Diet Trap

It may be a completely illogical dream,but for many of us,true bliss would be to be able to eat as much as we want,of whatever we want,without worrying about putting on weight.

Written by Leher Kala

September 4, 2012 01:36 AM IST

5 min read

It may be a completely illogical dream,but for many of us,true bliss would be to be able to eat as much as we want,of whatever we want,without worrying about putting on weight. On a wish list,this would rank right up there,second only to having pots full of money or permanent good health. Or a perverse way of looking at it would be as the saying goes,God,if you cant make me thin,please make my friends fat. The gym I go to offers one free session of diet consultation,and I recently came home with a diet chart that the nutritionist assured me,if followed,would make me drop two kilos in three weeks.

I havent seen too many diet charts but Im sure they look pretty much the same,with frugal,low-calorie foods in small quantities,repeated over and over. The most exciting item on my chart was a brown bread toast or a Marie biscuit to be eaten only in the morning. The rest of the food items were grilled chicken breast,egg whites,grilled fish or sautéed vegetables. It may a little boring,acknowledged the dietician,but added that even if it didnt whet my taste buds,at least I wouldnt feel hunger pangs. The only issue being,a big part of the satisfaction of hunger is eating a delicious meal,not a barely edible one. It lasted three days before I lapsed back to normal dal,sabzi and roti.

The simplest formula to lose weight is also the hardest to do: eat less,exercise more. People who keep weight off are the ones who continue some form of calorie restriction indefinitely,after theyve finished the diet. Since this unfortunately involves enormous dedication,even the most determined have relapses. Diets dont work,because they are simply not sustainable. You are going to slip up,eventually. But if you manage to keep the slip-ups somewhat regulated,indulge occasionally and have a regular exercise routine,you might just stave off the pounds a little while longer. After all,whats a life of constant deprivation of one of the greatest pleasures of existence food? And who decides whats the perfect weight,anyway? Which brings us to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modis bizarre remark on malnutrition in his state,blaming beauty conscious girls from the middle class who dont eat enough because theyre worried about getting fat. Firstly,its extremely unlikely that the Wall Street Journal reporters question was meant for this socio-economic strata. He was probably referring to the Human Development Report of 2011 that says in Gujarat,44 per cent children below five suffer from malnutrition and nearly 70 per cent are anaemic. Its almost impossible to believe that an astute politician like Modi would connect body image with the shameful truth that theres simply not enough to eat for many children in India.

Modis sneering comment on beauty and weight-conscious girls is typical of an older Indian generation that grew up in a country of scarcity,where eating wholeheartedly was considered a great privilege to be valued,not cast aside. Even now at Indian weddings,the food takes up half the budget with rows of different cuisines proudly displayed,most of which cannot be consumed in one evening. As kids,weve been urged to finish our food,with stories of how lucky we are as compared to Indias starving millions. I still cant leave food on my plate without a sense of guilt. Over generations,the idea of hospitality has come to mean plying guests with copious amounts of food and weight watching has traditionally been frowned upon,linked to vanity and frivolousness. Compare that to modern city-living now,where most people I know eat before going out to parties,so they dont succumb to greasy snacks.

Modi is right when he says the middle class is beauty conscious and weight conscious. And thats something to celebrate,not criticise. Anorexia is far smaller a problem than obesity,all over the developing world. Eventually,people who are weight conscious evolve to some form of health consciousness too. To reach that awareness,many of us have to first experience the circuitous path,of fad diets such as eating before six,no carbs at night,raw food diets none of which work over the time. It all boils down to a simple mathematical equation: what you burn has to be more or equal to what you shove in. If youre motivated more by the thought of fitting into a sexy dress than by health and well-being,so be it.

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