The Skinny Girl Diet
The Skinny Girl Diet is a program created and followed by Bethenny Frankel, a natural foods chef and celebrity who starred in reality shows such as The Real Housewives of New York City, The Apprentice and Bethenny Ever After.
Bethenny explains the Skinny Girl Diet in detail in her book, Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting
The Skinny Girl Diet in a nutshell
In a nutshell, the Skinny Girl Diet is about following the 10 basic rules that Bethenny explains in detail in her book.
Rule #1: Your diet is a bank account
You can eat what you want, but you need to always balance your diet. For example, she says:
- Don’t eat too much of the same thing
- Don’t eat the same thing twice on the same day
- Balance starches with proteins
- Balance vegetables and fruits with sweets and fats
- Balance a splurge with a save
For example, if you eat starch for breakfast, you should have protein and vegetables for lunch. If you overeat one day, you should cut down the following day.
Rule #2: You can have it all, just not all at once
As mentioned in rule 1, you can eat whatever it is that you want, but don’t eat them all at the same time. An example mentioned in the book is if you’re at a cocktail party with an array of various delicious plates, don’t eat all of them but eat only the 1-3 things you truly want the most.
Since you can only eat a few items at the same time, she mentions that it’s important that you know what you really want.
Rule #3: Taste everything, eat nothing
This rule does NOT mean that you spit out food after tasting, or anything that involves fasting. It’s an alternative to rule #2. Instead of choosing 2-3 food items that you like most, you choose everything but eat only a small amount of each. However, you can always eat lots of light foods like salads and grilled veggies.
By small amounts, it may mean only a few sips or a few bites, depending on how many items you’re eating. This method is supposed to satisfy you mentally by allowing you to taste everything that you want.
Rule #4: Pay attention
Bethenney explains why you need to give your meals your full attention. This rule means to pay attention to your eating experience and stop eating mindlessly. She gives many tips on how to pay attention, including:
- Don’t do anything else while you eat
- Taste your food
- Think like an Italian – respect your food by giving it your full attention
Rule #5: Downsize now!
This rule means you should eat smaller portions. Given the larger portions that are routinely served in restaurants, this rule becomes particularly important when eating out.
Bethenney explains that overeating sometimes occurs out of a feeling of deprivation. The idea is, since under her method, you are eating what you want and as a result not feeling deprived, downsizing your portions shouldn’t be too difficult.
She lists various tricks you can use to downsize your meals including using smaller plates, using ramekins for ice cream, baking in muffin tins, and many more.
Rule #6: Cancel your membership in the clean plate club
This rule basically applies to when you are eating out. The rule means do not finish an entire plate when eating out. You should either share it, bring the leftovers home, or simply leave them on the plate.
Rule #7: Check yourself before you wreck yourself
This rule is about binging. It means before you binge, check yourself and stop. This is obviously easier said than done. Bethenney discusses her own experience and how she overcame binge eating.
Rule #8: Know thyself
Everyone is different and you need to adjust your diet according to your own personal needs. For example, the frequency of your meals, the timing of your meals, your food selection based on your reaction to certain foods, and finding out what triggers you to binge.
Rule #9: Get real
Eat real food and avoid processed foods as much as possible. When you eat processed foods, you should choose the ones that are “better” such as those containing protein or made from whole grains. The book also recommends organic food, seasonal food, and local food.
She also adds that “variety is the spice of life” and you need to try new foods and recipes to add variety to your diet.
Rule #10: Good for you
You should do what is good for you, which includes being thin for your body type, doing exercise that you enjoy, sleeping, and caring about yourself.
This rule is the foundation of all rules, and without this rule, all other rules will be meaningless.
What else is in the Skinny Girl Diet book?
The book goes into a lot more detail and provides various weight loss tips along the way, including “naturally thin thoughts,” as well as many recipes.
Bethenney also includes a whole section called “The Naturally Thin Program” where she guides you through how you can implement the rules into your daily life, as well as many recipes. In addition to reviewing the 10 rules and important concepts, she walks you through a whole week of what and how you can be eating for every meal.
Skinny Girl Diet review
The Skinny Girl Diet has many helpful and interesting tips that can help anyone make smarter choices in their everyday diet. It is certainly helpful to know how ‘skinny’ people think and make choices.
Some people however may have difficulty eating just small amounts of food at a time, for every meal (sometimes only taking “bites” or “sips” of a dish/drink). Also if you are not a good cook or do not have time to prepare elaborate meals, preparing the various recipes to ensure “variety” and different “tastes” may be challenging.
All in all, the Skinny Girl Diet book is very detailed and provides some unique tips to lose and maintain weight, including addressing the individual needs and differences of people, and the psychological challenges and obstacles.
Credit: Fast Slim Body website.
