It's January. So that can mean only one thing: dieting...It's everywhere. And once again, I find myself sucked into the yo-yo world of media pressure.
Did you notice that December was all about Christmas indulgence and cookery programmes on TV? There seemed to be so many more this Christmas than I remember seeing before. Everyone was at it: Delia (natch), Jamie, Nigella, Hugh F-W, Gordon - even The Hairy Bikers got in on the act this year. Every show had one thing in common: calories, and lots of them. Butter? Absolutely. Cream? By the bucketload. Chocolate? The more the merrier - after all, it's Christmas, isn't it?
For a whole, blissful month, nothing was off-limits as far as these doyennes of TV cookery were concerned. And it wasn't just TV. Magazines, newspapers and websites all carried the same message: "Eat, drink and be merry: for tomorrow we die(t)!"
And then comes January. Long month of dark nights, cold weather and too many days till the next pay packet. The common theme is cutting back, denial and debt. Or, at least, that's what the lovely people in the media would have you believe. Yes, the very same people who in December were topping up your wine glass and persuading you that fifteen mince pies were perfectly justified, are now wagging a stern finger, accusing you of too much spending, too much indulgence and too little self-control.
Channel 4 even has its own diet show this month. In My Big Fat Diet Show, viewers were informed that '..the average Briton eats a whopping 7,000 calories on Christmas Day...' (presumably mostly made up of the creations of Delia, Nigella, Gordon et al...), shown exactly how microscopic a 100-calorie portion of Chicken Jalfrezi looks like, and examines how supermarkets con us into buying the wrong kind of food. Lots of interesting stuff, but the main problem is that, after telling us how it's important to eat healthily, it then focuses on an incredibly unhealthy 'drop a dress size in 2 weeks' diet of just 1,500 calories per day. It's impossible to maintain that after the two-week period and it struck me that some women might be tempted to keep going on the ridiculously small calorie intake - something that could have damaging long-term effects on their health.
Have I cut back on what I eat? Yes, of course I have! Because that's what I do every January, just like the majority of women in the UK. Have I joined a gym? No, but that's mainly because I couldn't afford to - I did find myself tempted the other day. Bought an excercise DVD? No - although you can't turn the TV on or open a magazine at the moment without some C-list celeb looking tanned and ridiculously defined promoting their latest fitness video.
This year (and I realise that by writing it down I could be jinxing myself) I am determined to eat healthily and sensibly and exercise more. I already enjoy yoga every week, so I'm looking to increase my practice at home and try to go for a walk every day. I'm not setting massive goals, like losing 5 stone, or running a marathon - I reckon that if I can make small changes and maintain them for the next six months, then I'll be able to reassess from there.
I'll keep you posted on how I get on!
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