#faddiets

At the bank today, the teller served me as she sipped on a bottle filled with water so hot that it was disfigured (the bottle, not the water). Out of curiosity I asked why there were no tea-leaves. “Cutting fat”, she said very matter-of-factly. “Amazzi agokya gasala amasavu.”
There are so many fad diets today- juicing, fruitarianism, detoxing, non-salt diet, water-only diet, lemon water diet, no sugar diet, carbs, proteins, vitamins, morning banana. Ayi mama, won’t we just diet ourselves into oblivion?
Someone I know, carries a brightly-colored plastic bag filled with lunch-boxes of all sizes to work. Sometimes it is green tea, cucumber and beetroot slivers - to “moisturize the skin.”
Tomorrow. Hot lemon and ginger for “digestion and, y’know it increases blood circulation.”
On Wednesday. “I’m drinking apple juice to strengthen my muscles and improve my eyesight.”
She also has a food diary. I want to scream.
Last week I asked about her progress but I discovered that she doesn't know if she is just watching her weight, or wants to slim. And when she starts with the calories, I want to hide under the table.
I am so tempted to tell her that we all have a body-type- - - figure 8, figure 11, some of us are apples, bananas, water-melons others are inverted triangles. I want to let her know that this dieting can be expensive and requires more discipline than the US navy has.
Naye, her eyes nearly popped out of her sockets when by chance, I was at the Nakumatt Oasis on Saturday afternoon. She was at Javas wolfing down a sizeable piece of juicy fried chicken, and from the heap of bones on the side of her plate, there must have been plenty more. There was also a half-drunk bottle of fruity Fanta.