Skinny Bitch in a Box by Kim Barnouin, Rory Freedman (2008, Hardcover)

This book was recommended to me by my plastic surgeon. I told him I was on a lo-carb diet(meat with only green veggies and NO fruit)so he asked me to read SB and see what I thought. The title was intriging and funny so I couldn't wait to read it. I was suprised by it's content. SOME of the information is hardcore and not for the faint of heart. Most is about smart choices for a healthy, beautiful body inside and out with salty language sprinkled in to keep you interested and not come off as stuffy or boring. However, if you want to know why vegans go vegan then read this book. It's compelling and disturbing. The chapter "You Are What You Eat" effected me the most and actually brought me to tears. I never want to eat meat or dairy products again. I hope that more people choose a vegan lifestyle and if you care about our planet, your personal health and the sweet, intelligent animlas we share planet Earth with, you wont want to either. It's so easy to not want to know the horrible, cruelty involved in getting meat products to American tables. You thought the "Saw" movies were frightening. A movie about slaughter houses would send viewers into the lobbies looking for a place to loose their partially digested popcorn. It would bring new meaning to the term "tear jerker". Kids would have nightmares for years after. We grew up thinking hotdogs and hamburgers are wholesome and healthy and completely innocent. That white bread just tastes best and cheese and icecream are things we could never, ever live without. I THOUGHT SO TOO but rice icecream is growing on me and chocolate soy milk, called Silk, is ADDICTING. A whole new world of tasty, nutritious, plant based foods has been opened up to me and they're easy to find in most grocery stores and taste great. Some people will NEVER like the idea of going vegan but you'd be surprised at the amount of people worlwide who are, such as famous athletes and celebrities. Especially in the United States because the quality of our food is so bad. Most other nations will not import meat from the US. Surprised? Vegans are health and Earth conscious people who see that we have been dupted by greed driven industries that need us to believe that we need animal fat and protiens when the Bible says to eat whole grains, seeds and legumes for protien!!! Better quality protiens and no killing involved. Back to the book: They also say to exercise(DUH).90% of people will never be thin without real exercise. Reality check girls!!! They recommend cardio such as treadmill, aerobics, etc 5 times a week for 20 or 30 minutes to start. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I like the treadmill. Then adding weight lifting to create toned muscles, essential for burning fat. More muscle, more fat being burned. I went vegan a few years ago but I became pregnant and went back to eating meat because I didn't know enough about an appropriate vegan diet. Now vegan food is easier to find and gets better tasting all the time. They even sell convenient meatless TV dinner style entrees for young people that don't cook such as meatless meatloaf with gravy etc. I did not enjoy reading all of this book but I am glad I did. The point is, eating meat, eggs, dairy even fish hurts animals and the nutritional value isn't as necessary as the industry and our gov't(yes, our gov't)wants us to believe. Change is never easy. It can even be scary but think of how scared a little pig is when it hears 1,000's of other pigs being electricuted and he's next.

Great book!! Everyone who has tried crazy diets or are interested in vegetarianism or veganism should read it!! It is a close look as the inhumane reality of the FDA and factory farming!! Its all a sham and we (people and animals) are the victims!!

I have now chosen vegetarianism because of this book. I am exploring veganism as well.