has anyone read this book? if so what are your thoughts on it?

12/30/2008 9:59:46 PM

It's way too pro-vegan for me. It went heavy into rants about not eating animals PETA PETA PETA and I refuse to cut bacon out of my life. If you're already eating that way it won't be a problem. It was like reading a self help book from a religious standpoint I didn't share, with more cusses.

12/30/2008 11:11:20 PM

my friend...she told me this was a drink

12/30/2008 11:14:41 PM

I've read it. Some of the stop is like omg ew, particularly about high fructose corn syrup and diet sodas. Alot of it is also PETA PETA PETA, like Sonia said.

12/30/2008 11:18:15 PM

stuff*

?

12/30/2008 11:29:13 PM

stuff. same thing. lack of sleep ftl

12/30/2008 11:55:33 PM

i love eating animals

12/31/2008 12:03:44 AM

My friend has this book and I flipped through it and it was honestly a self esteem bashing book IMO. The few pages I read were harsh and kinda beat up the reader....

12/31/2008 12:03:55 AM

^ sort of. It tells it like it is, or how the writers think it is at least. Basically makes you out to be a fat, lazy slob.

12/31/2008 12:08:16 AM

^^it's called "skinny bitch", is self-esteem bashing not exactly what you expect?

12/31/2008 6:49:55 AM

yeah i agree that the book was self-esteem bashing, but i think for whatever reason that is their "style"? the gratuitous swearing was also kind of distracting to me, which is funny because i am not a person who gets offended by that normally. in the book, the swearing and insults to the reader seemed to be more for shock value than anything else.

but my main question is, do you think all the information presented is credible? about the torture of animals in slaughterhouses, etc? it all *seems* to be backed up by research they did, but i know that just because something is research based doesn't mean it has to be true. and of course i'm sure they put their own spin on it...

12/31/2008 11:06:34 AM

but i like being a lazy slob, i'm not fat and i'm in good shape. Fuck PETA. their methods are completely absurd...


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12/31/2008 11:28:49 AM

my friend did and became a vegetarian and is impossible to eat with now because all she does is quote the book. i think she wants to become a skinny bitch... oh wait, she has the 2nd part down...

12/31/2008 11:38:15 AM

That book is fucking retarded...but I think it does fit perfectly for a certain sect of people.

12/31/2008 11:45:26 AM

becoming a vegan to me just seems so inconvenient. first of all, it can be horribly expensive. secondly, who wants to be that person at a dinner party that has to have something specially made for them, or brings their own food? and what about social eating and special celebrations? work lunches? who wants to be "that" person.

what about your family? making your children vegans seems like cruel and unusual punishment (imagine someone bringing in cupcakes for another child's birthday and your child can't have one because they were made with eggs and butter). and cooking separate meals for a significant other who refuses to give up animal products is just not happening. plus, what true vegan is going to buy a chicken and cook it, even if it is not for them?

on the other hand, i guess if i truly cared about animals as much as i say i do, i wouldn't have a problem with all the social, financial, and convenience issues of becoming a vegan

12/31/2008 11:51:41 AM

My wife got it and took it to heart. She dropped about 15 pounds, which on a 5'0" woman is quite a bit. She wasn't fat or anything to begin with.

But, I wondered who the hell wrote the book because it seemed like there was quite an agenda against meat in general.

12/31/2008 1:18:47 PM

I'm supposed to eat meat. It's the circle of life.

12/31/2008 1:51:28 PM

^



[Edited on December 31, 2008 at 2:12 PM. Reason : fuck a red x, i do what I want]

12/31/2008 1:54:02 PM

I bought it thinking it would help me with my diet and get me motivated into eating right by being "mean and real" Well I get into it and realize it's hardcore propaganda for veganism. (ha veganism)

I was like "whoaaaaaaaaaaa"

Then I saw them on an interview and they were too nice to keep up the hardcore "I'm a bitch that's telling you how it is" attitude.

No thanks!

Now "You: On A Diet" is an excellent, excellent book.

12/31/2008 1:56:49 PM

^^Exactly! Finally Elton John teaches about something other than flamboyant homosexuality!

12/31/2008 2:00:56 PM

^^ lol you should've used the euphalo pictures for that

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1/1/2009 2:20:46 PM

I picked this book up and after flipping through promptly put it back down for all the reasons stated above.

Medium rare please...

1/1/2009 2:48:16 PM

ya i picked it up read a few chapters and decided it wasn't the book for me. it was more about not eating meat etc. and I admit that I can't stop eating meat at this pt. in my life. I did find a good book that is my bible for weight loss. if you want to know what it is pm me and I'll give you info and thoughts.

1/1/2009 5:51:27 PM

my girlfriend read this book and became a vegetarian. we haven't eaten at a decent restaurant since.

1/1/2009 11:27:47 PM

...
Is she worth keeping around?

That's a serious question: did she go vegetarian simply because she read the book? I.e., does she not think for herself?

And I don't see how going vegetarian keeps one from going to a decent restaurant: 1) cook at home 2) there are lots of vegetarian offerings...vegan, not so much.

1/1/2009 11:31:41 PM

^^ Go get some pizzas at Lilly's

Quote :

"my friend did and became a vegetarian and is impossible to eat with now because all she does is quote the book."

and you're friends because....

1/1/2009 11:53:31 PM

Quote :

"^^it's called "skinny bitch", is self-esteem bashing not exactly what you expect?"

I don't judge a book by it's cover so no, it wasn't what I expected. I also did not expect such swearing and general negativity based on the word bitch...perhaps because I have read "Why Men Love Bitches" and it was not a self esteem bashing book. I assumed they used "bitch" to sell more books and to get more attention.

They should have titled it "Skinny Truck driver Vegan with a Bad Attitude about Life in General...a guide to negativity, hatred of self, and animal abuse."

I teach a unit on Veganism and it is EXTREMELY difficult to be a straight vegan. Don't believe me? Google "Animal Biproducts" and see all the products that include animals...toothpaste, shave gel, mouthwash, hairspray, makeup, tires, sugar, china, cologne...and on and on.

1/2/2009 12:12:38 AM

Quote :

"on the other hand, i guess if i truly cared about animals as much as i say i do"

I adore animals and have several
I also eat them and perform research experiments on them

Don't let your life be swayed by a single source of (probable mis)information

1/2/2009 12:13:06 PM

it's ok to eat animals people

1/2/2009 12:15:31 PM

Yes, but it's not ok to eat them into extinction. That's a lose-lose.
Also, it's not ok to treat them like plants.

1/2/2009 12:33:20 PM

^Well said. Agreed

1/2/2009 1:55:43 PM

^^who said anything about that. I don't see cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, etc going extinct.

And the propaganda about animal abuse on farms is just that. I've been on plenty of farms and have never seen anything close to what these nutjobs typically whine about. PETA, and the like, find a rare occurrence and cry that it's an epidemic, and demand we all quit eating meat.

1/2/2009 2:04:23 PM

so what do the PETA people have to gain by putting all this anti meat/ pro vegan propaganda out there? (just an honest question that I don't know the answer to, not a challenge) i know they get some media attention, etc but do you think they really profit in cash, enough to make it a central purpose of what they do?

i'm sure vegan/organic food makers benefit somewhat but I would think that a pretty small percentage of Americans actually buy those products (especially now when money is tight). it seems to me that the PETA people are just dedicated to the cause of reducing harm to animals- whereas FDA/big food companies are completely profit-based. and yeah, i'm sure there are some real "nutjobs" mixed in at PETA, but that is not unlike any other kind of social activism.

as far as PETA people pointing out "rare occurrences" of animal abuse, that is enough for me. I certainly don't believe that all poultry, cattle, swine, etc are abused and tortured before they are slaughtered for food... but how could you ever really know? unless you personally have known that chicken from an egg and watched how it was fed, raised, and ultimately killed... I guess ignorance is bliss.

1/2/2009 2:35:10 PM

Quote :

"Yes, but it's not ok to eat them into extinction. That's a lose-lose. Also, it's not ok to treat them like plants."

Eating animals (or other incentives for private ownership/breeding of them) is the best possible way to prevent extinction. Our food animals aren't having any problems, because there is a strong economic incentive to keep a steady supply.

1/2/2009 8:49:27 PM

^^ Considering that PETA is a non-profit organization, I don't think cash is a major motivator for them. PETA wants everyone to become vegan and to no longer own pets (yeah, they consider that cruel too). They want all zoos closed down and all animal testing banned. They're a fringe animal rights group compared to more sane ones like the SPCA.

1/2/2009 10:43:06 PM

^ FYI, SPCA isn't for animal rights. They are about animal welfare.

1/2/2009 11:47:27 PM

i'm definitely aware of places with great vegetarian menus, she just isn't an adventurous eater at all, which becoming vegetarian has made her choices even more limited. her choices of what she will/will not eat are to the point where it's unhealthy. i got her a vegetarian cookbook so maybe we can cook something decent together

1/3/2009 12:18:30 AM

I wouldn't wish veg on anyone. ^sorry guy

1/3/2009 12:23:54 AM

it's all good. i tried it out myself and it only lasted a couple weeks then i needed the meat. no homo

1/3/2009 12:24:59 AM

I've had no problems becoming a vegetarian (I eat seafood). I thought I might have some ham or something at Christmas and maybe a steak for the fourth of July, but I didn't.

In terms of eating out or over at other people's houses, it's not a big deal. There's always something to eat.

I've unintentionally lost ten pounds so far. It just makes you a little more conscious about what you eat. You can't stop at Hardee's and mindlessly scarf down a thousand calories before you even know you're hungry. You have to think about food before you eat it. Also, after eating so many vegetables to fill up, it just feels weird to eat junk food afterwards.

I would never go vegan though (don't care that much). I mean, where do you draw the line anyway? Even if you're vegan, our fruits and vegetables are picked largely by migrant laborers who make two bucks an hour, get no education, no healthcare, and in some instances, are actually slaves. If you want to eat perfectly, you gotta grow all your own food, but then the migrant laborer won't even get his two bucks an hour. What are you gonna do?

I have never read the book Skinny Bitch. Don't see why anyone would.

[Edited on January 3, 2009 at 12:46 AM. Reason : ]

1/3/2009 12:29:58 AM

Quote :

"I've had no problems becoming a vegetarian (I eat seafood)"

So you're not a vegetarian.

1/3/2009 12:32:03 AM

1/3/2009 12:33:32 AM

^^I'm a pescetarian.

Vegetarian who eats seafood sounds less douchey though.

1/3/2009 12:44:31 AM

I'm an ovo-lacto-pesco-baco vegan.

For people very concerned with the way others live their lives, it's usually a control issue. They're no different than any other group that wants to tell you who to marry or what to smoke or how to live your life.

1/3/2009 12:45:07 AM

Many times vegetarians/vegans use their dietary restrictions to hide an eating disorder. Be wary of an extremely picky vegetarian eater, there's always the chance of it being the cover for an eating disorder.

Skinny bitch is a good starting point - really there are lots of reasons to be vegan that aren't ethical.

There are tons of health benefits to avoiding everything but seafood if you can't stand going vegetarian/vegan.

Meat that you buy in the grocery store isn't natural. Our ancestors never ate meat that was factory farmed - their feed sources are crappy (grain fed as opposed to grass fed, as well as being fed parts of other animals), they are given prophylactic doses of antibiotics and tons of growth hormones.

Do you know why you have to cook steaks on the outside or ground beef all the way through? Because it is splashed with shit during the slaughter process. They could prevent this by slowing down the slaughter to allow the butchers to work with more precision, but they do not because it cuts into profit margins too much. No, I'm not kidding.

This stuff is really just the start - there are lots of books out there about dietary health - The China Study, for instance - that have been written with no vegetarian agenda in mind, yet come to the conclusion that a diet without meat and dairy can prevent many types of medical problems.

I still don't see a problem with eating food you kill and clean yourself, or is even killed and cleaned by a hunter. Meh. Really, eat what you want - but don't rationalize and pretend that just because everyone does it makes it the right choice.

[Edited on January 3, 2009 at 12:56 AM. Reason : a]

1/3/2009 12:51:06 AM

Quote :

"Quote : "I've had no problems becoming a vegetarian (I eat seafood)" So you're not a vegetarian."

A FUCKING AGREED.

I HATE People who call themselves vegetarians and still eat seafood. esp. for "health" reasons.
Honestly I eat me but i really respect vegetarians and vegans for what they stand for. I wish I could do it. I tried and failed and yes i like the taste of meat too much. but ya calling yourself a vegetarian and still eating seafood if stupid.

not directed at the user in here but needed to say that for a long time now.

1/3/2009 1:00:27 AM

Quote :

"Vegetarian who eats seafood sounds less douchey though."

Not really.

There's nothing wrong with using the correct term; doing so has the added bonus of separating you from mouthbreathers who also say heighth and eckt cetera

Quote :

"Meat that you buy in the grocery store isn't natural. Our ancestors never ate meat that was factory farmed - their feed sources are crappy (grain fed as opposed to grass fed, as well as being fed parts of other animals), they are given prophylactic doses of antibiotics and tons of growth hormones."

Read The Omnivore's Dilemma.
It's a terrific book.

[Edited on January 3, 2009 at 1:07 AM. Reason : kj]

1/3/2009 1:06:12 AM

I think it's interesting that only mammal-eaters get on my case about using the word vegetarian to describe myself. The vegetarians I know really don't care how I describe my diet.

I'm just saying...it's interesting.

1/3/2009 1:14:19 AM

haha yeah i'm vegetarian & people ask me all the time if that means i dont eat seafood & chicken too...i'm like

1/3/2009 1:38:35 AM

I think it has less to do with meat eaters and more to do with what the dictionary definition of "vegetarian" is

1/3/2009 1:59:28 AM