The Gist: Happy Monday to everyone! I am currently reporting from Chicago, but will always make time for the VegNews Book Club. This week, we will discuss the next four chapters of Skinny Bitch, which are chapters five to eight.Chapters five, six, and seven mainly talk about the problems with eating meat and animal agriculture, including the dairy industry and the issues with eggs. In "You Are What You Eat," Freedman and Barnouin point out the fact that if you eat meat, you are essentially eating a "putrefying corpse." They also talk about the protein myth that vegetarians are always accosted with, and how it's really important just to eat a healthy, balanced diet. The short eighth chapter deals with bowel movements, how it's important to have them frequently, and how a healthy vegetarian diet will definitely help you out with this.
The Discussion: On to the discussion! Last week's was the best yet, and I hope to keep it going with the following discussion questions:
1. Freedman and Barnouin say that it's important to eat faster-digesting foods earlier in the day, such as fruit in the morning, veggies in the afternoon, and your heaviest meal in the evening. Do you follow this rule? If so, what does a daily menu look like for you? If not, what would be your ideal eating plan?
2. In last week's discussion, a lot of you mentioned that this book is what made you go vegan. What aspect helped to sway you the most—the atrocities of factory farming described in the book, or the health benefits? Did you find the information on factory farming shocking?
The Assignment: Please read chapters 9 to 11 for our discussion on Monday, August 16.
~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig
Hello All!
ReplyDeleteAddressing question number two, this book was not what made me go vegan but, I must say their depiction of factory farming was just as intense as some of the most horrific text and video that I've ever seen. To be more specific it was on par with the graphic images from the documentary Earthling. I applaud the fact that the authors spared the reader no detail. I was so moved by the chapter that I wanted to go out and beg friends, families, co-workers, and strangers to stop supporting such an industry. Better yet, I wanted to "bitch" slap them in say "Wake the fuck up!!"
Normally, I eat granola in the morning. I did try to eat fruit first thing one day and was REALLY HUNGRY by lunch time. I think that in order to keep my energy up at work until lunch, I need to stay with my granola first thing in the morning. I mostly do follow the rest of the advice of eating veggies in the afternoon and my heaviest meal for dinner.
ReplyDeleteThis book and this book club together actually made me go vegan. I had been a vegetarian previously. I am so glad that I made the switch and have noticed that I seem to have more energy and a better complexion since giving up dairy/eggs. Definitely, the atrocities of factory farming swayed me the most. I have difficulty even reading about the treatment of the animals on factory farms. I think that putting in quotes from slaughterhouse workers was very effective in showing the horror of the way the animals are treated. Horrible to read, but necessary to read so that all of us can be informed of what is going on!
1) I usually do have fruit in the morning for breakfast, but I combine it with a scoop of vegan protein powder, veggie greens and phyto-berries (a dehydrated superfood supplement) which is sooo filling and satisfying. But when I feel like changing things up, I usually go with oatmeal or cereal. But my choices were never based on the digestibility of fruit. Actually, I have fruit all the time, as a snack or for dessert after a filling meal. I do follow the author's suggestions for lunch though, usually a salad of some kind with tofu or vegan cheese...and then dinner is usually more heavy, life seitan or tofu with cooked veggies, whatever's in season!
ReplyDelete2) Skinny Bitch was actually not the book that turned me vegan. I had heard of it before and kind of overlooked it, thinking it wouldn't have anything I hadn't heard before in it. But I was so wrong! As soon as I read the first page I was hooked. I loved how they were so blunt. I also love how simply they get the point across. The chapters are short and sweet and perfectly packed with everything you need to know. I did skip the graphic description of slaughter because I had previously read and watched about this, and that is what originally make me go vegan. So i definitely find it effective!! Anyone who claims they don't are just lying to themselves so they can continue being ignorant about what they put into their bodies.
I love this book and I can't wait to pass it around!
I try to eat fruit alone and on an empty stomach - in the morning if I can. Since reading this in Skinny Bitch I have noticed a lot of other books and websites recommend this as well. My meals do get progressively heavier as the day goes on. In the morning it's usually fruit followed by a green smoothie. For lunch I try to eat raw with something like a cold soup or salad. For dinner I'll sometimes eat a more elaborate raw meal or something cooked with grains, beans, etc. I've noticed lately the more raw foods I eat, the more energy I have.
ReplyDeleteI originally became interested in veganism for the environmental aspects, but once I started reasearching veganism I was compelled by the health aspects. At the time my hubby was pre-diabetic (not anymore thanks to our vegan lifestyle) so that was a big draw. I was also horrified to find out what was going on at the factory farms and that's all the motivation you need when you see a yummy looking dessert and know it's made with milk or eggs!
Melissa, I agree! Thinking about factory farming is great motivation to avoid those yummy looking milk/egg desserts! I just went to a party this weekend where there was a dessert bar. I avoided the entire thing with that idea in mind!!
ReplyDeleteSusan Bran Says: I do tend to follow the eating plan of light in the morning and heaviest at night...mainly b/c I read Fit for Life and they recommend that too. I don't eat fruit with any other foods either.
ReplyDeleteThis book definitely influenced my decision to go vegan, and it was all because of what the authors wrote on factory farming. The quotes they featured in the book about factory farm workers torturing animals made me sick for weeks (literally). I started phasing out dairy products from my diet. I had no idea these things happened until I read this book. Rory and Kim completely changed my outlook on everything! Now, several yrs later I am vegan, happy, and well-informed on the horrors of factory farming.
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ReplyDeleteHello all,
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to read this book, but no, it did not influence me to go vegan. I wanted to be a vegan for quite sometime now. I dabbled back and forth with raw foods, now I'm back to eating cooked vegan/vegetarian foods. I really need to follow a more disciplined vegan diet. My eating habits are not that bad, but they could be better. So far, I given up coffee and I've added more fruit to my diet (I love fruit anyway!!!).
I knew about the horrors of factory farming, but I was not aware of the abuse of farm animals before they're slaughtered!!! I was disgusted more than ever and that really convinced me to stay vegan!
The authors done a great job incorporating everything pertaining to veganism, animal rights and health. I was glad to hear that the "Skinny Bitch" pitch was just that. A pitch to get people's attention.
I can't wait for the next book!
I agree with some of the posts listed above in that if I ate only fruit for breakfast, I'd be starving in less than an hour.
ReplyDeleteI have fruit for breakfast mixed with vegan protein powder, flax seeds and some coconut or almond milk pretty much every morning. This is the best way I've found to remain satiated for the bulk of the morning. I think my lunch and dinner are equally heavy; usually some tempeh or tofu or bowl of beans and seeds.
I don't like that the book is targeted at getting women to be healthy in a manner that focuses only on being thin. I guess it is best for marketing reasons as most of the society sees being thin as the only acceptable body image. I don't really agree with losing body mass indiscriminately; I think losing body fat is a great goal for a lot of people but alongside it many women are ready to lose muscle mass as well. This is just a means of making the female population weak, physically. I feel like if we're only worried about being thin we won't even have the option of eating out of the peanut butter jar because we will be too weak to open it.
I do like that they have put a lot of attention on aspects of being vegan that have nothing to do with weight loss; the environment, the factory farms, etc. I'm not too gung-ho about celebrities who treat veganism as a detox or a fad diet (read: Jessica Simpson, the Old Spice guy). I like that the authors are painting it out to be a way of life with reason and intent.
SB did not make me go vegan; I'm reading it for the first time now. I don't know that it would have swayed me into veganism altogether. I think a book like Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals might have jolted me (although I also read that one after deciding to be vegan on my own). I became vegetarian in high school for environmental reasons and to a less extent ethical reasons in regards to animal suffering in factory farms. Now, I'm vegan for the aforementioned reasons and additionally for the health benefits I have seen within myself since making the change.
As far as the protein debate goes, I wish there were more vegan athletes that could attest to the necessary amounts of protein. The book is written for the general public and as such I think their claims are accurate, but I'm not 100% on the amount of protein an athlete might want to consume to improve performance. I'm not talking about runners here either; I mean weightlifters and the like. Mike Mahler is a vegan bodybuilder, so it can be done. I just don't like that they don't really have any citations on any of their claims (especially the part about different quality proteins being a sham). I'm not very familiar with this myself, but would have liked to see more information on the subject.
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteThanks for all of your comments! It has been a busy week for me due to going out of town last weekend, so my apologies for not commenting until now.
Right now I'm on a kick of having heavy breakfasts, but I believe it's because I've started to ride my bike to and from work, totaling 16 miles each day. This rise in my activity has made my appetite go up, but I'm slowly working on my portion control. I hope to have more smoothies in the morning, which I think are more filling than just fruit.
I look forward to wrapping up this week tomorrow and discussing the next three chapters of Skinny Bitch!
~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig
Sorry, I'm a bit behind on this discussion.
ReplyDeleteI tried the fruit for breakfast and I was starving! I started eating old-fashioned oatmeal with some maple sugar and a little almond milk with a piece of fruit on the side. Or I like to have some soy-yogurt with granola and fruit. The fruit alone didn't cut it. For whatever reason, I have pretty much the same amount of calories for breakfast and dinner and two snacks around 150 calories. Lunch is usually my biggest meal. I can't eat a heavy dinner because I don't eat dinner until about 7:30 pm due to my work schedule.
As for becoming vegan: Yes, this book was the proverbial straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back. Everything the authors said resonated true with me. I can't explain why, but I felt the truth of their words deep within my soul. The parts that still stand out for me (besides the graphic images of the animal slaugher houses) are (1) the idea that the human body isn't made to digest meat- I can still see the silly image of myself trying to hunt an animal with my soft nails and blunt teeth- and (2) the idea that humans are the only animal to drink milk our entire life- I can still laught at the idea of drinking girraffe's milk... cow's are just easier to keep.