Skinny Bitch

Let’s face it: we love eating the wrong foods. But they affect some of us more than others. There’s always that Skinny Bitch at the next table stuffing hot chips and dessert down her throat, washing it down with full-cream coffee, soft drinks and wine. She’s wearing tight jeans and a tube top, and to make matters worse she is five years older than you.

But do you really think anyone can eat like that all the time and stay slim? The truth is, no. Back in our teens and even our twenties it might have been possible; eventually, though, it catches up with us.

So, how does Skinny Bitch maintain her hot bod? Here’s the likely truth: one night a week, she  allows herself all the fried food, dessert and wine she wants. The rest of the week? She watches everything that goes past her lips, but she doesn’t compromise on taste – she still keeps her food exciting.

How? Her food management starts with some basic choices. Skinny Bitch eats carbs at every meal, but never more than one cup at one sitting and never white bread, rice or pasta – oh no, she chooses only low-GI and high-fibre whole-wheat bread, brown rice, wholemeal pasta.

She uses only polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats, and knows that saturated fat is found in animal foods like meat, milk, butter, ghee, most yellow cheese, lard, cream and margarine. It’s also in vegetable fats like palm oil – found in most candy bars and snack foods – and in coconut products.

Yes, I know. It’s all the stuff we love. Before you despair, though, read this guide to how Skinny Bitch manages to pull it off. Maybe it’s not so difficult after all.

She avoids:

•	Pastries, cakes, puddings and cream biscuits
•	Processed deli meats and sausages
•	Deep-fried, battered or crumbed foods

She chooses:

•	Skim milk instead of full-cream milk in her coffee
•	Olive oil or canola spreads instead of butter or margarine on her toast
•	Cottage cheese or ricotta rather than yellow cheese on her sandwiches
•	Low-fat natural yogurt instead of sour cream on tacos and burritos, and – for dessert – fruit with low-fat yogurt or sorbet instead of ice cream
•	Home-baked low-fat muesli bars and snack bars using apple sauce for sweetness
•	For a chocolate fix, two pieces only of good quality, dark (75 percent or higher) chocolate
•	Dry-roasting, grilling, barbecuing or steaming, or stir-frying with little or no oil
•	Tomato-based rather than creamy sauces
•	Sunflower, safflower, soybean, corn, cottonseed, grape seed, canola, sesame and olive oils
•	Oily fish such as herring, mackerel, sardine, salmon and tuna, three times a week
•	Avocados, seeds and nuts in moderation
•	White meat, like skinless chicken breasts and fish
•	Beans and lentils to fill her tummy up

Oh, yeah, and Skinny Bitch exercises at least three times a week

www.expat-kitchen.com