Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting [Paperback]

Bethenny Frankel (Author), Eve Adamson (Contributor)

Book Description

Release date: March 10, 2009

She stole the show in the runaway hit The Real Housewives of New York City, but Bethenny Frankel's passion has always been enjoying healthful, natural foods and sharing that love: whether she was cooking for Hollywood A-listers, launching her successful company BethennyBakes, providing delicious recipes to Health, or working with leading lifestyle and food companies.

Naturally Thin shows how anyone can banish their Heavy Habits, embrace Thin Thoughts, and enjoy satisfying meals, snacks, and drinks without the guilt. Armed with Bethenny's rules, readers will say:

• I know when I am really hungry
• When I'm really hungry, I look for high-volume, fiber-rich foods
• I can have any food I want
• I love the taste of real food

With more than thirty simple, delicious recipes (including her famous SkinnyGirl Margarita), a one-week program to jump-start readers on the Naturally Thin lifestyle, and warm, witty encouragement on every page, Frankel serves up a book for a healthier and thinner life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Best known from reality TV (The Real Housewives of New York City), "natural foods chef" and entrepreneur Frankel wants unhappy dieters to know that everyone is "naturally thin," they've simply got to change some habits and learn "to think like a naturally thin person." The bulk of this self-help is devoted to ten rules, each outlined in a friendly but no-nonsense chapter. Rooted in Frankel's own struggles ("twenty years suffering through diet hell"), her rules include some familiar ideas smartly recast ("Your diet is a bank account" is a personal-finance gloss on "you are what you eat") and each has a couple recipes attached (Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms). Much of her advice, however, boils down to eating less: other chapters look at moderation, mindful eating and portion size, with some helpful guides to measuring and eyeballing (though it's hard to see why "Downsize Now!" and "Cancel Your Membership in the Clean Plate Club" require separate chapters). A detailed 7-day starter plan fills out the volume. Fans of Frankel's televised adventures will likely be charmed by her strong, direct voice, and her brassy self-regard is nicely tempered by a we're-in-this-together camaraderie.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Bethenny Frankel's new book promises -- and delivers -- the ultimate dream of every overweight American: that you can be 'naturally thin' without starvation dieting, exercising like a maniac, taking drugs, or feeling hungry all the time." -- Ellen Kunes, Editor-in-Chief, Health magazine

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (March 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416597980
• ISBN-13: 978-1416597988
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (348 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

134 of 134 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good advice, but do as she says, not as she does October 4, 2011

By Deanna in Cali

Format:Paperback

There are a lot of negative reviews about this book, throwing out the A Word [anorexia], and full of people making a big stink about how Bethanny advises people take just a few bites of food. But here's the thing: if you want to lose weight, you basically have to decide what you want to sacrifice - quality or quantity.

By that I mean you can either choose to eat lots/large quantities of food, but it has to be low-cal healthy stuff [veggies, air-popped popcorn, fat free dairy, lean protein, nothing fried/sweetened/fatty, etc.]. In this case, you're sacrificing quality - meaning you're limiting (or eliminating) richer, tastier foods in favor of getting to eat more. This plan is great for those who like to consume in bulk.

The other option is to sacrifice quantity [this is the route Bethanny seems to advocate], meaning you can eat whatever you want, but must stick to small portions. I've observed that this is actually how most of my thin friends eat/drink. I used be jealous because they appeared to be able to eat whatever they want (and they do), but the difference is they stop when they're full (what a CRAZY concept, right?) and they're never the ones to have that second piece of pizza/cake/fried chicken.

All that to say, you can moan and complain all you want about Bethanny's portion-minded way of indulging but I guarantee that you will never find a weight loss book that's going to tell you that you can eat whatever you want, as much as you want because it simply can't be done.

Getting back to the book itself . . .

Pros:

-Encourages you to indulge in the foods you want (in moderation). This is key. Deprevation almost ALWAYS backfires when it comes to weight loss/dieting.... As I always say "Woman shall not live on rice cakes alone".

- Requires you to eat mindfully. Years of dieting can cause people to forget how to listen to their bodies. Getting re-familiar with hunger and fullness is important and can help you eat the proper amount of calories for YOUR body, as opposed to how much your friends/husband/kid/neighbor eats.

- Bethanny shows you a sample of what she eats in a given week/weeks. It's a good example of a balance of healthy foods and less healthy ones.

- There is freedom is not being on a "diet" and not having to cut out any food altogether.

Cons:

- For those of us who have struggled with our weight for years, and especially people like me who battle binge eating, the concept of having say, 3 bites of a brownie is almost laughable. After all, if we had the restraint and discipline to stop at a half a bagel, we probably woulnd't be heavy to begin with. I imagine leaving some (or most!) of your food on the plate is something that would require LOTS of practice.

- She oversimplfies the impact of emotional eating and throws out only one brief sentence about getting professional help if you binge eat. This is CRUCIAL because if you are not in a sound place emotionally and psychologcially, all the other advice in the book becomes a moot point. It's almost impossible to take a balanced approach to eating if you're a wreck on the inside.

- This was the biggie for me, and the main reason [I think] why people cry anorexia over this book: Bethanny's food journal. While it's a good mix of healthier foods and treat foods, she doesn't eat anywhere CLOSE to a healthy amount of calories for a grown woman. My three year old neice quite likely consumes more calories than Bethanny does. Now I'm sure being in the public eye means that Bethanny is under pressure to be a few sizes smaller than the average [healthy] woman because well, thin is in, and the camera adds ten pounds. But the average woman reading this book is likely not an aspiring reality star, model or actress and doesn't need to subsist on merely the amount of food that falls off the table at a small dinner party.

My advice/verdict/summary? Fill up on healthy food, top it off with a few bites of the more indulgent stuff, be active as much as your schedule allows, and seek help if your emotions are getting in the way of making better choices for your body. Read more ›

110 of 130 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Save your ten bucks April 26, 2011

By Florida Fridge

Format:Paperback

Save your ten dollars. Here is the book in a nutshell. Eat whatever you want as long as you don't go over 800 calories a day...drink water...exercise as much as you can...DO NOT call it dieting. There you go...you are free!!! After all it is only food.

1,164 of 1,439 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Very surprised by all the good reviews April 4, 2009

By Laura I

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I felt very conflicted by this book. A lot of the advice was the sound advice that you've already read in all those women's magazine and seen on TV. You know, things like "calories in need to equal calories out", and try to eat a balanced diet, etc. Then the rest of the book teaches you neurotic, eating disordered behaviors.

Bethenny talks about how you shouldn't have to settle for a filling, healthy meal, when what you really want is a steak. Go ahead and order the steak, BUT you can only have 3 bites. Yep, 3 bites, she repeats that over and over again through the book. I don't know how you're supposed to live off of 3 bites. I can just imagine how concerned my friends and family would be if they saw me ordering food and then only have 3 bites. So what do you do with the rest of your food? You either A) throw it away B) pawn it off on your dinner companions or C) take it home and make your kids eat it. Frankly, I know a woman like this and I dread being around her whenever food is involved. She's constantly trying to pass off her food on everyone, including drinks (which Bethenny recommends). It's one thing if I'm like, "wow, that looks good", but I've never shown any interest in her meal. If I wanted to eat it, I would have ordered it! Then, if she does try to get some bland healthy meal, she stares at what I ordered, and begs for some. It's rude, annoying, and I hate going out to eat with her.

Next, Bethenny talks alot how when you're on a "diet" you act neurotic about food and obsess. Then she gives tips like, never eat a whole bagel, take half a bagel and then pull the bread out of it and eat only the crust. Same goes for english muffins. It also annoys me that she says repeatedly that she learned these eating habits from living in Italy.... I'm a thin Italian woman and I EAT food.

Well, I guess if you ever wondered how these celebrities stay so thin, this book is the harsh reality. She gives a list of what she ate for 3 weeks as an example of how she lives. Here's one of the days: breakfast was 1/2 cup of coffee (couldn't possibly drink a whole cup!) and half of a egg white veggie omelet. Lunch was miso soup, glass of chardonnay, 2 prawns, and arugula salad with mushrooms. Dinner was a medium greek salad, a "skinnygirl" margarita, a couple chips with a small scoop of guacamole and roasted vegetables. Snack was a small handful of blueberry granola and almonds. I added that up to about 778 calories, and it's probably less than that since she never actually finishes food. Keep in mind she also exercises quite a bit.

While some of the advice in this book is solid, like "sit down to eat, eat slowly", the rest is actually quite unhealthy and eating disordered. Maybe Bethenny is confusing "naturally thin girls" with anorexics. Read more ›

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book, straightforward and effective! June 15, 2011

By KristenM

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book after attending one of Bethenny's Skinny Girl Night Out performances. I had been on weight watchers for 3 weeks at the time with success but I knew I would go crazy counting points for the rest of my life. Naturally Thin reads like Bethenny is talking directly with you. The content is simple, and mostly common sense. It could definitely be more concise for an easier read, however the antidotal information and humor kept me reading. I don't think this book will work for people that need a lot of structure in how they approach food, however it is perfect for the busy woman who just wants an easy and flexible guideline. What I found most impressive about the book was that I have a background in health, science, and basic nutrition; however I hand't quite been able to integrate that information to my diet. That is exactly what this book is about, simple ways to implement simple guidelines. While I have significantly increased my activity level and exercise regularly, I attribute the 36 lbs (and counting) I have lost in about 4 months to following the rules of her book. I highly recommend!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars It works! Very natural approach to eating... August 1, 2011

By shoeaddict

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I would have given it 5 stars, but this is a very poorly edited book and there are a lot of typos in it which really bug me.

If you can look past that, fundamentally this is an amazing approach to eating. I was surprised because I read a couple of convincing bad reviews and thought this book might promote eating disorders. But it doesn't do that at all. I've also read Skinny Bitch, and worried this was going to be extreme like that, but I was surprised it wasn't.

The great thing about this approach is that no food is off limits. If you want steak, you can have a few bites; if you want fries, have a few bites; if you want a bagel; scoop out some of the bread to lighten it. There's nothing outrageously wrong with this... it's far better than diets that tell you never to eat carbs, or never to eat red meat. And it doesn't mean you can never eat a whole portion of steak, you just have to balance it. This is much easier to incorporate into my life because it allows me to eat out, eat what everyone else is eating, and have less rules to worry about. I don't have to count calories, I don't have to skip carbs, I can go out and order a cocktail.

I've lost 12.5 lbs on this program, while eating what I want, not feeling deprived of things I'm craving. As an example I will share what I had yesterday: Breakfast was a homemade veggie omelet, chicken sausage, coffee with cream. I went out for lunch to a Mexican restaurant, ordered a 2 taco combo and requested salad in place of the rice and beans and ate 1 1/2 of the tacos and most of my salad. I also had a glass of pinot grigio and about 6 chips with salsa, because now I know just because there is a whole basket of chips on the table, doesn't mean I have to go to town on them.... Dinner was a baked breaded fish filet and tomato slices. And for dessert, half a slice of fresh homemade brownie and a glass of champagne. To me, this works and just feels like a natural way to eat. Before reading this book, I would think tacos and brownies were off limits, and would consider them a cheat meal and when I cheated I would have the full taco dinner, with the rice and the beans and a full basket of chips and salsa. This program prevents me from overdoing it, but I can still go out to restaurants and eat normal things.

And for those complaining about the suggested portion sizes, unfortunately you can't expect to have a big slab of steak or a giant plate of pasta, and a huge slice of cheesecake whenever you want and still lose weight. It's just not possible. This is like every other diet book in telling you to eat healthful things like lean protein and veggies and good carbs. But where it differs is that it says to eat those things but if you feel like mac n cheese or fries, go ahead and have a few bites of that too. And it works, because your will power isn't tested, and having a few bites of unhealthy things isn't going to derail you. Read more ›