Skinny Bitch: Home, Beauty, and Style A No-Nonsense Guide to Cutting the Crap Out of Your Life for a Better Body and a Kinder World

by Kim Barnouin

Kim Barnouin has already told her fans how to “stop eating crap and start looking fabulous.” But there’s more to being a Skinny Bitch than eating well. Turns out, there’s crap everywhere—not just in food, but in cosmetics, clothing, and home furnishings.

Kim blows the lid on all of the nasties in our everyday stuff (everything from lipstick to sofa upholstery), and shows how we can make both small and big changes in our home, wardrobe, and beauty regimen—for living the Ultimate Skinny Bitch lifestyle!

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Vegan, Cooking, Cookbooks, Food

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Before she was a Skinny Bitch, Kim Barnouin was a high school drop-out turned model who only crossed paths with a vegetable on her pizza. Today she is the co-author of The New York Times Bestseller Skinny Bitch with its sequels Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven, Skinny Bitch: Just Bitchin and a line of fitness DVDs.

Born in Rhode Island and raised in Maryland, Kim felt she wasn’t ready for college and dropped out in the 11th grade. Soon after, Kim received her GED, brushed community college and switched gears to modeling. At the age of 22, Kim moved to South Beach where the waves of Miami left Kim feeling seriously lost. She modeled, waited tables to make ends meet and considered herself more of a helpless beach bum.

Kim questioned her unhappy and unhealthy self during those years. What changes could she make to her lifestyle? Instead of turning to booze or something else less attractive, Kim explored food. By eating better, Kim started to physically and mentally feel better. A lightbulb went off in her head – food heals.

As a kid, Kim used to spit veggies into her napkin. As a young adult, she couldn’t get enough of earth’s treats. It was during this transition that Kim became obsessed with nutrition. She got her hands on every book and enrolled in a Bachelor’s program in Natural Health. She wouldn’t stop there. This retired beach bum went on to receive a Master’s in Holistic Nutrition and is currently working on her PhD. Learning about how food affects and heals many diseases and illnesses was something she wanted to share with everyone.

Eager to spread her word to the masses, Kim worked with longtime friend and vegan Rory Freedman to write a book. Neither thought Skinny Bitch would be become such a hit let alone a New York Times bestseller for two years straight.

Kim Barnouin lives in Los Angeles with her husband Stephane and two year old son Jack.

Reviews

[Lexi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with pretty much everything this book has to say, but I can't stand this writing style! It's completely intolerable, with referring to the reader as "honey" several times a page and acting as though she's shattering someone's world view with every sentence. I would love this book without the horrific attempt at an edgy writing style that ends up sounding like she's talking down on the reader.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that reminds you how you're living a life surrounded by chemicals and points out alternatives. One of the things I didn't like is that this book didn't seem to be particularly well edited -- felt like there was a lot of repetition and I'm not sure if it's laid out in the best possible way. Also, despite that it's only a few years old, it's already outdated in terms of the resources that it provides (lots of no-longer existent websites, including her own).

With that said, I thought that this book was a good primer to the kinds of issues of the chemicals that surround us. It gives a good list of alternatives, and as a vegan myself, I was appreciative that she also mentioned alternatives to animal products.

This book has a "hold no punches" approach, and Kim seems to enjoy swearing, so be prepared for that. With that said, I appreciated the overall tone of the book. She's a woman who enjoys being a woman -- looking pretty, having a closet full of bags, but doesn't want to be inhaling formaldehyde all the time. Who can blame her?

So what did I get from this book? An overall reminder to be mindful of what I'm purchasing, some good recommendations for skincare and makeup brands that aren't packing in the chemicals, and a desire to learn more about what she was talking about.

If anyone knows an even more modern version of the same type of book (or a blog!) I'd love to know about it!

[Erin Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me stop and say "what the f*** have I been exposed to or using in my house!!" I have this book marked/highlighted. Literally went through my house and purged as much as I could! No more cleaning with toxic chemicals!!

[Cherry]

You know from the first two words on the cover that the writing will include swearing and be 'edgy'. It's better than dry, I suppose. Even if a third of what she writes is true, or could be, common sense would have us err on the side of caution and eliminate some or most of these chemicals from our lives. How hard is it to put some vinegar in a bottle to clean? It's not, because even I do it. It's taken me a long time to properly get over the thought that it can't possibly actually work. In fact, I only started because I thought a super disinfectanty clean is unnecessary.

Little changes like that, and buying a harmless body wash, etc., are fine and easy (but do I use up the litre-plus of fragrance-containing shampoo before buying something potentially harmless?), but I don't have the budget to buy organic cotton or bamboo things. It's not just the sensational claims that these products make or imply that gets us buying them; it's price. So it was a little depressing reading about how harmful my bedding might be, only to see that I can't do anything about it for years. For now, I'll be sticking to the 70s plastic and polyester. Possibly the most harmful era of manufacturing, but not adding to the environmental load of creating new crap.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I definitely love Kim's passion regarding what she cares about....her and her family's health and sharing information with what she researches. Has somewhat of a "salty talk" but I also love that about her; perfectly herself. She not only shocks me with the information she shares, but also makes me laugh at times. Right now I'm going through products I use. Some of the household cleaning information I knew about and have replaced. I especially liked "Kim's picks"; as well as her "Shit List(s)". A must read for people concerned with all the chemicals we are using, and being exposed to everyday; as well as decreasing our "carbon footprints". It's also interesting to learn who does and does not have the public's/society's best interest at heart. As they say however, the dollar is a mighty weapon, and we should all be spending our money on things that won't harm us or our children/family.

[KJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest with you this is exactly what I was looking for. Basically something to tell me what to buy and what not to buy. I don't have time to dick around and look at various ingredients or research the sources of products so to have someone give me a short cut for buying the kind of products I want is exactly what I was hoping for in this book. I feel badly for the author as she had a lot of very scientifically dense terminology and information to get across and she tried very hard to make it entertaining and broken up in digestable pieces. The book is not perfect but I think it's the best anyone can do with the kind of information the author was discussing. At the very least people can say it gets them thinking and makes you more aware of just how much gunk we are exposed to everyday.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, can't wait to have my own house and use the tips she's given.

[Carly MJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for every woman!! How to get the crap (chemicals) out of your life!

[JH · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good overview of topics I had heard about before. Because I had heard about everything before I wasn't prompted to make any changes in my life aside from the ones I had already made. You have to pick and choose what works for you- it's not possible (for me) to live in a bubble all the time.

If you had not heard about things such as harmful chemicals in your cleaning products, beauty products, and clothes, I imagine that you would find this book very overwhelming and scary. You can't even buy a new coffee table without worrying about harmful chemicals and its effect on the environment and your health.

If you like the sassy style of "Skinny Bitch" then you'll probably enjoy this book.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for anyone who cares about, well, anything. Even if we can't all be 100% vegan 100% of the time, there are very simple ways you can make changes to your lifestyle to create a happier, healthier home environment. Many would argue this way of life is really expensive, but I disagree. Get a gallon of distilled white vinegar, a huge bag of baking soda, and a couple of organic essential oils and you've got the power of clean for months and months! Take baby steps, don't try to change your whole life all at once. Little things make a difference.

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

The information was good although some of it is a bit outdated by now. However, I cannot get past the overwhelmingly condescending tone of this book. I think she was going for casual but missed the mark entirely. Admittedly I didn't finish it. There wasn't much here I didn't already know and I didn't want to read one more sentence where the reader is addressed as "toots", "honey", "woman" etc. Also, I think this author seems to believe that everyone has an unlimited budget. There are far better books out there to help you go green.

[Astrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was filled with practical advice as well as important consumer information. The photos were beautiful as well. My favorite part was the section on how to make your own household cleaners using basic ingredients such as baking soda and white vinegar, along with essential oils. However, as much as I love the earth and being green, much of this book's advice and guidance isn't necessarily for the budget-conscious.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book! It gives a good reminder of exactly how many chemicals we are surrounded by every day and ways to avoid them. I loved it halfway through the book she does mention how overwhelming this is and reminds us not to sweat it too much and just make changes where we can starting small our food and just not taking a receipt! I thought the book was very informative yet down to earth.

[Kristie (fabk) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really interesting. I like that the author did not hold back on her personal opinions and gave it like it is. There is a lot in this book that I won't be doing, however I did get some great information on other things and will be keeping a closer eye on ingredients in products I am using.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved how detailed and well researched this book was! The only problem (and why I left off one star) was that at least 5 times there were big chunks of text missing. Not just a word here and there or a misspelling, but whole paragraphs. The end of one chapter discusses a favorite product list to refer to, and the list isn't even there.

[Desiree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ummm who can really live this strictly? OMG! Well, there is of course doable things in this book. And after understanding that exotoxins fill the air we breathe, eat and drink. It does seem like a good idea to create a toxin free home environment.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will admit that I skipped the irrelevant material. I do not need to know about cribs, etc.

While much of this material can be found online, I appreciate having a reference book within easy reach. And I always appreciate a little snark in my reference books.

[Ulrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, clear enough for an absolute novice, yet in-depth enough to bring something new to light for even a very experienced practitioner of green living or ethical veganism.

Detailed is the word, yet Kim Barnouin never loses her conversational tone.

[Trish · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not for me. It is about living all natural. AND AS GOOD AS THAT SOUNDS IT IS JUST NOT POSSIBLE FOR ME.

[Jama]

she has something to say, crass mouth, yep clean up those toxins & waste woman..

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

There really isn't anything in here that I haven't seen before. Plus she doesn't offer a ton of solutions or alternatives, which is really what I need.

[Terri Klemetson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, very informative, delivered with a sassy-ness that grabs your attention.

[Zianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a real eye opener and it also has changed my life and view of things around me

[Daniela Castañeda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it despite the overwhelming amount of changes I could make to live better.

One step at a time - for a better world.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an Ok book, It talks about of the ingredients that you have to avoid because they are bad for you health. Also, give you natural ingredient to use so you can live a natural and health life.

[Andrea]

Even more things to avoid... Great! I've actually heard a good chunk of this info before, but it was a nice review. And I say nice lightly. Because there's lots of not nice things to learn in here.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! So informative and I love her sense of humour

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information but I did not appreciate the writing style. Lots of swearing and rather juvenile sounding. Reads more like a blog than a book.

[Virma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good info but a little preachy.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a lot of information that you already know, but don't do. I have some of her other books that am going to be reading. Reading all types of book is a must for me.