Short book review: Skinny Bastard "A Kick-in-the-Ass for Real Men Who Want to Stop Being Fat And Start Getting Buff," by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
These are the same two "hotties" that wrote the New York Times best seller, "Skinny Bitch." Earlier this year...Spring to be more exact, I decided it was time to change my eating habits. I was approaching 36 and my body wasn't functioning the way it use to...
I...
- became lactose intolerant
- Spicy foods "killed" me (the sad thing is - I love HOT!)
- Most red meats gave me a shit load of gas and an upset stomach, the same goes for all fried foods
- All my clothes were getting small...and I hate shopping for new clothes!
- I use to have a 6-pack, now I have a 1-pack
- And, to top it off, I think I was suffering from "sleep apnea"
Here's the ultimate kick-in-the-nuts, I saw one of my episodes on HGTV (one of my re-runs) and I DID NOT LIKE WHAT I SAW!!! They say the camera puts 10lbs on you, the new HD format made me look like I tacked on 15 or 20lbs! My cheeks were so fat I looked like I had an allergic reaction and you can see my gut:-( Don't get me wrong, I'm in pretty good shape, I work out 3 times a week but was still carrying around 15-16% body fat - how did I know this? I have one of those Tanita scales that gives me the depressing news every time I jump on it. I knew I had to change my eating habits because I had another shoot scheduled in a couple months in Fiji.
Here's my biggest hurdle...I fucken hate diets! I could never stick to them because I was always hungry. So...how does a man like me, who loves to eat, shed 20 pounds to get to a respectable 10% body fat? Honestly, I didn't know where to start, because I tried all the fad diets in the past and failed miserably. Step 1...I started to read health related magazines and books. Men's Health magazine was the first thing I picked up at the local bookstore. I will go over in more detail the lifestyle changes I made on another post. To keep this post short (and to get back to the book review), I added cardio at the end of every workout, I got rid of all my large plates and replaced them with smaller 7"-8" inch tapas-style plates. Basically, I ate the same thing but I reduced my portion size and added more fiber to my diet.
Success! Two months later (before I left for Fiji), I lost 10 lbs and got down to 11% body fat! It was a lot easier than I thought, again, I will talk more about this on another post.
Back to the book review. Today, eight months later I've lost 30lbs and I'm down to 9% body fat...and I FEEL FUCKEN G-R-E-A-T! The only problem is...I want to be more cut! More vascular! So I called my friend Jeremy (who's a fitness expert and totally ripped!), I asked him,"...at what percentage body fat do I need to be if I want to look more vascular?" 7% was his answer!
That evening I went to my favorite place, "Barnes and Noble." I found myself in the "health" section and there in front of me was a black book with an odd title, "Skinny Bastard." I've heard of "Skinny Bitch" but I didn't know they wrote a book for men. I picked it up and read the intro and the first chapter "Give it up." Nothing sells better than two hot chicks, there's a great photo of them in the back of the book. Hey...they must know something because their last book was a #1 New York Times best seller. I also like their writing style, they're quite sarcastic and they have a "potty" mouth...which makes the book kinda funny. I purchased the book and headed home.
The book is around 230 pages and it's an easy read, I finished the book within a few hours while watching re-runs of Family Guy. My conclusion...interesting, shocking, and they made a lot of sense. The ladies believe that we (humans) are meant to be vegans, but due to Corporate America's mass marketing campaigns, made us (Men), believe that we need more protein and the only way to get it is...eat more MEAT and drink more MILK! I've met quite a few vegans and most of them seem to be "frail-weaklings," but, to my surprise the ladies pointed out many athletic studs that are full-time vegans. I'm not going to ruin it for you but here are some of the highlights:
- A man can be buff and ripped on a vegan diet
- Corporate America and the Government does not care about your health...they want us to eat crappy food! I really need to watch "Food Inc."
- There are many ways to find high protein-rich sources in vegan foods
- Here's the SHOCKING part (and this part was written in graphic detail)...what really goes on in a slaughter house and how our food is handled - freaken horrifying!!! If you're an animal lover like me, you are going to get pissed off!
These are just some of the highlights. "Skinny Bastard" was educational and entertaining at the same time, I liked the information they provided. Becoming a vegan makes a lot of sense...for me that is. Colon cancer runs on both sides of my parents family and this will definitely get me to that 7% body fat...maybe I can get an 8-pack?
I've been successful in changing my eating habits because of one vital strategy...moderation. The process was slow and steady, it's almost been a year and my eating habits are still improving. I know I will not succeed in becoming a "vegan" overnight, there's no way a man like me can just drop meat and eggs! But, I know this is something I want to incorporate into my lifestyle. An average human-being lives for around 28,000 days in their lifetime, what I put into my body today will drastically influence my future enjoyment in my "golden-years." I don't want to be unhealthy, gassy and in pain...I want to be alive and active during my senior years...and still having mad sex! My strategy is to incorporate one day out of the week as a "vegan-only" day, then, over time I will slowly add more days, eventually, becoming a full-time vegan.
I give "Skinny Bastard" 4 out of 5 stars!
Happy dieting,
Will Roadhouse
