How I got my six-pack
Hey, I'm not talking about a ripped stomach, a slab of firmness that swells into womanly hips. I'm talking a multi-pack of cheese and onion crisps. You know the ones, they're advertised by a football pundit with sticky out ears.
There's something weird about the British relationship with obesity. We've adopted American marketing strategies with supersize this and bumper size that. Then we're warned by the media in large-font capitals:
It's enough to drive you to food.
For a brief spell during my first year at university, I worked in McDonalds. They do something really clever by the way - they make it warmer near the till so when you order and they say "Would you like a drink with that?" you've reached a keen thirst and say yes: it's where they make their mark-up. There were lots of people who would come in and order a Big Mac Large Meal, and make a token amendment on behalf of their cholesterol levels by choosing a Diet Coke.
Next came tear and share bags, with the handy re-sealing option: how much use does that get? And how much sharing? One of those puppies is like a never-ending bag of crisps - dig deep, eat, repeat.
Then double bars - each smaller than the average single bar, but two of. When I was younger, my mum would share a (normal size) Bounty with me on a Thursday before we hit the supermarket for the weekly shop. Double bars are two hits of happiness in my opinion. But then I'm the girl who eats chocolate in the downstairs loo to avoid sharing with my children...
The Government recommends five-a-day (and not the big five - no one can manage to eat a lion, and elephant, a buffalo, a leopard, and a rhino in one day) but confusingly, it should be at least seven portions of fruit or vegetables a day.
Coffee can extend your life, but can keep you awake until you're dead tired.
Wine can both shorten and lengthen your lifespan, depending on who you are talking to.
And the jury appears to be out on the eggs-istential question (see what I did there?) of whether eggs are good or bad for you. Super food or stroke fuel?
Then we get to Acai berries and their antioxidant rich, immune-stimulating, energy-boosting brethren and sistren: or are they? Again, research differs, largely on who's selling what I guess.
So how do we deal with this incongruity? Who's to be trusted and who's to be doubted?
Perhaps the only way to meander through the minefield is to take all things in moderation: including moderation.
I hear you Oscar, and I'm Wilde about that quote! Six-pack, here I come.
There's something weird about the British relationship with obesity. We've adopted American marketing strategies with supersize this and bumper size that. Then we're warned by the media in large-font capitals:
"Obesity UK:It's Worse than Feared"(Daily Mail)
"Hidden Calories Fuelling Obesity" (The Telegraph)
"Stop Your Kids From Eating Crisps" (Daily Mirror)
For a brief spell during my first year at university, I worked in McDonalds. They do something really clever by the way - they make it warmer near the till so when you order and they say "Would you like a drink with that?" you've reached a keen thirst and say yes: it's where they make their mark-up. There were lots of people who would come in and order a Big Mac Large Meal, and make a token amendment on behalf of their cholesterol levels by choosing a Diet Coke.
Next came tear and share bags, with the handy re-sealing option: how much use does that get? And how much sharing? One of those puppies is like a never-ending bag of crisps - dig deep, eat, repeat.
Then double bars - each smaller than the average single bar, but two of. When I was younger, my mum would share a (normal size) Bounty with me on a Thursday before we hit the supermarket for the weekly shop. Double bars are two hits of happiness in my opinion. But then I'm the girl who eats chocolate in the downstairs loo to avoid sharing with my children...
The Government recommends five-a-day (and not the big five - no one can manage to eat a lion, and elephant, a buffalo, a leopard, and a rhino in one day) but confusingly, it should be at least seven portions of fruit or vegetables a day.
Coffee can extend your life, but can keep you awake until you're dead tired.
Wine can both shorten and lengthen your lifespan, depending on who you are talking to.
And the jury appears to be out on the eggs-istential question (see what I did there?) of whether eggs are good or bad for you. Super food or stroke fuel?
Then we get to Acai berries and their antioxidant rich, immune-stimulating, energy-boosting brethren and sistren: or are they? Again, research differs, largely on who's selling what I guess.
So how do we deal with this incongruity? Who's to be trusted and who's to be doubted?
I hear you Oscar, and I'm Wilde about that quote! Six-pack, here I come.
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for ranting!