The Sunday News
Eye on Fashion by Rutendo Chidawanyika
THERE are two or so women I know who don’t really mind their weight. The rest of us are consistently on a diet, eating healthy, jogging and going to the gym for the most part of our lives. No one wants to be fat or out of shape, the unfortunate part is we all want to look fab but at the same time all the unhealthy food is THE good food. Giving up the cocktails, pizza and juicy burgers doesn’t seem to be an option.
New diet plans or rather weight loss strategies seem to keep popping up. Any woman can tell you at least of three or so weight loss plans they know of, apple cider vinegar diet, no starch diet, cabbage diet. The list goes on and on and having the slim trim seems to always be a must.
There are some though who go to the extremes in the name of being a size zero or a supermodel. These are some of the outrageous weight loss schemes happening around the globe:
Weight loss sunglasses
Sunglasses aren’t just for protecting your eyes from the sun anymore — at least not in Japan, where dieters use blue-tinted sunglasses to make food look dull. Apparently, blue isn’t an appetising colour, so when you look at food, you won’t want to eat it. If you’re worried about stress-induced eating, fear not. Blue is also a calming colour so naturally the sunglasses will prevent that too. I can’t say for sure these wouldn’t work, but I’m willing to bet if I smelled fresh-baked cookies, I’d probably overlook the blue tinge in favour of satisfying my craving.
Diet soap
Made from a mysterious “species of deep seaweed plants” Aoqili diet soap can apparently be credited for a 20 percent reduction in body fat. Upon further inspection, all it contains is fatty tissue of animals, fatty acid salts from coconut oil, seaweed powder and aloe gel — not exactly the miracle product it purports to be. Besides the fact that the idea of rubbing dead animals all over the body is creepy, I’m guessing that unless you are doing an intense shower workout while washing with this soap, it probably wouldn’t contribute to any amount of weight loss.
The roundworm egg diet
We may vaccinate our pets against it, but female students in Xiamen, China have reportedly been eating roundworm eggs to lose weight for job interviews. Since they hatch in the stomach, those who swallow them shed pounds without exercising or dieting-but with serious consequences. Besides causing anorexia (which I’m assuming is the intended effect) a roundworm infection can cause other serious illnesses such as respiratory failure, pneumonia and liver or spleen enlargement.
The sunlight diet
Here’s a super diet idea: Just don’t eat! Why didn’t someone think of this sooner? All those meals you eat only contribute to weight gain. Instead, just get all your nourishment from the sun and your spirituality. That’s what Indian guru Prahlad Jani recommends — in fact, he claims he hasn’t had any food or drink for 70 years. Unfortunately (but not surprisingly) the diet, also known as breatharianism or pranic nourishment, has been blamed for at least four deaths since the ’90s, and I’m willing to bet it also causes a host of other health problems.
Slimming face roller
If you don’t spend your days worrying about your lack of a “v-shaped” face, you probably don’t live in an East Asian country like Korea, where that’s the coveted beauty standard. Their answer to troublesome face fat? A slimming face roller , of course. Seriously. This exists. If you want a face massage, it might just work, but in terms of its claim to “melt face fat,” I wouldn’t rely on it.
Magnetic diet ring
Do you like crazy infomercials/adverts that make claims about weight loss? Then you’ll love this! According to the commercials, the magnetic diet ring is basically a magic weight loss wand in ring form. It promises weight loss fast — just wear the ring on a different finger every day to target different trouble areas. Apparently, you can lose over 10kg in three weeks, only in India though, as thats where the trend originates from.
Baby mice wine
In Canada, it’s not uncommon to see mice scurrying around your home in the winter. If you go to Korea however, you might find them in your wine instead. Baby mice wine is a traditional Chinese and Korean “health tonic” and is believed to heal anything that ails you. I’m not sure how a dead mouse is supposed to be good for you, or why anyone would want to drink something that apparently tastes like petrol (not that I have tasted it), but evidently it’s the answer to all your health problems.
After reading through this list and much thought into it, it is safe to say keep going to the gym and eating smaller portions. — Additional information from Online sources.
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