“LOSE 15 KGS IN 6 WEEKS!!” The ad on the page shouted at me until I
could no longer ignore it.With sheer curiousity, though a part of my
brain knew what it was going to be about, I clicked it. Once my eyes
moved past the hot models in skimpy bikinis with the perfect curves and
the flattest abs, and read further, I saw that it was about following “A
Special diet”. I let out a sigh and logged off.
Foodies and diet plans are eons apart. Still, there is nothing more inspiring than a cousin’s wedding around the corner and when ,even tummy-tucking can’t get you inside the dress picked out. The nightmarish images of aunts who are going to meet you after months only to tell you that you have gotten fat or the wedding albums in which only you’ll be the pumpkin, does the job.Left with no other option, I take up my diet plan that's hidden away inside my once-upon-a-time-favourite T-shirt that had shrunk over time( or rather the one I have grown out of!).I cringe when I see the rotis and sundals replace my curd rice and vada pavs.
Sticking to the diet when the whole world around you is gorging on yummy, delicious food isn’t easy. Even when walking down the footpath, the bollywood posters with six pack heroes and size zero heroines lose their charm, as the delicious smell of the spicy mashed potatoes, the oil soaked bajjis, the crispy pakodas and vadas , the greasy chicken and the ghee from the sweets waft through the air. Especially,staying in a city where two pani puri and vada pav stalls are closer than the bus stops, following a diet is equivalent to living in hell!
Staying locked up inside the house and logging into the social media to distract oneself from the salivating mouth or the rumbling stomach doesn’t help either. The news feed turns traitor and it is full of pictures of biriyanis and Manchurians from first-timers or the offshore guys who are just too excited that whenever they cook anything Indian, they can’t wait to share the pic with the world. Even when then the dishes don’t look that appetizing, their comments make them sound so. Then again, there is this other group on fb that started with updating their location whenever they visited a new country to be later followed by every place outside the town they resided in. This group later moved on to spoiler alerts whenever they were lucky to land up with tickets for the first day show. I can forgive the spoiler-alerts, but when they update where they are eating what, it’s the final straw! Damn you ppl! There are others out there chewing steamed vegetables, telling themselves that its all for the greater good!
And then, there are those “best friends” who decide to throw a treat only during the small period of the year when you are on a diet! Even when they are timezones away, they make it a point to elaborate about that awesome restaurant that they visited and find it absolutely necessary to describe every dish in detail. When eating the no-cheese sandwich or the zero-oil phulkha, the brain brings back sweet memories of the cheese overflowing pizzas a, the heavily buttered aloo parathas and the grilled chicken with mayo from a lifetime ago.
Life has its ups and downs. And for women, when they are depressed, nothing works better than shopping or sharing a cup of hot chocolate and a high-calorie ice cream while bitching about life with a girl pal. When on diet, shopping has its cons too! The KFCs and McDonalds in the malls throw their doors wide open and trust their fried chickens to do the marketing. Even if one can walk past them without a glance, they don’t stand a chance against the street food. On a cold evening, while fighting the way through throngs of people , even if the steam from the pan where the Pav Bhaji masala is heated and the hot yellow jiggery-dripping glassy jalebis evade the eyes, the loud hiss as the buns are roasted till golden brown makes heads turn.
There is always the occasional “cheat meal” without which surviving a diet is near to impossible. Well… at the end of a few weeks, when the weighing machine shows something satisfactory and the curve- hugging jeans gives a thumbs up, the entire ordeal feels worthwhile. Anyways, the wedding is here and I can finally gobble down some laddoos and jalebis in peace.
Foodies and diet plans are eons apart. Still, there is nothing more inspiring than a cousin’s wedding around the corner and when ,even tummy-tucking can’t get you inside the dress picked out. The nightmarish images of aunts who are going to meet you after months only to tell you that you have gotten fat or the wedding albums in which only you’ll be the pumpkin, does the job.Left with no other option, I take up my diet plan that's hidden away inside my once-upon-a-time-favourite T-shirt that had shrunk over time( or rather the one I have grown out of!).I cringe when I see the rotis and sundals replace my curd rice and vada pavs.
Sticking to the diet when the whole world around you is gorging on yummy, delicious food isn’t easy. Even when walking down the footpath, the bollywood posters with six pack heroes and size zero heroines lose their charm, as the delicious smell of the spicy mashed potatoes, the oil soaked bajjis, the crispy pakodas and vadas , the greasy chicken and the ghee from the sweets waft through the air. Especially,staying in a city where two pani puri and vada pav stalls are closer than the bus stops, following a diet is equivalent to living in hell!
Staying locked up inside the house and logging into the social media to distract oneself from the salivating mouth or the rumbling stomach doesn’t help either. The news feed turns traitor and it is full of pictures of biriyanis and Manchurians from first-timers or the offshore guys who are just too excited that whenever they cook anything Indian, they can’t wait to share the pic with the world. Even when then the dishes don’t look that appetizing, their comments make them sound so. Then again, there is this other group on fb that started with updating their location whenever they visited a new country to be later followed by every place outside the town they resided in. This group later moved on to spoiler alerts whenever they were lucky to land up with tickets for the first day show. I can forgive the spoiler-alerts, but when they update where they are eating what, it’s the final straw! Damn you ppl! There are others out there chewing steamed vegetables, telling themselves that its all for the greater good!
And then, there are those “best friends” who decide to throw a treat only during the small period of the year when you are on a diet! Even when they are timezones away, they make it a point to elaborate about that awesome restaurant that they visited and find it absolutely necessary to describe every dish in detail. When eating the no-cheese sandwich or the zero-oil phulkha, the brain brings back sweet memories of the cheese overflowing pizzas a, the heavily buttered aloo parathas and the grilled chicken with mayo from a lifetime ago.
Life has its ups and downs. And for women, when they are depressed, nothing works better than shopping or sharing a cup of hot chocolate and a high-calorie ice cream while bitching about life with a girl pal. When on diet, shopping has its cons too! The KFCs and McDonalds in the malls throw their doors wide open and trust their fried chickens to do the marketing. Even if one can walk past them without a glance, they don’t stand a chance against the street food. On a cold evening, while fighting the way through throngs of people , even if the steam from the pan where the Pav Bhaji masala is heated and the hot yellow jiggery-dripping glassy jalebis evade the eyes, the loud hiss as the buns are roasted till golden brown makes heads turn.
There is always the occasional “cheat meal” without which surviving a diet is near to impossible. Well… at the end of a few weeks, when the weighing machine shows something satisfactory and the curve- hugging jeans gives a thumbs up, the entire ordeal feels worthwhile. Anyways, the wedding is here and I can finally gobble down some laddoos and jalebis in peace.
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