MEN’S
Hello, I am a man and I
cheat… on my diet
H
ello! I am a man and I cheat on my diet. I cheat on
my diet with cheese burgers, kebabs, lamb legs,
mutton chops, cheese omelettes, macaroni, pastas, lasagne and deep fries. Sometimes I cheat in the
day, sometimes I cheat at night. Sometimes it has been
days that I have not cheated, while others I cheat many
times a day. There have been incidents where I promised my wife that I am going to an office party involving
nothing but salads but have ended up in a posh restaurant eating promiscuously the whole night.
Do I feel guilty?
Yes, I do!
Every time!
But there is an animal inside me that jumps at every opportunity available and makes me do things that I can’t
admit to my dietician. There are many reasons why people go on a diet and health may be considered as the
most important one. At one end of the spectrum, there
are experts that believe the modern diet and sedentary lifestyle has made us obese. Exposure to diseases
like high blood pressure, sugar, arthritis, heart attacks
are at an all-time high. Healthy living and a proper exercise regime are considered to be the most important
factors for living healthy. Hence came forward the multibillion dollar weight loss industry. At the other end of
the spectrum, there are those who say that being too
skinny has the same health hazards as being obese.
There is an increasing consensus amongst nutrition experts who believe that anorexia and other eating disorders, especially amongst teenagers, are a direct result
of today’s definition of beauty as “skinny in the bikini”.
On the other hand, there is a counter revolution of sorts
as many models display their normal bodies with confidence. Some people even believe that this definition of
beauty is making us shallow and superficial. Intellectual
depth, empathy, compassion, cultural sensitivity, family
values, and emotional support mechanisms are being
dismantled because of this inherent desire to attain the
perfect set of abs and biceps. But, who we are kidding?
The reason – the real reason why we sweat at the gym
and swear on the dining table is not because we want
to better our health, but because we want to look better.
Let me make another confession here: ever since the
days of Baywatch the fantastical hope of a six pack has
struck a rather deep nerve. For me, six packs are somehow associated to Yasmine Bleeth, Pamela Anderson
and Gena Nolin. There is a latent desire amongst men
of my generation to look slim shady even if you are “doh
bachon ka daddy” (a father of two). I’m sure the same
goes for women as they, too, struggle to fight with the
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