocery store. His website offers the chance to buy additional stuff, but that's not mentioned in the book.

I think I liked what he wrote because it agreed so much with what I've deduced from what I've read over several years. I don't see why he would limit the daily intake of flax seed to only one teaspoon, but aside from that I kinda like what he's saying.

The bad news

This guy's diet is strict. And permanent. The only way to make it following this lifelong diet is to learn to like vegetables. I'm actually getting there. Me, the confirmed carnivore, who can -- and has-- gone days eating only food that came from the meat and bakery departments, now spends most of my time in the produce section. I'm still not going to say I love vegetables, but I do love not feeling stuffed with saturated fat and greasy food.

How strict is strict?

This diet is more strict that Dean Ornish's diet plan, and he's always been my end-point for Strict.


The basic tenets of the diet

- 1 pound raw veggies & fruit (on my scale, that's 1 apple, 1 cucumber, and 1 cup green leafies)

- 1 pound cooked veggies

- limited quantities of grains and starchy veggies

- sayonara to meat,¹ processed foods,² caffeine,³ alcohol<sup>4

1</sup>That sound you just heard was several people leaving this blog and going to Mark's Daily Apple to complain. Hey, go with what works for you. I'm just telling you what Fuhrman says. Actually, he’s not far from the Primal approach. He figures it’s better to be a semi-vegetarian, i.e. it’s okay to eat some meat if you’re going to eat a whole lot of vegetables as well. (I think he would prefer you not eat meat, but he says it’s vastly better than being a vegetarian who goes around gorging on breads and pastries.)


²There go the Jenny Craig & WeightWatchers-meals groups.

³Ah, just lost the Starbucks crowd.

⁴The last Cranky Fitness reader shuts the door behind him as he leaves.

Um... is anyone still reading this? Fuhrman says that after six weeks or so, unless you're really looking to lose a lot of weight, re-introduce more grains and starchy vegetables. Avoid processed foods like the evil pesticide-ridden plague foods that they are.

Fuhrman himself says this diet is not for everyone. People will say "hey, this diet will make me so miserable that it's not worth it." I'm not sure I agree. Yeah, changing your mindset and getting your body used to a more healthy diet is no fun, but once you've made the adjustment it seems to me you'll be having a whole lot more fun in life. The quality of life is better if you eat healthy and work out.

Ever tried going mostly vegetarian? Did it help or hinder your health efforts?

Why I refused to review Diet Girl's book (plus, a giveaway)

[The scene: In the palatial Cranky Fitness Headquarters (C.F.H.), Merry sits writing a letter.]

Dear Diet Girl,

Thank you for letting me read your memoir, The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl.

However, I don't want to review it.

I think I would rather pitch it as a movie proposal.

I see this story as a saga. Nicole Kidman could play the lead, with Hugh Jackman as the romantic hero. (Or Gerard Butler might work, since the hero is Scottish.)

I can see the movie poster:


Thrills! Travel to exotic locations!
Chills! The Aussies encounter the Scottish winter!
Suspense! Will Diet Girl be deported forever?
Death-defying feats! See how she masters complicated maneuvers such as kick boxing and weight lifting!
Weight Loss! The woman lost an amazing 175 pounds!
A romance that spanned three continents and four weddings!!!


Sorry, but I need to stop writing this letter for a moment. Crabby's over there waving a claw at me. I think she's trying to get a word in edgewise. (Seems appropriate. How else would a crab get a word in? )

Crabby: Merry? You can put down that pen now. Look who's coming through the door, it's the Amazing Diet Girl herself, Shauna Reid! So we can ask her questions and tell her in virtual-person what we thought about her awesome book.

Merry: She's here? [Hides the autographed copy of Pasta Queen's book.] Shauna! How lovely to see you!

Shauna: Howdy ladies! Thanks for having me over.

Crabby: It's our pleasure! Oddly enough, we don't get many visitors at Cranky Fitness headquarters. [Hurriedly brushing away cobwebs and dust bunnies].

Merry: So, Shauna, thank you for letting us read The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl. Even though I don't want to review it, I have a question. Well, several questions, really.

Shauna: Fire away!

Merry: Especially in the beginning, when you weighed over 300 pounds, you suffered from fat girl panic attacks that threatened to stop you. By the end of the story, the panic attacks were noticeably fewer. Did they drop off with the pounds or was there some shift in your attitude that discouraged them?

Shauna: The Fat Girl Freakouts got less frequent as I got less freaked out about being fat. I started out with really rubbish self-esteem - I was almost apologetic for just existing, like how dare I take up so much space! My confidence grew somewhat as I started to lose weight, but what really helped along the way was, for lack of a better phrase, doing stuff. Things that most people wouldn't see as particularly radical, like trying a weights class at the gym and training for a 5K race. It was a revelation after so many years of being a hermit and convincing myself I was "too fat" to try. I started to feel less defined by the size of my butt and less worried about what people thought of me.

Merry: I loved your description of 'Vampire Exercise' -- walking by yourself at night rather than during the day when people could see you. How did you go from that mindset to walking into a gym?

Shauna: I just applied the same Vampire Method to the gym - I always went the hour before it closed - that way I avoided the Hot People Peak Hour with all the nubile supermodel types! Eventually I got bored with the cardio machines and wanted to try group classes but they were earlier. So I'd arrive really early and hide up the back row so no one could look at me wobbling around. So at first I think it was more about finding crafty ways to work around my fears as opposed to tackling them directly :)

Merry: I was impressed that you didn't wait to start living until you'd gotten stick thin. A lot of people think that no one will look at them until they're skinny. You went out and fell in love anyway! Um... does Gareth have any brothers?

Shauna: He does! He's single too. Come on over, baby!
The whole falling in love thing was a real shock. I admit that I was convinced that no one would look at me until I was svelte - which is probably why it took me months to notice that Gareth was interested. I wish I'd taken off my fat goggles years earlier and believed I was worthy of some good lovin' - who knows how much action I missed out on over the years!? :)

Merry: Hmmmn... I wonder if mortgaging the C.F.H. would afford me a ticket to Scotland... oh, sorry. My mind was wandering for minute. Anyway. Comfort food. It sounds like chocolate and you had a very special bond. Has this changed? What do you do nowadays when you feel down?

Shauna: I still eat the chocolate! I know you're supposed to Phone A Friend or Take A Bubble Bath when you're down but sometimes only chocolate will do. I've learned to eat smaller portions of the good stuff and savor the hell out of 'em. I eat my wee ration as slowly and quietly as possible - Gareth knows not to interrupt me if I am having a Chocolate Moment. If I scoff it down quickly I'll inevitably want more, so I try really hard to eat mindfully.

Crabby: Well, Merry may have decided not to review the book, but I can't help gushing a bit. I'd give it two enthusiastic Claws Up! I thought it was dramatic, moving, inspiring, and funny as hell. It was fast-paced and was almost like a novel, in that it had a great "plot"-- all the more fascinating because it was all true. I agree with Merry, it would make a great movie.

But part of what made it so gripping was that it was a messy, complicated journey. It's one thing to disclose this stuff on an anonymous blog, but was it scary at all to think about "going public" with your name on the cover of a book? And is it strange to have your private thoughts about, say, the size of your undergarments, read by people all over the world? Or friends and neighbors and co-workers?

Shauna: I'm glad you enjoyed it, cheers! I was a wee bit nervous about going public and committing my looniest moments to print - there's no Undo button with a book! But by the time it was finally published in the UK in January 2008, it was almost two years after I'd started writing. And another year has passed now it's out in the USA, so the distance helps. I can almost look back at the Me in the book like a bemusing fictional character: Wow, that Shauna Reid sure was a nutter! It's also a great ice breaker - people who were previously distant acquaintances come up to me at parties and say, "Dude, I totally eat Nutella straight from the jar too."
I also know how much I left out of the book - it could have been so much worse!

Merry: I think the book was pretty good as it was! But Crabby has a good point. You write frankly about body issues. How do you feel about your body now?

Shauna: I'm cool with it. I admire its resilience - I've put it through hell and back and it's still hanging in there! I never had any illusions that I was hiding a supermodel body under my fat suit, so I've accepted my wobbly bits and focus on my best features. I spent far too many years glaring at my reflection in the mirror and thinking evil loathing thoughts... now my mind and body are finally a team.

Crabby: Do you feel any pressure to maintain a particular size or weight, now that you're a success story for others? Or do you feel it's your own damn business whatever you weigh?

Shauna: There were times last year when the book first came out in the UK and Ireland that I thought I would explode from the pressure to live up to the happy ending. I'd get lovely emails from people saying they looked up to me as a success story, and not-so-lovely emails from people saying I was DOOMED to regain the weight and mark their words, they would be waiting to laugh maniacally when I FAILED. Both kinds of email left me gnawing my fingernails with angst. But now I'm more chilled and as long as I'm happy with my weight, that's all I need to worry about. I'll just keep on doing what I've always done with the blog - share the ups and downs with honesty, and let people draw from it whatever they will. I try not to put any pressure on myself other than make sure I keep doing the Healthy Things as much as I can, for the sake of my sanity as much as my waistline!

Crabby: I've very much enjoyed checking in with your blog, The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl. It seems you manage to be funny about whatever subject you take on. Do you see the blog changing emphasis away from food, exercise and weight issues in the future as you get further from your own incredible weight loss journey? Or will it continue to be a major subject you blog about? (I'm guessing a lot of folks interested in weight loss will be joining you after the book comes out in the United States!)

Shauna: Dietgirl will always be the place for the lard-related thoughts! Even when I don't post as frequently, I still come crawling back because let's face it, it never ends. After eight years I still need a place to touch base and spew my thoughts. The writing is part of the maintenance just as much as my meal planning or exercise schedule. And I love the support and friendship you get from blogland. As for other topics, I've had a personal blog since 2000 called What's New Pussycat which is where I write about my non-fat passions - travel, music, sport, Scottish life and general bitching about what's on the telly. I started Dietgirl as a separate, anonymous blog because I didn't want to alienate WNP readers with my weight loss shenanigans. I'm totally out of the fat blogging closet now, so I just write wherever the mood takes me!

Crabby: What does the Mothership think about this whole book thing?

Shauna: I think The Mothership quite enjoys it. The mother-daughter relationship is never a straightforward one so I was worried about publishing some of our darkest moments. But she read all the drafts and encouraged me to be even more honest and open. She also gets some of the funniest lines so she's quite happy with how she was depicted! She's also a great saleswoman and is always moving my book to prominent shelves in Australian bookshops!

Merry: What's the big deal with kickboxing? I mean, it's not complicated. You simply find a box and give it a good kick. Why's that considered fun?

Shauna: It gets fun when you swap a box for a real live person! You wear these ridiculous padded shoes that all round and shiny, like you've raided Mickey Mouse's wardrobe, so you can't do any real harm. But that thwack thwack thwack sound when you land a kick is pure music, and any stress you felt before class just flies right out your toes! I never thought I would look forward to doing exercise but I am thoroughly addicted to kickboxing. Even though I'm quite rubbish at it.

Merry: Okay, time for the hard-hitting question. [Sets up the bright spotlight] Time to tell the truth. Who's better looking: Hugh Jackman or Gerard Butler?

Shauna: I'll have to stay loyal to my homeland and go with Australia's Hugh Jackman!

Merry: Excellent choice! I'll have my people call his people about doing the Diet Girl movie.

Crabby: Thank you, Shauna, for answering all our questions! And it was a pleasure to read your book. We hope some of our readers might be inspired to go out and pick up a copy... or to stay in and pick up a copy! Either way--it's a great book no matter how you get ahold of it.

Oh, and I think Merry had a lovely parting gift for you, she said something about baking a special chocolate cake just for the occasion...[voice trails off]

Merry: Um... gosh, I can't understand how that turned into a plate of crumbs... I could've sworn I had told that cat not to... hmmmn....

Diet Girl Book Giveaway

Yes, we're giving away one copy of Diet Girl's fabulous book.

You have to be a USian, but I don't feel so bad about this. I mean, this book is already out in Canada, and the U.K., and Norway, for pete's sake.

Deadline: Please leave a comment and let us know what you think! Mr. Random Number Generator will pick a comment at Midnight 6:48 pm (PST) Monday, January 19th.

This contest is now closed.

A Special Book Review

[Posted by Crabby]For those of you who are not regulars here, "The Lobster" is my long-suffering life partner. (And soon-to-be spouse, once we figure out which state we reside in). So why is The Lobster reviewing a book, especially one that has pretty much nothing to do with health and fitness?

Well, recently Cranky Fitness was offered a review copy of something called "Dream Destinations." Intrigued by the prospect of a book of pretty pictures, but feeling lazy about actually writing a review, I was just about to delete the email when... a Sneaky Thought occurred to me. Was there a way to get all the pretty pictures and plant Future Vacation Ideas without having to do any actual work? "Hey honey," I said, in an innocent tone of voice...
And Voila, a free book arrived!



So now here is a review of...

Dream Destinations

By The Lobster

Occasionally, Crabby gets new products to review. In the past, she’s received stuff like flavored teas and energy bars. Given my love of "free stuff," I find this grass roots marketing kind of cool.

When the folks at LIFE books contacted her asking if she’d like to review their new book "LIFE’s Dream Destinations: 100 of the World’s Best Vacations" she immediately turned to me. You see, anything to do with geography is, well, not exactly her core competency. We’ve done a great deal of traveling in our almost 18 years together, lately concentrating on driving destinations in our trusty camper van. Crabby’s interest in maps is generally focused on font size, ie, is the font size big enough to indicate a town that has a) a gym and b) an Asian-fusion restaurant? I cannot tell you how many times she has been disappointed on both fronts, especially in the vast middle section of the country.

So with my new assignment, I settled into a comfy chair to read "Dream Destinations." The pictures are predictably fabulous, given that’s what the good folks at LIFE do best. I was completely prepared to make fun of their list, ready for $5000 a night lodges in the Masai Mara or destinations that require some combination of plane and yak to reach them. And, there were a few examples of that, including listing London as a family destination ("honey would you like dessert or to go to college?") and touting a romantic getaway at the Kennedy Cottages, where Jack and Jackie honeymooned near Santa Barbara, for a mere $2995 per night. However, much of their list was affordable and accessible. Or at least it was before gas was over $4 a gallon and airlines started charging by the pound.

Here are my observations:

Some of our very favorite places on earth made the list, which added immense credibility to the book. (Yes, we are extraordinarily fortunate). They are totally right about:

• Cinque Terre, a series of 5 gorgeous towns on the northern coast of Italy;
• Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia (in fact that whole dang province);
• Banff and Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies;
• Napa Valley (of course, we’re from Northern California);
• The Yucatan Peninsula;
• The Snowdonia area of Wales, including the town of Betws-y-Coed (which, of course, to us became Betsy the Coed.)

I have a new list of places on my MUST SEE list including:

• The Glastonbury Festival, held in a small town in Somerset, England rumored to be the burial site of the Holy Grail that also hosts a Woodstock-like festival. I love the combo.
• The Tongariro Northern Circuit in New Zealand, home to a world class trek that ends at the Grand Chateau, a hotel that pampers the tired and weary.
• Wildflower Hall, a luxury hotel and spa in the Kunlun Mountains of east-central Asia, a stunning place at 8,350 feet which is neither affordable nor accessible but will stay on the lottery list.
• Lake Wanaka, back in New Zealand, surrounded by snow covered mountains, vineyards and, yes, sheep.

There are, unfortunately, some "oh puleeaase" moments. Are these really "Dream Destinations?"

• Wisconsin Dells: The canyon and rivers were nice but Wisconsin Dells is right up there with Pigeon Forge, Tennessee as the pinnacle of tackiness. In the Dells, you can’t find the river for the putt-putt golf and other money sucking adventures. (However, if you are looking for pancakes in either place, you have hit the motherlode).
• Montana Dude Ranch... in winter: Illustrated by a picture of unhappy campers huddled around a campfire, obviously freezing their butts off. I love the outdoors but Dude, those people looked miserable.
• Mount Vernon: Just a question... why does George and Martha’s bed looked slept in?
• Lost Atlantis: There are enough nut-balls wandering around looking for it, do we need to encourage more of them?

The final verdict on the book? I enjoyed re-living some of our great vacations and seeing amazing shots of places I’m pretty sure I’ll never see. And, given the price of travel these days, the $29.95 price is a pretty good short term escape seeing how you’d only get about 7 gallons of gas and are probably unlikely to see anything as cool within 140 miles of your house.

Now the Crab will pop back in to ask: Does anyone have "dream destinations" that you'd love to visit some day? What would be on your short list?

Skinny Bitch Alternatives

This post was written by Jaime, who writes the very entertaining blog Surplus. And you know what? She's not a big fan of the book Skinny Bitch. She's got some WAY better ideas for you.

Skinny Bitch bills itself as "A No-Nonsense, Tough-Love Guide for Savvy Girls Who Want to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous," which I guess it is, or is supposed to be, but what got me to read it (aside from my savviness, and desire to look fabulous) was the fact that beneath this chick-lit-diet-book facade was a call to veganism! Scandalous, I know. Vegans aren't chic! Vegans wear sandals and hemp sweaters! Look at the black-clad chick on this cover - is she a vegan? She doesn't look like a dirty hippie! Although this seemed sneaky (why not "A No-Nonsense, Tough-Love Guide for Savvy Girls Who Want to Be Vegans"?) I was, I admit, intrigued.

I'm not a vegan, but lactose-intolerant vegetarian is very close, and I've found some great food ideas from the vegan realm. And in the last couple of years, Skinny Bitch has been *everywhere*. By "everywhere" I mean I read about it on the internet and saw lots of people reading it on the subway. It probably was on TV, too. (Oprah? Anyone know?) But it was big, and I was curious.

Are you curious, too? Even if you're not a vegetarian, are you interested to hear why some people think veganism is the way to go? Wonder if you might find some wisdom within these pages to apply to your own health-seeking life? And maybe in a hip, entertaining package? Or maybe you're a savvy girl interested in a no-nonsense guide to looking fabulous - you don't care about veganism, but this book's promises sound great. Thinking you might have a read?

STOP. ABORT. DO NOT PASS GO.

Are you ready for a rant? I have one. But all that negativity is probably bad for my pores. So let's look at this from a positive angle.
Here are some things you could read instead of Skinny Bitch if you wanted a well-written, well-organized, well-researched, readable, intelligent, enjoyable presentation of the same arguments:

On veganism: Fast Food Nation. Doesn't actually advocate veganism, but is a much better version of the chapter in SB on the evils of meat production. You know, it really nails that apparently elusive combination of well-researched and written-with-a-sense-of-narrative-or-cohesion. Or we could just fill three pages with a list of quotes from slaughterhouse workers and call it a day.

On a healthy diet: Mark's Daily Apple. This is a ridiculously thorough health/diet/nutrition/exercise blog. Some of the ideas seem fringe at first, but they're backed up by solid science, come from totally sane people, and can still be applied to your life. And unlike some other books that I might be blogging about having really disliked when I read them this weekend, there are actually fantastic guidelines for healthy eating, rather than an a haphazard aggregation of vague directives.

On badass girl empowerment: The Bad Girl's Guide to Getting What You Want. If I made a modest effort to obscure the cover of Skinny Bitch when I read it in public, I can't imagine that I'm admitting to having read this book at all. Granted, I did find it, literally, on the floor of an auditorium. So it's not like I bought it or anything. But then I read it, and kinda loved it. It's more daring than SB, less cheesy, more empowering, less gratuitously cursey. (And I like to curse a lot. But the tone of Skinny Bitch turned me off - maybe because it was coupled with poor writing and shoddy health advice? Hm.) Sure, The Bad Girl's Guide is straight-up chickpowerment, an inherently cheesy genre - also a genre I sort of just made up? - but it's smart, funny, awesome chickpowerment. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just don't tell anyone, okay?

On the science of diet: Good Calories, Bad Calories; Mark's Daily Apple. Yes, Good Calories, Bad Calories isn't 100% perfect. Sometimes Gary Taubes gets a little selective with which studies he discusses. But it's SCIENCE, something hugely lacking from Skinny Bitch. I refuse to accept health advice without any hint of backing it up or explaining why. So while GC,BC was imperfect, I was left pining for its talk of molecules and cells. And, y'know, research and evidence. Whatever.

On exercise: Stumptuous. Not that Skinny Bitch actually devotes more than a few sentences, total, to this topic. But it maybe should've. I swear by this website. "Strong women are cool! Every straight boy should want one!" The fact that I actually *like* going to the gym, the fact that I have any muscles in my arms (or anywhere else), the fact that I can pick up heavy things that two years ago I'd have attempted to move by sheer telekinetic ability or by staring them down - all thanks to this website. (There's also a smart, sane, thorough section on food.)

I'm all for a cruelty-free diet. I'm all for putting minimal crap into my body. I like health-food, and I like being told that Chix Rawk. I just also like books that are intelligently and coherently written. And don't suck.