Skinny Bitch (16 page)

Ever think about the pores all over your body and what you’re putting inside them? Hopefully, you will now. Buy natural beauty products. What you put
on
your body is just as important as what you put
in
your body (because, in essence, what you put on your body will wind up in your body), especially on body parts you shave, pluck, or wax. Open pores do not want chemicals bulldozing through. Are your deodorant, makeup, perfumes, and lotions safe?

You can get too much of a good thing. So don’t overdose on water, or you’ll flush necessary salt supplies right out of your body.

Eight glasses a day is a good target.

Natural, unrefined Celtic sea salt (different from table salt) contains many essential minerals, enhances organ function, and neutralizes toxins. It also contributes to the hydration of our cells and organs.224

Buy a food steamer. It will change your life.

Do yoga. It is a kick-ass cardio workout that will strengthen, tone, and harden your muscles. Yoga is amazing for organ function, immune system strength, tackling insomnia, improving PMS symptoms and menstrual cramps, and overall health. You will love how it makes you look and feel. All kidding aside, if everyone did yoga, we would have world peace.

Donate blood. You can save a life and lose weight at the same time.

Keep your eyes peeled for bad press regarding veganism. It’s usually planted by the industries that are threatened by the movement.

Don’t believe any of it. It’s all bogus bullshit. One study claimed that feeding children a vegan diet was tantamount to child abuse. It just so happens that the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association paid for the study. They had the gall to experiment on African children who were literally starving. These children were eating nothing but corn and beans in minuscule servings. When servings of meat were added to their diets, their health improved.225 Well, of course it did.

They were fucking starving. This doesn’t prove that veganism is dangerous or unhealthy. It just shows that the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association will exploit starving, impoverished children to create bad press for veganism and boost its own meat sales. This is nothing short of a disgrace and an embarrassment to America.

Chapter 13

Use Your Head

Don’t be a fat pig anymore. You know what you have to do, now do it. But don’t go anorexic on us, either. It’s easy to get caught up in any lifestyle change and go overboard. Make healthy choices and take excellent care of yourself without getting neurotic and obsessive.

USE YOUR HEAD. We can’t say it enough. Use your own head and think about what you are eating. Forget what you’ve ever read, heard, or learned and just think for yourself. Once they’ve recovered, your body, brain, and instincts will always lead you down the right food path. Obey them and disregard everyone and everything else. You know the truth.

Read the ingredients. This goes hand in hand with using your head. If you plan on eating something, you should know exactly what it is. Even if it’s a product that we’ve recommended, you still need to check the ingredients. Companies change their recipes all the time. Two vegan products we loved initially and suggested weren’t vegan by the time we were finished writing this book, and we had to remove them from our recommendation lists. Trust no one. Not even us. Some of the products on our suggested food lists aren’t perfect; we make certain allowances based on our own opin-ions and desires. Read and decide for yourself. And if you don’t recognize an ingredient, call the company’s 800 number on the package and ask what it is. If it’s not something you would put in your body, tell them, and suggest that they improve their product.

Companies really do take comments into account, so always voice your opinion.

Now that you’re a Skinny Bitch, don’t turn into a skinny bitch. We conceived of the title,
Skinny Bitch
, to get attention and sell books.

We just wanted to spread our message far and wide and thought
Skinny Bitch
was a good way to do it. But we are not bitches, and we have no desire to promote bitchiness. There is nothing uglier than a pretty woman who’s nasty. If you look great, you should feel good about yourself and be happy. Instead of fixating on the last five pounds you want to lose, celebrate the five you already lost.

Progress, not perfection. Don’t be insecure or competitive or feel threatened by women who are thinner or prettier than you. Be happy for them; it will make you look better. Smile a lot, give compliments out whenever you can, and be nice to everyone. You’ll just keep getting prettier and prettier and skinnier and skinnier.

Soon, you’ll notice people (especially men) flocking to the new you. Not just because you’re skinny but because you are happier, healthier, and eating a cruelty-free diet. So feel free to share your new wealth of information with everyone who asks. Spread the good word, but be careful not to preach. You’ll see that some people get very defensive about their diets when you tell them about yours. Even if you are being very non-judgmental, people may feel threatened by your righteousness. Understandably, your being a vegan shines a spotlight on the cruelty they’re contributing to, and it makes them feel uncomfortable. When asked, you can describe what you’ve learned about the treatment of farm animals and all of the health benefits of being vegan. By all means, let people know how great you feel and how much weight you’ve lost. But never suggest that they try it or make them feel bad about their diet. Offer to lend them your copy of
Skinny Bitch
, or give them the GoVeg.com website. But don’t push it. Everyone seeks the truth in his or her own time.

Now that you’ve got your diet, health, and appearances under control, fix other areas of your life. After all, there’s no point in being gorgeous if your life is a mess. End your co-dependent relationship, quit your dead-end job, and ditch your toxic friends. Make a list of goals and start chipping away at them. THIS IS YOUR LIFE! Live it to the fullest with reckless abandon. Seize the day.

And do it again tomorrow. Live. Go get your dream job. Search for your dream man. Fear nothing. Try everything. Be excited. Dance.

You’ll never get yesterday back, but today is yours for the taking.

Make it great.

Bravo. You’ve got your life and your diet on-track. But you still need to move your ass. Exercise will boost your self-esteem, reduce your junk-food cravings, and help you
lose weight
. If you can commit to a gym routine, fantastic! You will reach your fitness goals faster.

But you don’t need to be a gym rat. Just do something! It can even be fun. Take a class that you’ve always wondered about, like kickboxing or belly dancing. Go for walks after dinner or bike rides on week-ends. Better yet, walk or bike to work. Whatever you choose, exercise makes you feel great about yourself. And that alone is priceless.

You
are
what you
think
. Our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and experiences create tangible, concrete reactions at cellular and atomic levels. So whether something is “real” or not doesn’t matter.

If we think, feel, believe, or experience it, it will become a reality.

Slow down and think about this and realize the implications it can have on your life. It can work for or against you. For example, if you
think
you are fat and that diets never work and that you’ll always be fat, then yes, you
are
fat and diets never work and you will always be fat. What you
think
actually becomes embedded in your brain and your cells and the energy field surrounding you. Your thoughts are just that powerful. So if you
feel
you are meant to be thin, and
believe Skinny Bitch
will make you lose weight and
know
that this book is going to change your life, you
will
be thin, you
will
lose weight, and your life
will
change. It is just that simple.

In her book,
Anatomy of the Spirit
, Dr. Caroline Myss examines the unquestionable link between negative emotions and physical illnesses. Take “Julie,” for example. Julie’s husband treated her with contempt and disdain, frequently said the mere sight of her repulsed him, and refused to sleep with her. It is no coincidence that Julie was diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer, reflecting her lack of self-love for her “womanhood.” She could not leave her husband. She never recovered from her cancer and died as a result.226 “Joanna” was married to a man who had multiple affairs, which she knew about but tried to live with. Not surprisingly, she developed breast cancer. Eventually, she confronted her husband and demanded fidelity. However, he was unable to change, so she left the marriage. Joanna recovered from her cancer.
Anatomy of
the Spirit
chronicles one history after another of people sickening themselves or healing themselves with thought and emotion. (Of course, we are not suggesting that everyone suffering from a disease has brought it upon him or herself. We are, however, saying it is entirely possible to do so.)

Our minds are infinitely powerful. Our favorite self-help gurus, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, and Tony Robbins, understand this, and they all preach the power of daily affirmations. An affirmation is a positive statement you make that allows you to clearly envision a goal or mindset. It is declared as if it is already happening, and it can be anything you want:

“Every day in every way my ass is getting smaller.”

“Every day in every way my thighs are getting thinner.”

“Every day in every way my stomach is getting flatter.”

“Every day in every way I’m losing more and more weight.”

“Every day in every way I’m loving my body more.”

“Every day in every way I’m getting healthier and healthier.”

Create your own affirmations and say them (in your head or aloud, if you can) when you wake up in the morning, while exercising, in your car, and in bed at night. You will immediately notice how good they make you feel and you will be astonished at the results. This book is the result of our affirmations, so we
know
they truly work.

Now that you love yourself, wear sexy clothes. You worked hard for this body and you should be proud of it. We know it can be terrifying to wear something super-trendy—like you don’t have the right or aren’t worthy. But you
are
good enough, you
do
deserve it, and no one is thinking otherwise. So don’t be afraid of wearing revealing, high-fashion clothes. This is your body for this lifetime.

Dress it up and love it. Why are you “saving” all your good underwear or hot outfits? Wear them, fool. But please keep in mind that looking cheap or cheesy doesn’t accomplish anything. If you have poor fashion sense (you know who you are), ask someone for guidance.

Now we know we keep encouraging you to look your best, but, for the love of God, don’t associate your worth with your appearance.

We are spiritual beings walking around in these crazy skin suits. Our insides are much more important than our outsides. So don’t you fucking dare measure your worth by the amount of attention or validation you get from men. It’s nice to be appreciated, but it is not a necessity. Love yourself and your looks, even if no one else seems to.

In time, your confidence and self-love will attract a winner.

Well, it’s all there in black and white. We sincerely hope you will take the knowledge you’ve learned and put it to use from this moment on. YOU hold the power to change your life, and it’s really so simple. Use your head, lose your ass.

Afterword

Isn’t man an amazing animal? He kills wildlife by the millions in order to protect his domestic animals and their feed. Then he kills domestic animals by the billions and eats them. This in turn kills man by the millions, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative—and fatal—health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, and cancer. So then man tortures and kills millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases. Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals. Meanwhile, some people are dying of sad laughter at the absurdity of man, who kills so easily and so violently, and once a year sends out cards praying for “Peace on Earth.”

—Preface from
Old MacDonald’s Factory Farm,
by C. David Coates

Recommended Reading

Books

Slaughterhouse,
Gail A. Eisnitz. *This book is an absolute
must-read
for every American who has ever eaten meat, is still considering eating meat, or isn’t sure if they should or shouldn’t. Buy this book today!

Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating,
Erik Marcus
The Food Revolution,
John Robbins

Fast Food Nation,
Eric Schlosser

Breaking the Food Seduction,
Neal Barnard, M.D.