FitnessRx June 2008 Issue: A Skinny Bitch is not what women really want

CONGRATULATIONS FITNESSRX!!!! Thank you for publishing one of the best issues of your magazine that I've read in a long time.

For those of you who have NO idea what I'm talking about, please head to your local newstands and pick up the June 2008 issue of FitnessRX for Women.

In this issue, the contributing writers along with the editorial staff go in depth about why being SKINNY (or working to be "SKINNY") is not a healthy or sensible choice for 99% of the women on this planet.

This issue was developed in response to the popular diet book that is clouding the rational thoughts of women everywhere: "Skinny Bitch" released Jan 2006 by Running Press. The premise behind this book is that all people are gluttons and fat-pigs (directly stated in the book) and to get skinny, you need to eat like a vegan (no animal products AT ALL).

In the feature article of FitnessRx June 2008, Dr Susan Kleiner, an expert in sports nutrition and weight loss, and author of The Good Mood Diet and Power Eating, gives her thoughts and critique of this so-called diet masterpiece. To quote her writing in the article titled, "Skinny Bitch: Is it Hip to be a Vegan?" (which I love):

In the world of diet and nutrition, while sensationalism may be what sells fast, it's science that gives you the results that last. It's too bad that Skinny Bitch, one of the latest fat books that promotes a vegan diet bases the recommendation on recycled diet fad myths and plain old bastardization of nuggets of true research data. ....
In terms of this book, I really tried to look past the nasty, repulsive language that must be aimed at women with very low self-esteem. Ignoring the message that you are a fat pig until you get skinny, and then you can be a skinny bitch; I tried to see if there was some sound advice to be gleaned from the book. At first, I thought there might be. The authors promote a vegan lifestyle, are clear that smoking and drinking are bad for you and want everyone to exercise. But when digestion is described as meat rotting in your intestines and that fruit should always be eaten alone or it won't be digested, the creative writing started to get to me. To top it off, the only "experts" quoted in the book are the authors' gurus, Harvey and Marilyn Diamond- the king and queen of farcical nutrition mythology.

Kleiner then goes on to not bash the book, but to show what benefits one can have by eating less meat (not NO meat), which in her opinion, promotes increased intake of fruits and vegetables. Again, to quote:

The problem is not really that meat is so bad for you, but that grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables are so good for you! If you always make meat and animal products the center of your diet, you just don't have enough room left to eat all the fabulous plant foods necessary to promote health and ward off disease.

Susan is a brilliant woman and her whole article is of great importance to read.

Later in the issue of the magazine, follows such articles as "Is Skinny Healthy?" by Dan Gwartney, MD and "Why She's no Skinny Bitch: How Kim Kardashian Trains to Keep Her Curves".

You'll also notice that the cover boasts a beautiful model (Kim K) that has great hips and arms that actually look like they've got some meat on them rather than being sticks thinner than tooth picks.

Now, I'm not sure if I had ANYTHING to do with it, as last year I came down hard on FitnessRx for promoting ultra-skinny cover models, in my post, "Model, Role Model, Role Those Models in Blood. Get some flesh to stick so they look like us." But, whether or not I did, I'm glad to see real-world women with curves and healthy body fat being the role models that women look at when they pick up their favorite magazine.

THANK YOU AGAIN FITNESSRX