Naturally Thin is a great book for anyone looking to end their unhealthy relationship with food, diets, and exercise.
Pairs With: Intense Dark 92% Ghirardelli Chocolate and mindful bites.
Overview:
Naturally Thin by Bethenny Frankel is a life-changing book for anyone dealing with obsessive thoughts when it comes to food, weight, or exercise.
Frankel is known for her no-nonsense honesty and Naturally Thin is exactly that. This book provides a straightforward practical guide to end dieting forever by helping you create a new mindset around food.
On the first page, Frankel lists off a bunch of phrases you may say to yourself if you’re experiencing what she calls “food noise.”
Phrases like: “My thighs are huge.” “I hate my body.” “I can’t lose weight.” “I have no power. I’m pathetic.” “What’s wrong with me?” “I would be happy if I could just get skinny.” “Tomorrow I’m not eating anything.” “I was so good today. I skipped dinner…”
To help get over these detrimental thoughts Frankel first lays out 10 rules to follow and then provides a 7-day practice section.
The 10 Rules
- Your Diet is Your Bank Account: Similar to your bank account, you make healthy deposits and withdraws. Frankel encourages you to keep a balance between the two.
- You Can Have It All, Just Not All At Once: One cookie doesn’t make anyone fat but a whole box every day might. Make sure you eating what you really want and enjoy it.
- Taste Everything, Eat Nothing: This isn’t about actually eating nothing! Frankel points out most people eat everything and taste nothing. This rule is about quality over quantity.
- Pay Attention: Eat mindfully. Frankel advises to not eat while standing or watching TV. Instead chew slowly and really taste your food. Being mindful is a great practice to help you enjoy your food more and you end up eating less.
- Downsize Now: We all know American portions are INSANE. To help downsize your portions use smaller plates, bowls, and silverware. Frankel explains if you have a small amount of food on a big plate you’ll feel ripped off, even when there’s plenty there. Use smaller dishes to help keep your portions in check and your mind at ease.
- Cancel Your Members In The Clean Plate Club: Like books, not all food is worth finishing. Frankel says you can “share it, save it or leave it” (79).
- Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself: We all know binge-watching TV is unhealthy for us and it’s the same with food. Install in yourself your own “Are you still watching (eating) this?” reminder to help you stop binge eating.
- Know Thyself: Know what foods you love and what foods you hate. Know what foods make you feel good and which ones make you feel icky. Know if you need to graze throughout the day or are better with eating at distinct times.
- Get Real: We all know processed food is bad for us and that real food doesn’t come packaged. It’s always best to eat food that doesn’t need an ingredients label like a banana or apple. (Honestly, wtf is a Cheeto?) However, completely avoiding all processed food isn’t always realistic. Be sure to look at the food labels and aim for products that have fewer ingredients and ingredients you can actually pronounce.
- Good for You: Do what’s good for you. Be sure to get enough sleep and exercise. However, Frankel explains “find exercise that feels more like fun than like work…” (135). You don’t have to go to the gym if you don’t want to. Find exercise you enjoy and that works for you.
The second half of the book focuses on helping you put the rules into practice with a 7 day Naturally Thin Program. In this section, Frankel gets into more detail about what she might eat in a given day and provides additional tips.
Conclusion
If you’re sick of dieting, beating yourself up, and your own food noise, Naturally Thin is for you.
Frankel provides 265 pages of advice that will help free you from dieting forever by changing your mindset around food and by guiding you to the healthiest version of yourself.
Have you read this one or any of the other Housewives books? Let us know! I’ve also read What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love by Carole Radziwill. It’s not related to food at all but it’s also a good one!
