The Bitchy Mom Diet

With the New Year approaching, I thought it was time to think about that terrible four letter word (d-i-e-t). I started looking around at the current diets and was completely confused with all the options. Abs diet, Volumentrics, Gluten-Free, Atkins, Zone Living, South Beach Diet, The Ultimate Sex Diet, exercise diet books and more... I even received my regular Role Mommy Newsletter that announced a future event in March 2008 titled "Unlock the simple secrets to losing weight & feeling great" that looked very interesting (if I were in NYC!).  I kept thinking, tell me NOW- what are those secrets?? Then as I was browsing at Borders I saw a book that caught my eye titled "Skinny Bitch, A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous".

Even though the word "skinny" is completely offensive to me, I had to take a look at the book. Then I read that one of the authors is a former modeling agent and the other is a former model. It also seemed offensive that models could say anything about diets. In my mind the model diet consists of what the Emily Blunt character in Devil Wears Prada explained: "I just starve until I feel faint and then I eat a cheese cube". But I read on and found that not only does the book actually makes sense,

but also the snarky tone is quite appealing for the non-diet-believers. Chapters such as "Sugar is the devil", "Don't be a pussy" and "The Dead, Rotting, Decomposing Flesh Diet" help take my mind off that four letter word.  Hey, if Victoria Bechkam can pick up the book so can I (but her pubicist said she did not buy it).

In short, the book recommends a vegan diet that includes complex carbohydrates. But what I found useful was their food list that included many items easy to buy at the store (including prepared foods that even a busy mom can make). Many of their hints make sense, like what eating refined sugars and high fructose corn syrup can do to you.  I actually tried to follow the book for a week, basking in the glory of eating lots of complex carbohydrates. Unfortunately, I gained weight.

Then I realized I most likely gained weight because I was eating lots of complex carbohydrates and was not exercising at all - for the last month.  And I was also not following portion control, I don't think eating 3 whole grain toaster waffles was what they were talking about for breakfast (my waffle and my kids leftovers). The review at FOXNews.com seems to sum up my objections to the diet:

"One critic, registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, doesn't object that the book promotes a vegan lifestyle but that it doesn't include information on things such as serving sizes, calories, protein, fat and vitamins that are needed to ensure that people are eating right."

So the start of the New Year will bring me back to the fitness club with a commitment for regular exercise (setting realistic goals like Devra) plus utilizing some of the concepts of the Skinny Bitch Diet with overall healthy eating-that-a-mom-can-follow-and-not-feel-hungry (which makes me bitchy).

Any other weight loss hints to share?