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 Want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous? Best-selling US
authors Rory Freeman and Kim Barnouin will tell you how. They spoke
with Katrina Fox.
Let’s face it, some books on ‘healthy eating’ can be boring. Often written by earnest people who record the facts in an often bland manner, they are easy to discard when the next craving for cheese, chocolate or junk food grabs you.
But it’s not easy to ignore the ‘advice’ meted out by former Ford Models agent Rory Freedman and former model Kim Barnouin, whose 2005 book Skinny Bitch became a number one New York Times bestseller.
These “smart-mouthed girlfriends” take a “tough love” approach to encourage “savvy girls” to adopt healthier eating habits. The book is filled with no-nonsense and often witty remarks such as, “You cannot keep eating the same shit and expect to get skinny” or “Whenever you see the words ‘low fat’ or ‘fat free’ think of the words ‘chemical shit storm’”.
The reader is told to “sober up, asshole” and reminded that candy bars will “pitch a tent on your hips and camp out for a year” among other wisecracks in what the authors deem a necessary wake-up call.
Now lest you think this is just a couple of uneducated bimbo chicks (bitches) from the modelling industry jumping on the fad diet bandwagon, you couldn’t be more wrong. Freedman and Barnouin have really done their research and Barnouin holds a Masters of Science degree in Holistic Nutrition.
In Skinny Bitch, the truth behind the food we eat is exposed – from the “rotting, decomposing corpses” masquerading as ‘hamburgers’ or ‘roast beef’ and “addictive, disease-producing dairy” to the harmful chemicals that go into certain processed foods.
Not to mention the terrible acts that take place in abbatoirs: cows’ skin is sliced from their heads while they are still conscious and their spinal cords severed to stop them struggling; before pigs bleed to death they are dunked fully conscious into 140-degree scalding water; chickens’ beaks are chopped off their faces with no anaesthetic and are later boiled alive. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
“For each of us, it was being confronted with the truths about factory farming and slaughterhouses,” Freedman tells CHERRIE. “It’s hard to call yourself an ‘animal lover’ and then knowingly contribute to the most unspeakable atrocities against animals…all because you like the taste of meat. After learning about the whole bloody mess, we each decided to get our diets aligned with our principles.”
The title of the book is deliberately pro-vocative, but before you can say ‘fat is a feminist issue’ Freedman and Barnouin are quick to point out they’re not advocating women be ‘skinny’ in its literal meaning. “A Skinny Bitch is someone who enjoys food, eats well, and loves her body as a result. It has nothing to do with how much you weigh or what size you are!” they proclaim on their website.
“We want everyone to take better care of themselves,” Freedman adds. “Our bodies need and deserve to be treated with love and reverence. That means eating well, exercising, and loving ourselves, regardless of what sizes we wear, how much we weigh, or what our boobs look like.
Skinny Bitch promotes a healthy lifestyle, an awareness of ingredients, and a love of eating. Everyone who reads the book cover to cover knows that, despite the title, we’re all about self-empowerment. And that the title was just a cheap ploy to get people to read the book!”
It obviously worked, with the book garnering a huge amount of international publicity and critical acclaim, as well as kudos among celebrities. “Shana Moakler and Jerry Stackhouse [NBA player for the Dallas Mavericks] both credited the book for changing their ways,” Barnouin says. “And Victoria Beckham, Jessica Alba and Gemma Atkinson, a British soap star, were all spotted holding the book.”
Freedman and Barnouin have followed up on the success of their original book with the newly released Skinny Bitch in the Kitch which offers up a list of scrumptious ‘Kick-Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!)’. And they’re not stopping there.
“We’ve got a how-to-eat guide for pregnant women coming out in December 2008, Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven,” Barnouin says. “And in December 2009, our book for men will hit the shelves, Skinny Bastard.”
So if you think embracing an animal-free diet equals ‘boring’ or denying yourself pleasure, grab yourself a copy of Skinny Bitch, and find out how you can indulge in all number of mouth-watering and cruelty-free delights while staying healthy and looking absolutely fabulous.
Skinny Bitch and Skinny Bitch in the Kitsch are available in all good bookstores. More info: www.skinnybitch.net
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