Craig Ballantyne vs the Skinny Bitch Diet

Admission: I’ve never read the book, “The Skinny Bitch Diet”. And I likely never will. Nor will I read their follow-up book, “The Skinny Bastard Diet”. (I’ll be surprised if that does well with men, since “skinny” is an insult to most men, at least the ones I know).

But here’s the premise according to one TT Member…

“The book is a platform for weightloss based on a vegetarian lifestyle and that we should avoid meat, dairy, eggs, fish, etc – that the authors refer to as ‘junk’ foods”.

Now here’s what I think…

There’s a lot of junk in all “food worlds” – both vegetarian and in the meat-eating world.

I think doing the best you can to eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and raw nuts is a good place to start your diet. You can then eat meat or choose not to and stick to vegetarian protein sources.

Will farm-factory meat kill you?

Well, maybe by e. coli in a few isolated cases (poorly processed vegetarian foods can also kill you, too), but long-term, I don’t think anyone can prove that eating ‘regular old chicken breasts and red meat from your local grocery store’ once in a while will shorten your life (not counting processed meats, as those certainly have been associated with cancer and diabetes).

I do my best to stick to organic, grass fed meat, but I probably eat “generic Canadian grocery store meat” twice per week. And I just don’t think that will make a difference in my life. I just don’t.

The human body is incredibly resilient and unless you smoke, are significantly overweight, avoid exercise, or drink excessively (or abuse substances), your genetics are likely the biggest factor in your health and longevity.

I eat meat and doubt I will ever stop. I grew up on a cattle farm. I’ve been inside a slaughterhouse. And I still plan on trying a piece of Chocolate covered bacon when I can find a store that sells it in Toronto. (But just one piece and then it will be back to eating on the Turbulence Training lifestyle.)

If you consume meat, dairy, and eggs in moderation, I have a tough time seeing how you can’t live as long a life as someone who abstains, provided you…

• Take care of yourself.
• Go to the doctor.
• Stay out of trouble.
• Don’t develop any addictions to alcohol or drugs.
• Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
• Stay active.
• Associate with wonderful people who give you positive social support.
• Love someone.
• Pet a dog thrice daily – this is key.

So take a deep breath, relax, and don’t let skinny beetches get under your skin.

That said, I know a lot of TT Members want more vegetarian info, and so I’m working with vegetarian nutrition expert Kardena Pauza to bring you vegetarian meal plans and recipes. And even if you don’t want to stop eating meat, you’ll still get a lot of healthy eating ideas from her – my first interview with Kardena should be next week.

As for food toxins, yes, there are many that should be avoided…however, in this day and age of detox-this and detox-that, there is one thing that nutrition-detox folks all forget…

…something more powerful than the food we eat…

…and something that no one can really do anything about…

…nor can we ever “detox” from it…

And that is:

The air we breathe. It probably can do more harm than toxins in our food.

The bottom line is this:

If you want to live a long life, then avoid eating really bad food all of the time (french fries, other sources of trans fats), don’t smoke, don’t be obese, reduce as much un-necessary stress as possible, and be consistent with activity that you love to do.

Frankly, thats all you can do and you just have to let your genetics take the wheel from there.

Later this week I plan on posting an extensive interview I did with Brad Pilon about “food paranoia” and if you have ever wished there was someone who could clear up all the misconceptions in the nutrition world, it’s Brad.

Helping you make sense of eating while losing fat,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS