The Times have an interesting article today, called "Women and food: a grotesque relationship", written by Jane Shilling. She begins her article by saying, "I eat three cooked meals and drink half a bottle of wine every day. I am 5ft 7in tall and weigh 8½ stone." She quickly follows this up with "Very nice for you, I’m sure (I hear you say)." Indeed. Good for you. But Shilling's point is to simply reiterate the fact that women's relationship with food is completely, and utterly f***ed. She points out that if you do go out and buy a pair of the latest *mircale* control top tights that suck in your "wobbly bits", and you do manage to score the "George Clooney of your local manor", what happens when you get him home? Have we all not seen Bridge Jones?!
While I do appreciate Jane's column and calling women's relationship with food "grotesque" she sort of lost me when she gave women advice on how to stay trim. While her advice is logical, and had good intentions, it still made me roll my eyes...
Step 1. Eat three proper meals a day, made from fresh ingredients. Eat nothing else in between. You are not hungry. You are bored. Go for a walk or have a glass of water. While you’re at it, think about people who are properly hungry and feel ashamed. 2. At mealtimes, stop eating when you are full. We’re not on the ration now, it is fine not to finish your plateful. 3. Walk briskly around the park in your lunch hour (or walk to work, or walk the dog after work, or whatever). Take the family with you and save the money the gym would have cost you to go out for supper and a movie.
I'm not allowed to snack? Is a sandwich at noon really supposed to hold me over until I get home at 7? And what if I only have time for a cereal bar on the train in the morning? I agree 100% with her advice of simply going for a walk, and advising to finish your plate. I also appreciate that she doesn't say WHAT to eat on your three meals a day. The problem with the, "This is how I stay so slim!" stories, is that each woman has a different lifestyle, body type, height, weight, and metabolism. And the whole point of this should not be how to "weigh the same in my late forties as I did at 18", as Shilling apparently does, but to stay at a HEALTHY weight without dieting.
Oy.
