It's that time of year again. Having exhorted us to fill our boots with exotic festive food, the newspapers and magazines are now full of the usual advice on how to shift the resultant weight and Get Fit. We must swim and walk and ride bikes and go to the gym (no mention, ever, of riding a horse) and jog. I see the miserable joggers, soaked to the skin, faces grimly determined, sloshing through roadside puddles, and I smile at them from the comfort of my car.
As for the diets....I've never understood the thinking behind "detoxing". Why would you want to drink hot water every morning before feasting on a kiwi fruit and two nuts? Gwynneth Paltrow is apparently detoxing on the juice of garden weeds. Apart from astonishment that Paltrow's garden has any weeds to juice, and a certain feeling of disgust, I'd just like to know, why? Who would even think of doing such a thing? How did it start? ("I'm just popping out to gather some weeds, darling. I thought the juice might make a nice change"?)
And the diets. Today's Times suggests a week of meals that include such things as a quinoa salad, or a blueberry pancake for breakfast. Who has the time, never mind the inclination, to faff about with a blueberry pancake, cooked specially for oneself, first thing in the morning? What planet do these people live on?
Since I'm much the same shape as I was in November (barring my startling new nose.Remember
the nose?), I'm not changing anything about my lifestyle. Plus, I've broken my 'not-so-much-blogging this year' resolution already. Damn.
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I have friends who are just off to Thailand for a programme of 'Colonic irrigation'. NO THANK YOU.
ReplyDeletePrincess Diana used to get her kicks that way. Try it.
DeleteWow. Some people really know how to have a good time, don't they.
DeleteI went to such a good party on New Year's Eve that I lay off alcohol for two days. I reckon that was all that was needed. I have to confess, however, that my daughter sometimes makes her family pancakes for breakfast. I have never done such a thing, I don't know where she got that idea from.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago, I decided not to feel vaguely guilty if I didn't blog every day. A resolution lasts a whole year, it doesn't matter if you build up to it for a few weeks!
My daughter does the breakfast pancake thing, too. I think it's American.
DeleteI don't think I've ever seen a 'diet' of any kind including pancakes. Maybe the idea is that by the time you're done with cooking the elaborate breakfast, it's time for lunch (and voilà, you find that you've managed to skip one meal without noticing).
ReplyDeleteWat a great idea!
Delete2nd attempt at comment again!! I don't do " diets", just eat more sensibly and a bit less. I think that Gwynny is slightly bonkers if she thinks anyone is daft enough to follow her suggestions….serves 'em right if they do!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter made some Paltrow biscuits yesterday. Apparently they were disgusting.
DeleteGroan! Like you, when I see such headlines, I think "it's that time of year again". Then, after Easter, it's "get in shape for your bikini"-time. It's always there, omnipresent, the whole stupid "diet" topic. By now it should really be widely known that all those weird diets serve only one purpose - sell magazines and sell clothes one size smaller while the followers of said diet have lost a few pounds, only to gain twice the amount a few months later.
ReplyDeleteAs for joggers - they do look miserable, don't they? I love running, but I am a strictly good-weather-runner. When it is wet or too cold, nothing but the necessity to go to work or to the grocery store make me leave the house.
Sensible, as always, Meike!
DeleteBah, diets! I've even had leaflets pushed through my door inviting me to local slimming clubs (hope it's not just me!) Agree with you too about who on earth has the time to make these fancy bits and pieces? xx
ReplyDeleteHow rude ( the leaflets)!
DeleteI wonder why people who want to lose weight don't just Eat Less. But then I suppose they would have to start straightaway, instead of putting off the evil moment by reading about blueberries.
ReplyDeleteOr how about just eating more or less the same, all year round. It works for me!
DeleteI know from experience that diets don't work. And my type of healthy eating certainly doesn't include such weird juices (or juices of any kind!)
ReplyDeleteIt's those green juices that looke especially vile, Rosemary. Kale and spinach and suchlike. Ugh.
DeleteI don't follow any specific diet regimes either, but I do have an addiction to chocolate, so I over indulged. I have started a diary to record what I eat every day. This usually gets me back on track. But even after 4 days I haven't lost a pound. Very disheartening.
ReplyDeleteKeep going, Maggie. But giving up chocolate is terribly had for you. I speak as an expert. Should have been "bad for you". This device resists corrections.
DeleteI don't understand how eating or drinking anything helps to detox. Surely it should be about avoiding anything harmful? No amount of weeds will neutralise a daily diet of 14 pints of beer, 40 fags and a takeaway.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Patsy. In fact, I think detoxing is a myth.
DeleteNot a fan of diets, detoxes or any of that, They just play on people's insecurities.
ReplyDeleteQuite right, Colette. Sensible woman.
DeleteI have a friend who gets insulted if you don't have at least three (fattening) items of cake etc when you visit for a morning coffee. She goes to the gym regularly. She is very overweight. She cannot understand why so much 'good, wholesome food' puts weight on. What is it with people who will not accept that over-eating = more weight?
ReplyDeleteGraham, for years as a nurse I battled with overweight patients to ge them to understand, and mostly was met with blank incomprehension.
DeleteJust remember - resolutions are there to be broken (I should know!)
ReplyDeleteBut not ten times in under a fortnight, Wendy? Or is that ok?
DeleteI am sure you keep very fit with the horses. I wouldn't mind blueberry pancakes if someone else did them.
ReplyDeleteWe are in complete agreement, Jenny!
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