Body Talk

We are bombarded on a daily basis with 'new' treatments, diets and exercise plans all promising to tone, carve and mould our bodies into beautiful submission. In the lead-up to my wedding, words like 'Scarsdale Diet' and 'Weight Watchers' were thrown around, and that was just by my bridesmaids terrified of not looking their best and it wasn't even their big day.

Beautiful models and glamorous, slender movie stars were put on this earth, we are certain, in order to show us what could be achieved (via extravagent sums spent on a personal trainer, private chef, hairdresser, stylist and make-up artist), but an ideal that will always remain just out of reach to the vast majority.

It doesn't matter how much I yearn to look like Scarlett Johansson, the likelihood is I just won't - I like food too damn much!

I drink copious amounts of water and green and white tea, I exercise 4-5 times a week and I moisturise my skin twice a day. I've tried the lemon and maple syrup detox, the Alli weight loss pill and not eating carbs after 5pm, and they all worked for the brief period I allowed them into my daily routine - but I like chocolate, and chips, and meat, and pasta, and pizza (I could go on). Don't get me wrong, I am not the size of a small house, but I'm not a size 'Jennifer Aniston' either. I'm an average 12-14 female who occasionally struggles into her jeans, holds in her tummy when it's eaten just that bit too much and has 'fat days'...

So, what's the answer? Believe me, I do not eat the items listed above regularly and my pasta is wholewheat. But fad diets and celebrity health 'experts' inform us that to really lose weight, the key is to cut these foodstuffs out of our lives completely and I just don't want to.

Moderation. Moderation. Moderation.
The mantra drummed into me by my mother from a very young age and one that should be applied to every area in life, in my opinion. That and having the willpower to withstand cravings, the patience to prepare your own healthy lunches and resist the 3.30pm urge to run to the corner shop for a Bounty... it's hard.

I realise this may be the rantings of a fat woman, but really this is the stream of consciousness that most likely scrolls through the mind of nearly every woman on a daily basis. The best we can do is fill up our water bottles, stock up on green tea, exercise regularly and take it one day at a time. Step by step...

Today, I started the day with a vitamin C drink and two pitta breads with peanut butter (not fantastically healthy but peanut butter is slow releasing, it wasn't lathered on and I haven't snacked yet and don't intend to). I have two bottles of cold water on my desk, no coffee (don't drink the stuff) and my lunch is in the fridge - wholewheat pasta with pesto, preprepared last night. I don't plan to eat again until dinner time, which will involve a roasted chicken, boiled potatoes and broccoli.

I will let you know if I was successful, and whether this approach to food can help you shed the pounds.