In the Press
Kath Meista
http://kathmeista.blogspot.com/2010/05/skinny-is-overrated-review.html
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Skinny is overrated: The real woman’s guide to health and happiness at any size
By Danielle Milano, MD
Published by Synergy Books
Published in 2010
ISBN: 0-9842358-3-3
Disclaimer: I was sent this book to review by Synergy Books, however I was not paid for this review.
If you put a bulldog on a diet, you don’t end up with a greyhound. This is the chapter title of the first chapter in this book and as soon as I saw it I knew I was in for a good time. I couldn’t possibly have thought of a better way to put, being something of a bulldog myself, that absolute realisation that no matter what you do you’re only going to get to a certain size. I’ve never been skinny – ever – and I never will be. There was one stage where I got really big and I had to lose a LOT of weight to get back to a healthier size but no matter I do, I always seem to end up being around about the weight I am now. I was this weight when I was 18 years old and I am the weight nearly a decade later at 27 and I think the best I can do is lose some tummy jiggle and tone up a bit.
This book came at the perfect time for me. I’d lost sight a little bit of what it was that I did right when I lost 20kgs a few years ago, especially now I’m in a completely different country selling vegetables I can’t pronounce and offering no gym classes in English. I needed a bit of inspiration to remind me which track to get back on and it’s worked. Basically, reading this book was like having a good yarn with your favourite Aunt – the one who always puts you right and isn’t shy of calling it like it is. Danielle’s warm but frank manner beams right off the page and leaves no room for either the self-doubt or the silly justifications we give ourselves. What she’s saying is pretty simple but it’s something that we all need to be reminded of – stay away from processed, nasty food, eat more natural foods and plenty of greens and get moving more.
That said, although the basic message is simple this is a very well researched and written book. It has a lot of medical research and useful facts in it without being overwhelmingly in your face with the science of it all. The chapters are a nice readable size and focus on one essential point after another. I’ve read a few diet books in my time and each time I have come away from it feeling overwhelmed and like I’m facing a daunting task. This book is not a diet book – it’s a book about how to change your lifestyle: something far more permanent and healthy.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is not looking for a quick fix but rather someone who is looking for a real and lasting improvement on their overall health. Take the focus off the number on the scales and place it on feeling better. The number on the scale will change for the better if you follow this advice but that shouldn’t be the focus. This book is fun, readable and REAL written by someone who actually wants you to succeed. Weight is just a number but feeling good about yourself is unquantifiable. Enjoy!
Posted by Kathmeista at 3:05 PM
Labels: book review, health, weight-loss
| Reactions: |
1 comments:
Kathmeista said…
That’s the really awesome thing I think about this book – you can be whatever size and still find some tips to be healthier as the focus is not just on losing weight. Good fun read too.
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Reading to Know
http://www.readingtoknow.com/2010/05/skinny-is-overrated-by-danielle-milano.html
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Ok, seriously folks, I didn’t meant to have so many giveaways running together but that’s just the way we’re apparently rolling this week!
I was asked if I wanted to review a copy of Skinny Is Overrated: The Real Woman’s Guide to Health and Happiness at Any Size about the same time I received my copy of The 90-Day Fitness Challenge in the mail. I thought the two would be fun to read and work through together. I also previously mentioned that I had never seen an episode of The Biggest Loser, which sparked the The 90-Day Fitness Challenge (the book was authored by two former contestants.) Cassandra mentioned that I could watch an episode of The Biggest Loser on hulu.com and my obsession with the show is now ALL HER FAULT!
So between the 90-Day Fitness Challenge, watching the latest season of The Biggest Loser on hulu, and reading Skinny Is Overrated — I’m feeling a little motivated!
Skinny Is Overrated is written by Danielle Milano, MD, who works in East Harlem treating people suffering from obesity and diabetes. She decided to write this book because her clients kept asking her what they should be eating. This book is her long-and-short-of-it answer.
Perhaps there is nothing ground-breaking in this book. You’ve got the usual stuff – work out a little, “eat right” and make good choices. She’s not screaming “LAST CHANCE WORKOUT!” at sweating people. Rather, she’s just answering the question, in some detail, about what eating “right” means. I found this resource helpful and beneficial. She spelled out why it’s important to have so much of this vitamin and that fat in your diet in order to be healthy.
She stresses that the goal is not to be skinny (although surely you will not be obese if you take care of yourself!) but to be healthy. She looks down upon the pressure that modern society places on women to be thin for the sake of appearance. Thin people can be unhealthy and she points out that it’s better to be a healthy size 12 than a sick size 2. The point is health and she emphasizes that throughout the book.
Dr. Milano is probably the most conscientious writer out there when it comes to the topic of what it means to live on a real-life budget when you are trying to eat healthy. She offers you practical advice on where to spend the money that you have to receive the maximum benefit. I appreciated that she was writing to the middle-to-lower income reader when she was dispelling her wisdom and advice. It wasn’t about buying a Body Bugg (although I want one!) or eating a particular brand of food that is helping her advertise her book! It’s just plain good advice which makes plain good sense.
That all said, I do feel like I need to give the following disclaimer and concern that I had about the book. I did not agree with her world-view and so I did have to ignore that to varying degrees throughout this read. Milano suggests that readers might want to “adopt a goddess” to help motivate us along through our journey to health. Milano references Reverend Sue Brockway, an interfaith minister, who offers a list of goddess to choose from to motivate you towards realizing your goals. Obviously, I would not agree that the way to reach goals is enlisting the help of goddesses and I reject her suggestion that this is a good idea point blank. Thankfully this discussion all takes place in Chapter 3 entitled, “Get Motivated!” and after that, the concept of goddess strengths die away and practical know-how comes into play.
On the whole though, I found Skinny Is Overrated to be a practical and educational resource and I don’t have any difficulty in recommending it. If you are also a Biggest Loser enthusiast – you’ll definitely appreciate picking up a copy of this book!
Amazon reviews
| 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
`True health comes from eating nutritious foods, exercising and never going hungry.’, May 9, 2010
This review is from: Skinny Is Overrated: The Real Woman’s Guide to Health and Happiness at Any Size (Paperback) Dr Danielle Milano graduated from the New York University School of Medicine in 1987. She is board certified in internal medicine, and is a clinical instructor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan. Since 1999, she has worked at the Boriken Health Centre in East Harlem, treating people suffering from obesity and diabetes. During this period, Dr Milano has seen the same issues and questions repeatedly, and this book is her response to those women who want to be healthy. Dr Milano’s focus is on health, not on weight: `But weight is not the only factor that determines health; fitness is far more important.’ This book provides information about healthy lifestyle choices, including some wonderful (Mediterranean-based) recipes and advice on how to equip a kitchen for healthy food preparation. This is important, and often overlooked: knowing how to prepare nutritious food is not innate knowledge and many of us make it to adulthood without learning the basics. There is a lot of information in this book, and the aspect I like most is that it educates and encourages, rather than exhorts, people to make healthy choices thereby increasing fitness levels and improving health. There is a wonderful chapter on motivation which also touches on setting realistic goals, as well as some suggestions on activities to increase fitness. `One step at a time, start down the road to a healthier life.’ Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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| 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Physician says it’s more important to be fit than worry about what the scales say., May 3, 2010
This review is from: Skinny Is Overrated: The Real Woman’s Guide to Health and Happiness at Any Size (Paperback) Since I write a good deal about health and fitness, I was sent a copy of this new book to review. I found it one of the most well written and informative books I’ve read in a long time. Moreover, it’s based on science and not pop culture or fads. Dr. Danielle Milano is board certified in internal medicine and currently practices in East Harlem at the Boriken Neighborhood Health Center, a federally funded community health center, where she treats patients suffering from obesity and diabetes. Earning her doctor of medicine from New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Milano is also an adjunct clinical professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She shares many of her experiences with patients with which readers will easily identify. This makes it a highly significant and personal book. “My patients ask me what to eat to lose the pounds, but it’s not that simple,” Dr. Milano says. “Health is more than a number on a scale. With information and knowledge, you can make intelligent choices for yourself to improve your health and thus, your happiness.” The author did say that one test showed that slightly overweight people were actually healthier than people of ideal weight. On the other hand, she also admitted that another test showed that people of ideal weight were healthier. So, we’re sort of left at the same place. The main point made by the book that impressed me was that the degree of your fitness is far more important to your general well-being than how much you weigh. You can be somewhat over fat and yet be fitter than someone who is at the ideal weight yet unfit. Other advice includes the importance of exercise and, of course diet. This is not a diet book. It doesn’t say you need to count calories — it does suggest it in some circumstances. You will find some great quick recipes in the book based on a Mediterranean diet. I actually like the book. While it seems to be geared more to diabetics (which I’m not) it provides some very real, very scientific information that I find most valuable. She advises the reader to get in 10,000 steps per day, which is the common recommendation. However, studies show that’s often impractical and unnecessary. While the book does talk a lot about diabetics and their disease, it would be very useful for non-diabetics since we are a nation headed to a diabetes epidemic. Following the outline in this book could save you from this terrible health problem. The book is rather unique. It’s unlike similar books currently available. We are stuck in the bodies our genes gave us and the author admits this. I think she’s trying to make the reader comfortable in her own skin even if that skin happens to be a tad overweight. Having said that, however, she doesn’t recommend the reader say obese or too fat. It just happens that her emphasis is on health. The book is very well written. It’s conversational. There are no typos. This is a book well worth reading and I highly recommend it. In fact, I’m going to share my copy with a friend who is diabetic. Update: My diabetic friend read the book and said, “She (the author) really understands diabetics and how to deal with diabetes.” She added, “This will be one of my treasured books.” - Susanna K. Hutcheson
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10 stars!! Love this book!!, May 4, 2010
| By | MotherLodeBeth “MotherLodeBeth” (Sierras of California) – See all my reviews |
This review is from: Skinny Is Overrated: The Real Woman’s Guide to Health and Happiness at Any Size (Paperback)
Skinny Is Overrated is one of the BEST books I have read on the subject of fit, healthy at any age or size! Notice the title. It says skinny. And that’s the key. Nowhere in the book does the author say being obese is good. Nowhere. In fact she devoted Chapter 6 Get Moving! The Road to Obesity Starts at Your TV, to telling the reader that ‘Exercise is the most important lifestyle change you can make, even more important than dieting’. On page 32 she writes ‘Just start by walking, even for a few minutes, or a few blocks’. On page 33 she notes ‘In Nordic countries, like Sweden and Finland, where its winter six months of the year, and in Canada where strawberry season is in August, you would think that everyone stays indoors when its cold. You would think people gain weight during the winter, but its just the opposite. In those countries, even during the winter, people get out and move. People skate, ski,snowshoe,or just walk. No one belongs to a gym. Everyone suits up in warm clothes and goes outside to play or work. There are no excuses.’
The author then goes on to note that when you are indoors, simply get up and move more. Get up between tv shows, during ads, and go outside and breathe some fresh air. Bend over more and pick up items. Use a step stool and reach for things cupboards, because a step stool is like a mini stair climber. Have lost count of the fitness experts who remind us that walking doesn’t cost anything, doesn’t require special clothes, and can be done pretty much any time of day or year. Going back to Chapter 4 we are reminded to make achievable goals. Ones that you can meet. Like starting out walking to the end of the driveway the first day and walking to the end of the block daily, for a week, then the second week, walk two blocks.
Chapter 8 which deals with genetically modified foods and trans fats is a must read. Mainly because there are so many ‘low fat’, low calorie’, this and that, foods that are advertised in hopes that someone who wants to lose a few pounds will buy the product. But as the author notes, while calories count, its even more important to understand that if there are things on the label of the product you cannot pronounce then don’t buy it or eat it!
Chapter 20 For Men Only, is good. As a point of motivation the author notes ‘For every 30 pounds a man is overweight, the penis becomes one inch shorter. This is because of the structure of the fat pad in the lower pelvis’. (giggling) Now when I see a nice fit man who has no belly I will imagine a larger penis.
Pages 163-191 are made up of great food ideas, recipes etc.
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WONDERFUL BOOK, April 16, 2010
This review is from: Skinny Is Overrated: The Real Woman’s Guide to Health and Happiness at Any Size (Paperback) “Skinny is Overrated” is a wonderful book filled with sound advice regarding obtaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I’ve read a lot of diet and lifestyle books that verge on the fanatical, which, in my case, is not something I want to do. Dr. Milano’s book provides people with realistic advice and suggestions to help them escape the ravages of obesity and diabetes. I loved the recipes and the saying that you can’t go to bed a bulldog and expect to wake up a grayhound, and to accept your body, but to make sure that body is fit and healthy so you can enjoy life even if you’re not a size two. It makes perfect sense. I would highly recommend this book to people who want to make a positive change in their life and their health in a doable and realistic way. |
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GoodReads
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7235338-skinny-is-overrated?text_only=true#other_reviews
May 05, 2010
Jennifer (JC-S) rated it:
Read in May, 2010
‘True health comes from eating nutritious foods, exercising and never going hungry.’
Dr Danielle Milano graduated from the New York University School of Medicine in 1987. She is board certified in internal medicine, and is a clinical instructor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan. Since 1999, she has worked at the Boriken Health Centre in East Harlem, treating people suffering from obesity and diabetes. During this period, Dr Milano has seen the same issues…more ‘True health comes from eating nutritious foods, exercising and never going hungry.’
Dr Danielle Milano graduated from the New York University School of Medicine in 1987. She is board certified in internal medicine, and is a clinical instructor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan. Since 1999, she has worked at the Boriken Health Centre in East Harlem, treating people suffering from obesity and diabetes. During this period, Dr Milano has seen the same issues and questions repeatedly, and this book is her response to those women who want to be healthy.
Dr Milano’s focus is on health, not on weight: ‘But weight is not the only factor that determines health; fitness is far more important.’ This book provides information about healthy lifestyle choices, including some wonderful (Mediterranean-based) recipes and advice on how to equip a kitchen for healthy food preparation. This is important, and often overlooked: knowing how to prepare nutritious food is not innate knowledge and many of us make it to adulthood without learning the basics.
There is a lot of information in this book, and the aspect I like most is that it educates and encourages, rather than exhorts, people to make healthy choices thereby increasing fitness levels and improving health. There is a wonderful chapter on motivation which also touches on setting realistic goals, as well as some suggestions on activities to increase fitness.
‘One step at a time, start down the road to a healthier life.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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OK! GALLERY: Curves Make a Comeback
May 11th, 2010 10:56 am / Author: OK! Staff
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Finally at peace with her voluptuous shape after years of counting calories, Jessica Simpson has become an ambassador for curvy girls everywhere. “There’s something empowering about curves,” Jessica tells OK!. “You can’t strut when you’re skinny.”
Jessica’s not alone. Stars including Beyoncé and Mariah Carey are embracing their natural body types. “I’m not a naturally stick-thin girl,” shrugs Beyoncé, who says you are “fighting a losing battle to try to drastically change your shape.”
Women like Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé, who eat healthfully and stay active, are ideal role models for other women with hourglass shapes, says Dr. Milano: “Kim takes great care of her body and Beyoncé gets a great workout doing her greatest passion, performing.”
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Another benefit to a fuller figure: “A study recently showed that men respond to more voluptuous women,” says Dr. Milano. Not only do men love the look, but they can be attracted to the attitude that goes with it.
However, “It’s so much sexier to not care what other people think,” explains Dr. Milano. “Embrace what you have and be self-confident.”
THE DISCUSSION
. Becky says: May 11, 2010 at 12:39 pm well guess what!! some women are just naturally skinny! so dont hate and we can strut all we want Miss piggy!!! she needs to just learn to sthu she sound stupid Reply
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. lks says: May 11, 2010 at 1:04 pm becky, you need to sthu. seriously. you sound like a defensive moron. maybe you need to stop making fun of fat people and you won’t have to be defensive when someone shows confidence with in themselves, like jessica. Reply
. Jo says: May 11, 2010 at 6:45 pm Well ya of course you can strut when your skinny…..that was a stupid comment and if said that about fat people? OMG! Let’s just say the strut comes from a heathy happy body confidence…whatever size! Love yourselves people! Who cares what others think!
After graduating from NYU School of Medicine in 1987, and completing my Internal Medicine residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in 1990, I went to work at the AIDS clinic at Bellevue.
