With a title like that, how could I not be intrigued? I’m so glad I was, because this book changed my life.

I was looking for cookbooks and discovered Skinny Bitch instead. Skinny Bitch is a weight loss guide book that encourages a lifestyle change, not just dieting. It is, as the cover boasts, “a no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous!”

There is a lot of talk about lifestyle change versus diet. What it means is in order to lose weight, and keep it off, you can’t just change your eating habits until you reach your goal weight. You have to permanently change your eating habits.

A diet could be restricting your calories to only eating grapefruit, yogurt and salad for three months to lose 30 pounds. It might work, but unless you plan on eating that way for the rest of your life, the weight won’t stay off.

A lifestyle change might mean eating less processed foods, eating more fruits and vegetables and exercising regularly. It seems simple enough, but bad habits are hard to change. Believe me, I know.

I have been overweight all of my life. I hit 200 pounds by the time I was 20. I stayed around that weight, fluctuating 10 pounds above or below, until last year when I turned 30. I hit an all-time high of 232 pounds.

I loved to eat all sorts of junk – fried chicken, pizza, cookies, ice cream: the usual suspects. And I did so most days. I also went to the bar most weekends and piled ample amounts of beer on top of that. My hobbies included watching TV, going to the movies and various other sedentary past times.

I knew these habits were the cause of my extra pounds. I knew that I needed to change my habits in order to shed those extra pounds. But nothing I did could motivate me to do so.

I tried implementing my own reward system, in several ways. I tried one where I earned points for good habits and was docked points for bad ones. The points would be added up to turn in for a new CD or DVD or clothes. I lost 15 pounds, bought one outfit, and wound up right back into old habits. I tried another where every 5 pounds yield a reward. Nothing ever came of that one. I tried combining the two. Still nothing worked.

I’ve come to realize that food can be an addiction, like cigarettes, alcohol or other drugs. I had started keeping a journal of when I would really binge eat, and had to face that I was eating to keep from dealing with personal issues. That is the basis of any addiction, but I couldn’t believe that’s what I was doing with food. I had nearly resolved to live with the idea that I just loved food and there was nothing I could do to change that.

Then I read Skinny Bitch. This book was the slap in the face that I needed.

It basically says to stop whining, get real and just do it already. It addresses common myths, bad habits and fad diets and tells you to stop being stupid because you know better. It puts things bluntly and gives a real stern look at food consumption.

I had been vegetarian (not eating meat) on and off since I was 12. I tried to go vegan (not eating meat or any animal bi-products, such as milk, cheese and eggs) a few times, but did not succeed. I loved food too much.

I wanted to be vegetarian for personal and moral reasons. I just didn’t like the taste of meat. I also found it repulsive to kill animals for food.

But 20 years ago, there was a lot less knowledge of how to eat healthy without eating meat, so I always ended up eating meat again.

Skinny Bitch has armed me with the knowledge that I need to go vegan. I decided to try going vegan again after reading Skinny Bitch in August of this year. I have been vegan ever since and I am loving it.

I’m also trying to go organic. That hasn’t been as easy. There are less truly organic products out there and those that are tend to be pretty expensive. But I’m content to just tackle one major change at a time for now.

Here are some of the highlights from Skinny Bitch that really put things in perspective for me:

• In most “diet” foods, artificial sweeteners have been added. These sweeteners, such as Splenda, do decrease calories, but they are essentially poison. They have been linked to nearly a hundred different ailments, including memory loss, reproductive disorders and nerve cell damage.
• The way animals are processed for consumption is completely inhumane. They are treated as product on an assembly line and although systems are in place to kill the animals humanely, quantity demands result in frequent inhumane killings. Several cases of animals being skinned or gutted alive have been documented. The accounts are too numerous and too gruesome to recount here. But suffice it to say, it is appalling.
• Male baby chicks are discarded since they cannot produce eggs. This usually means they are tossed into the garbage, alive and left to starve to death on top of piles of other discarded chicks.
• Cows are milked by machines and often left unsupervised. They develop sores that can ooze pus. This pus ends up in milk and thus, milk products such as cheese and ice cream.
• The meat and dairy industries were on the panel that created the food pyramid that emphasized getting protein from meat and calcium from dairy.
• The meat and dairy industries also pump a variety of drugs and chemicals into cows, pigs and chickens. Hormones are pumped into animals so that they grow bigger so they can generate more meat so, of course, they yield more money. Anti-biotics are pumped into animals to cure all the sickness that comes from the horrible conditions they are in, including filth and overcrowding. When you eat these hormone and anti-biotic laden animals, you eat these hormones and these anti-biotics. These substances have been linked to early on-set of menstrual cycles, cancer and increased resistance to medicine. The latter symptom means that if you get sick, and you take a drug to help you get well, it will be less effective in doing so.

I decided I no longer wanted to ingest poisons, contribute to the suffering of other living creatures or be victim of a government conspiracy that says I have to eat meat, eggs and dairy when I don’t.

For those of you who might question the government conspiracy angle, let me ask you this: Who benefits from not eating meat and dairy? You might answer companies that make soy and other vegan products. But I think the government is looking out for their own monetary interests only and companies that produce vegan products, while they will make some money, have the main goal of creating healthy products only. Besides, regardless of motivation, going vegan is the healthier option.

If you can’t give up meat right away, at least go organic. But beware: anything labeled USDA organic may not be organic. Suffice it to say, the USDA has been documented cutting corners and it is highly unlikely that products with the USDA label are truly organic.

Also, read your labels. Some things that claim to be vegan or free of artificial sweeteners are not. Skinny Bitch has a list of what to look out for that can help you with this danger. However, one easy rule to follow is if you don’t know what it is, it probably isn’t good.

Skinny Bitch also has a month of sample menus and lists books and websites to help you make the transition to eating vegan and organic.

I’m sure some will argue that eating animals is just the way the food chain goes. It is not necessary to consume animals to get proper nutrition. It will take some getting used to, and you may think your body craves meat or dairy, and it will. But if you were addicted to heroin, your body would crave that. Does that mean since your body craves it you should give into that urge? Don’t fall victim to that idea.

If you think eating plants is the same as eating animals, you’re just making excuses. Yes, plants are alive. They do respond to voices and grow stronger when shown greater attention. But that is likely just positive energy, in the same way that plants grow more with greater exposure to sunlight.

But they are not alive the same way that animals are. They do not have conscious thoughts and feelings. They do not bear live young. They do not care about their offspring and show pain when they are taken from them. They do not cry out when they are being killed. They do not bleed. Or maybe they do and since they don’t have vocal chords, nerve endings or brains, we just can’t see it. But we can see that in animals. So until someone proves that plants are conscious beings, I will eat them. I know that animals are conscious beings. So I will not eat them.

Since I went vegan, I have lost 10 pounds (in 13 weeks) and I have so much more energy. It was a bit difficult at first, adjusting to the change. But it really hasn’t been that hard.

It seemed a bit overwhelming at first, especially having to be wary of claims to be vegan or organic and the need to scrutinize labels to be sure if such claims were true. But it didn’t take long for me to find reputable brands that I loved and could easily attain, and I had a lot of fun trying new and different things.

It may be that there are so many vegan options out there now, that I’m not missing out on anything. I still eat cookies, brownies and ice cream. They’re just vegan. And no, they aren’t gross and I haven’t had to adjust to eating more bland options. They are just as tasty, if not tastier than options with milk and eggs. You’ll have to avoid sweets that contain gelatin and marshmallows. But there are vegan alternatives. You can indulge in other sweets, such as licorice, Sour Patch Kids, Nerds and the like.

If you’re concerned about the nutritional needs, don’t be. I get plenty of protein from tofu, beans and soy products. There are tons of varieties, including meat substitutes ranging from burgers and chicken nuggets to bacon and “ground beef”. I find them to be way more satisfying and they are much lower in fat and calories. For example, the average fat and calories in a serving of ground beef, lean even, is 17 grams and 250. The average fat and calories in soy “ground beef” is 3 fat grams and 140 calories. The amount of protein is highly comparable. In regular ground beef, you’d get 28 grams. In soy “ground beef”, you get 24 grams. But the amount of fat, calories and karma points you save should well make up for the 4 grams of protein you’re missing.

I get most of my calcium from soy milk and soy yogurt. I also get it from beans, whole grains and almonds. The whole grains pack in a little extra protein, as well, and tons of fiber.

Top this all off with a well-rounded variety of fruits and veggies, and I am loving this lifestyle change.

I don’t go to the bar at all now. I’ve actually stopped drinking all together. I exercise 10 minutes most mornings and 30 minutes two to three nights per week. I’m working on increasing that, but I’ll get there at my own pace.

The one thing to know about a lifestyle change is that it takes time. It won’t happen overnight. But it is the way to go. With a diet, you may lose 30 pounds faster than with a lifestyle change, but it won’t stick and it’s not the healthy way to do it. Keep trying different things until you find what works best for you. Give yourself time and enjoy the journey. I know I am.

Vegan Products I Love

• Silk – soy milk (including chocolate soy milk that I think tastes like pudding), soy yogurt, soy smoothies, soy coffee creamers
• Amy’s – organic vegan frozen entrees (burritos and pot pies included)
• Odwalla – snack bars (chocolate chip peanut is my favorite)
• Pamela’s Products – cookies (chocolate chip walnut and peanut butter work best for me)
• Enjoy life – snack bars, cookies (snicker doodles rule)
• Health is Wealth – meat substitutes (chicken patty and chicken nuggets are where it’s at)
• Boca – meat substitutes (I opt for the vegan burger patty from this company)
• Lightlife – meat substitutes (best for ground beef and chicken strips)
• Blue Sky – natural soda (Dr. Becker has my prescription for a tasty treat)
• Sun Snacks – chips (delicious and nutritious)
• Soy Delicious – ice cream and frozen treats (fruit sweetened never tasted so good)

Where to shop:

Whole Foods Market with nationwide locations, here is the local Troy location.
2880 W. Maple Rd.
Troy, MI 48084
(best for frozen foods and fresh pastries including brownies, muffins and my favorite, chocolate zucchini bread- yum!)

Good Food Co.
74 W. Maple Rd.
Troy, MI 48084
(best for snacks and pop)

Nutri.-Foods Inc.
120 S. Main St.
Royal Oak, MI 48067
(smaller store for quicker stops)

Kroger stores also carry a good variety of Amy’s, Lightlife and Silk products.