nicoles blog February 09
My thoughts today have been triggered by seeing Gwynneth Paltrow on Oprah Winfrey (one of the joys of working from home is lunching with Oprah). Gwynneth talked about her 2 hour a day workout with a personal trainer to the stars, and how her fit and lithe physique was no accident. How refreshing! It’s so irritating to hear super-skinny stars say it’s easy to stay stick thin when you just know they are probably battling an eating disorder, lucky enough to be in the naturally slim minority, or spending loads of time in the gym. Full points to Gwynneth for telling it like it is: staying fit and slim is difficult in today’s world.
Gwynneth also shared her dislike of dieting. She said the moment she started to think about dieting she gained weight. Even thinking about her weight and wanting to change it made her gain 5lb (that’s just over 2kg). She reinforced the idea that the moment she deprived herself of anything, she wanted it even more. An experience supported by my own clinical practice as well as the scientific literature. Although she follows some very personal and nutritionally questionable dietary rules (such as no eating animals with four legs), she eats as much and as often as she likes. It struck me that if we all had personal trainers and worked out 2 hours a day, 6 days a week, we might get away with doing the same. But until that time, most of us need to go easy on the kilojoules (calories) in tune with our activity level in a mindful way.
What’s the take-home message? We all need to set nutrition and fitness goals that are realistic and right for us. We can’t all do 2 hours a day in the gym, and there’s no shame in that. We also need to put nutrition and health as a priority over the obsessive quest for ‘the body beautiful’. Happiness, contentment and wellbeing are more than what size clothing we wear. Sharing good food with those we love is enriching and nourishing for body and soul.