Book Review: Skinny Chicks

A few weeks ago, I picked up a book at the library and thumbed through it. I thought, "Hey, this looks okay, I should give this a go." A week later I actually started reading it and it blew my mind.

Image via: Skinny Chicks

First off, the writer, Christine, writes in such a way that makes it easy (and funny) to read. She breaks down the information of her lifestyle food plan in a way that is simple to understand. When the boys I nanny asked me about this book, I told them about how she wrote about eating a whole cake in the middle of the night. They laughed and then told their mother they wanted to do the same.

Christine shared her own struggles with sugar addiction and carb cravings and really made it clear to me that what I struggle with is the same thing. Finally understanding that what I was eating was causing greater problems than I realised was the wake-up call I needed.

The flow of the book introduces the problem that many women have when it comes to dieting and trying to lose weight. She talks about the fad diets and why they don't work. She then takes each part of the food plan she follows and explains in detail why we should be doing this and what it does for our body. She builds it up so by the middle of the book, you're wanting to know what the food plan actually, literally is. This is the point where she shows a food plan to get started on (easily followed and substituted since I can't get certain items of food here in NZ) and even provides recipes for the meals that aren't terribly common.

Another aspect to this book is the stories from other women who participated in a 10 week program for the publication of this book. Their journeys are chronicled throughout the book to show you what is possible with this plan. I hesitate to call it a diet because she hesitates to call it a diet. I'm not cutting things out, I'm not starving myself. I'm simply changing how I look at food and what I put into my mouth.

The gist of it is to eat every 4 hours upon waking. For a typical day that means 4 meals. I've been doing this since Saturday (so 5 days now) and I have to admit I struggle to eat that much food. Four meals is a lot. But I feel more energetic, don't have sugar cravings between meals, and am sleeping better. I started this and got my husband on board too. Since he's not trying to lose weight, he's eating a bit more than I am, but he's not coming home starving from work or needing a snack at 10pm every night now. I'd say that's a win.

Each meal we have has 3 elements: protein, carbs and healthy fats. (Okay, sometimes not-so-healthy fats). Instead of having to weigh and measure out all the food, I can use my hands to get the right sizes. Protein should be about the size of your palm. Lean proteins win the game. So we've been having a lot of chicken. That's okay though because you can do so much with chicken! The carbs should be whole-grains and/or fruits and veggies. The portion for these should be about the size of your closed fist with your other hand wrapped around it. That's a big portion- this is where I struggle. Fats can come from olive oil for cooking, light spread, or some nuts or seeds used in the cooking.

There are also suggestions for what to order if you're out for a meal. This is great since my go-to has always been a cheeseburger and fries. Knowing that I can still get takeaway (although maybe not fish and chips for awhile) is a nice bonus.

It's been an interesting transition for us. I am forced to think more about the meals for the next day and prep everything for Ginger before I go to bed as he leaves before me in the morning. More prep, a bit more dishes, but I'm not having to cut everything I love out of our meal plan. I can still have cake if I want it. I can still have pizza (that's on the menu for tonight).

So if you're looking for a funny, light read about changing the way you look at food, I highly recommend Skinny Chicks Don't Eat Salads. If you, like me, struggle with emotional eating and a strong addiction to fast, greasy, cheesy and sugary foods, please pick this book up and consider what you're doing to yourself. Your body deserves to eat good food and feel better. I know mine is thanking me for this, and yours will too.