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

Seriously? All this praise for this? I'll sum it up: Control your portions fanatically (to the point of 700 calories a day) and drink copious amounts of high quality booze. TADA! You've done it! You've acheived what the Times covered about this time last year: Drunkorexia. Also known as what happens when you starve yourself all day so that you can binge drink on hard liquor at night. Even better when the hard liquor is mixed with a low cal mixer (helpful hint...use crystal light). You'll even save money at the bar because you won't be able to drink as much because you've starved yourself all day! You might even wind up hospitalized because of alcohol poisioning and lose a few pounds in the process! Dehydration you know. That point made, anyone else noticed the erie resemblance to another "Skinny" book series?

I found this book to be incredibly helpful. A lot of it is common sense, but it is almost as if I did not realize it until I read it in this book. I have not been able to put this book down since I got it. I've even taken notes, she did an amazing job with this book. It is help me in so many ways and I hope that others will give it a chance to inspire them. I did read through a lot of the one-star reviews and most of the things that these reviews are saying are not true if they really read the book. In no way is any of the advice she gives in this bug eating disordered. Also in no way does she tell you to drink and not eat, this was another review I read. It was almost as if people just read titles of the chapters and not the actual book, then left a review. Give the book a chance, it could change your life.

I admit that I wasn't expecting anything new, fresh or insightful from a reality show star (even though I love the show!). And, after all the mixed reviews, I was not hopeful of actually gaining anything from this book. But, after reading I'm surprised to see many women writing up reviews claiming that this book teaches you how to have an eating disorder.

I assure you - the strategies and attitudes present in this book have nothing to do with clinically diagnosed eating disorders that affect your life and your body in a negative way (as some other negative reviews claim). Although Bethany is admittedly thin - she appears healthy and must have ALOT of energy to keep up with the life she leads. She also puts an emphasis on "investing" in good foods that are organic and nutritious.

The values in this book are really more of a reality check and a way to navigate a country filled with delicious but fattening foods. There's nothing wrong with eating a very small taste of RICH foods and filling up on healthy vegetables...Not sure what is so "anorexic" about that. She shows you a way to participate in life (food) and also stay thin. Something an anorexic or bulimic probably struggles with.

Although I had only about 10 pounds to loose - already being at an "ideal weight", I found some great ways to shift my attitude towards food and in turn loose some weight. There's nothing wrong with leaving some of your food on the plate...and I'm not sure why there was such a negative response to this book. It's not really a diet book - it's a "change your attitude towards food book".

Bethenny Frankel, a natural foods chef (and star of The Real Housewives of NYC), has written a "diet" book that isn't really a "diet"--it's a lifestyle change; a way to eat like a naturally thin person. Bethenny says we're all skinny girls inside; we just have to learn to eat like one.

The Naturally Thin Program is pretty revolutionary--at least when compared to the diet books *I've* read (and there have been many). There is no doubt in my mind that Bethenny's Naturally Thin plan is going to raise some eyebrows in the diet community (and by that, I primarily mean doctors, nutritionists and other authors of diet books). Bethenny is not about counting calories or fat grams, weighing and measuring food or any of the other usual kinds of obsessing. This is my kind of gal!

Seriously, though, Bethenny's weight loss philosophy comes closer to my own personal philosophy than any other diet book I've ever read. With many diet books, you are ENCOURAGED to obsess (though they won't call it that) over every calorie, fat gram or teaspoon of oil, etc. It can leave people feeling guilty and shameful, and it can suck every moment of fun out of mealtime. Bethenny's plan is all about NOT obsessing.

I will not profess to understand 100% yet how to implement every part of Bethenny's program, but I have already started using it while I was reading the book. I will not credit Bethenny's plan alone with the weight I have lost in the past 4 weeks (there have been other variables such as increased exercise as the weather has gotten warmer and my starting to wean off of hormone replacement therapy (HRT))...but I am certain that her program contributed to the loss.

I am over 50, hypothyroid and on HRT--and those things together with my penchant for sweets has made it difficult to keep off the weight I lost 6 years ago. So to suddenly start losing weight again--at a rate faster than I would usually lose except on a very strict diet--has been an absolute wonder. And I've had something sweet every day! The question is--can I keep eating like this for a lifetime? It's too soon to tell. If I was a huge veggie lover and not a picky eater, I'd say the chances would be pretty good...but since I don't like a lot of veggies and I AM a picky eater, only time will tell.

My major complaint about the book is that it could be better directed to, and more realistic for, "real people." For example, it is too focused on eating out. Especially in this economy, it seemed a little...well, inappropriate...to be talking about eating out every other page (granted, she is giving examples from her own life and she is rich and admits that she eats out a LOT).

There was, I felt, FAR too little time spent on talking about cooking at home, which is where most "regular people" are eating most meals (though she does give recipes at the end of every chapter). Her rule of sharing food and tasting little bites of other peoples' food works in a restaurant (as long as you are out with other people), but it does not work with a home-cooked meal...unless you plan to make a bunch of different dishes, all so you can taste a little of each, which again does not seem very realistic to the average working person dealing with hard economic times.

I struggled with the rating for this book. I started at 4 stars, but once I wrote those last few paragraphs, I realized that it bugged me more now, having finished the book, than it did while I was reading it. As a result, I went down to 3 stars. I do feel very positively about this plan, but I also think she didn't do a good enough job of making it realistic for regular everyday people.

EDITED ON MAY 12: I felt the need to clarify that I am not saying that the Naturally Thin Program--AS WRITTEN--is a healthy way to lose or maintain weight. If a nutritionist looked at the food log of Bethenny's own eating (which is included in the book), he/she would likely agree. However, what I have done is to take Bethenny's rules and adapt them to what makes sense for me. I have been struggling with my weight for over 4 decades, so I have amassed enough information over the years that I can adapt some of Bethenny's great ideas to my own way of eating and end up with something that is nutritionally sound but also allows me to lose weight.

I've read tons of diet books and tried the ones I didn't outright reject. Frankly, I was initially dismissive of this book because I watched the show and Bethenny just didn't resonate with me at the time. I think the problem is not that the advice is necessarily unsound or dangerous, but that it's articulated surprisingly poorly.

What she's trying to say about those 3 bites of steak is that "portions are small." And they are. That's just a fact but we don't like to hear it and we sure don't like to believe it. If a proper portion of steak is roughly a deck of cards or the palm of your hand, how many bites can that really be, after all? Five maybe? Describing it as "3 bites," though, sounds to the average reader like near-starvation. I can understand why readers may be shocked and even maybe a little scared.

But I soldiered on. Following her advice, I substituted my 11.5-inch dinner plates (a common size since 1992) for 9-inch (the size of a dinner plate in 1963) "salad" plates, and got rid of my 14-ounce bowls in favor of 8-ounce ones. Try it and you'll be surprised at what a REAL portion actually looks like! No wonder there's an obesity problem in America.

In general, I liked that I didn't feel preached to, for a change, and that much of her advice felt doable. Although I understood what she was getting at with many of her points - such as portion sizes - I really felt they could've been articulated much better to such a broad audience.

I found the book lacking in substance. Bethenny obviously has food issues and drinks a bit too much alcohol for a healthy person. I thought she would write about natural foods eating and healthy habits. Unfortunately, I think a book would be better served after her fifteen minutes of Housewives fame are up and she can spend some time doing research. This book read more like it was a beginner's effort, and not that of a seasoned natural foods chef.

Yep, she's right, 3 bites and forget about the remainder of the steak. Ok, she didn't elaborate enough, but do order the tiny, perfect little filet mignon, it's only 6 bites anyway; take the remainder home, slice it thin for a sandwich with crust cut off, you know the drill. Bethenny repeats much of what we all know, have read over and over and over, but she puts it all in one place, and does so with humor and honesty. This is the single go-to skinny girl source, and if you can screw up your courage and a huge dose of self control, you'll be able to follow her path. It'a ain't easy, and it ain't fast! But it works! Follow Bethenny's advice, and by this time next year you'll be a whole new - and much smaller - person!

One of the big problems with the government's dietary "pyramid" is that grain is at the base of it. Bethenny puts vegetables at the base (well, she doesn't talk about it this way--but this is the basic idea, "Make the majority of your diet come from the nutritious, filling, low-fat, high water content of vegetables.")

She's all about sensible eating, not deprivation. "Have a little bit of whatever you love." "Think of your caloric intake as a bank withdrawal--and adjust each day accordingly."

It's not kooky, not really aggressively preachy about nutritional or lifestyle changes--and seems new but at the same time, very common-sense advice.

In addition, she includes some -very- delicious and easy to fix recipes.

All-in-all, a new addition to the extensive diet book field and, refreshingly, not a compilation of recycled and repackaged dieting ideas. Recommended.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Bethenny has an interesting view on food and a fresh approach to weight loss. Many diet books have the same common sense advice that most of us already know. It was refreshing to read new ideas. It was very well written and the ideas were easy to understand and follow. The topics in this book were thoroughly explained. There is a good mixture of basic nutrition and unique weight loss tips. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for unique tips on weight loss.

I have rid my bookshelves of all my diets books. If you want to be smart about what to eat and more importantly listen to your "food voice" this is the book for you. I will never buy another diet book again. Thank you Bethenny for opening my eyes. This has all the common sense you need to not deprive yourself of food and live a normal life without counting calories, measuring and keeping an eye on the clock because you have to eat every three hours. Who has time for that? I know I don't. Thank you again Bethenny and congratulations.