The Price of Beauty

In the 2nd round interviews for the Hudson job I had to do a presentation about ‘The Price of Beauty’. I discussed things like plastic surgery, liposuction and when things go wrong…think Michael Jackson. I also brought up the issue of ‘fad’ diets and extreme dieting, even by the most intelligent of people; all for the price of beauty.

Looking back the whole speech has turned into a bit of an irony. I work with people who I admire for their intelligence and quick wit. Who are all financially successful with most living in the Eastern Suburbs. Yet almost everyone in my office is on a detox program or a diet, with most of them in my opinion being on extremely unhealthy ones.

In the past I have always stayed away from the topic of diets, because as you know I have been blessed with a fast metabolism. If I were to ever comment that they didn’t need to diet, I am often told ‘what would you know? You’re a stick!’ But the situation at work is just ridiculous.

I do not have a problem with people dieting...as in eating healthier, drinking more water and doing a bit of exercise; it’s something we should all aim to do. However I do have a problem when my Manager sitting next to me is on a ‘grapes only diet’. She explained to me that she found this diet in a magazine, and so for the past two weeks I have observed her eating grapes and sultanas only; for breakfast, lunch and dinner…on one rare occasion she was allowed to add 4 cashew nuts for dinner.

In a period of two weeks she went from a bubbly person to someone who looked drained, tired and snapped at people easily. So I confronted her about this one lunch time, saying that if she deprived her body of ‘normal’ food it’s only going to make her crave it. If she were to eat normally again it would be a shock to her body, and the weight would come on even quicker…which is why she should just eat in moderation. She then told me she had lost 5kgs and she thinks the diet is great! Her menu is now watermelon, so for the next 3 weeks it’s watermelon only… then back to grapes, this is to create ‘variety’ in the diet. O_o

The HR team from the city came to pay our office a visit on Thursday; during morning tea I offered some fruit to one of our visitors who’s this gorgeous British girl with the looks and figure to die for! She looked at me with absolute shock and announced that she was detoxing! She’s not allowed fruit, only string beans and water for 2weeks. Any diet that makes fruit a bad thing is a bit of a worry I think.

But no, it’s not just the women in my office it’s also the men. I don’t think I will get started on them. The funny thing is, watching my friends go on these roller coaster diets, many lose the weight and not feel any better about themselves because they failed to address the underlying problems in the first place. Diet and exercise should go hand in hand because you want to improve your overall health, if losing weight comes as a result then that’s an added bonus.