Dieting
Ahhhh, another week, another journo looking to drop a few kilos in the limelight and yet another prime time television report on the evilness of sugar. This time from Channel 7’s Sunday Night. To date I have been reluctant to comment on the somewhat sensationalised media reports pointing the finger at sugar as the primary cause of the nation’s obesity issues. There are a few reasons for my hesitation.
Firstly, I feel as if the sugar story has been done to death over the past 12 months. Secondly, I feel as if we are somewhat arguing the obvious. And finally, it seems to be an argument in which scientific debate has been all too readily replaced with personal views—a strong-minded lawyer’s opinion and now the personal weight-loss experience of one of Australia’s favourite rugby sons.
Indeed, emotions will always generally beat logic, at least in a 3 minute television segment or within a few lines of a press release. So, here’s what I think, and I think I have a point of view that should at least be considered in this debate given that I see hundreds of people each year for weight loss.
Continue reading "Sugar isn’t evil, it’s processed foods that aren’t so sweet" »
SO there we were performing a static hold in the push-up position down at the local park when the Dog Lady first came into our lives.
We heard her before she came into view, the swoosh of her nylon track pants and the tinkling bell on the collar of her Labradoodle cutting through the early morning silence.
“Good morning!” I said cheerfully as I got to my feet. “F…....g dickheads!” she bellowed in reply.
Continue reading "Abusing us park exercisers is a lazy national sport" »
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K says:
Zeta, at $16/hr and no overtime pay, you bet I’m going to take my hr lunch break! Read more »
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aaron says:
good point. Read more »
How many column inches in women’s magazines are devoted to dieting every year? Enough to cross the Nullarbor? Circumnavigate the globe? Traverse the universe?
“Get your body beach ready. Now!” “Your best body. Fast.” “Your best-ever body in four weeks.” “Shrink one size in four weeks.” And my personal favourite: “Drop a dress size by Saturday!” Really?
I should issue a little disclaimer and own up to writing many vacuous and silly diet coverlines during my 15-plus years working in women’s magazines. Seven kilos in seven days? Only joking. But you get the drift.
Continue reading "Odds and magazines are stacked against diet success" »
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John says:
Just getting off the track slightly…when you talk about women’s magazines, the first that pops into my head is make up, cosmetics, anti-wrinkle/aging creams. I do a lot of international travelling, and everytime i pick up the duty free magazine on board, half the magazine is full of womens cosmetics!… Read more »
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Budz says:
@TRJN: Yes the girls are on the treadmills and guys are on the weights. So what is a way to increase your testosterone and metabolism? By increasing your muscle mass! So girls, get on the weights too and before you know it your metabolism will improve and you will be… Read more »
I have battled with my weight for the past 12 years. I’m now 40.

I thought having kids would be a turning point. I thought having a suspected heart attack in the West Indies while filming my show An Aussie Goes Calypso would be a turning point. I thought turning 40 would be a turning point.
But nothing seems to stick and I continue to jump on and off a number of diets and fitness regimes.
Continue reading "The plan to win my 12-year battle with the bulge at last" »
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Michael says:
Princess Mary’s funeral? I think I missed that. However, yes there’s something about this bloke that’s just not quite hitting the mark of the ‘funny fat guy, true aussie bloke’ - somehow he rubs me the wrong way. Also, I think he secretely likes being a ‘big fella’. Anyway, good… Read more »
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Big Fella says:
Good on you Gus. I started putting on weight when I started working and have steadily increased over the years. Managed to have a couple of good drops in weight but every time put it back on. Hit just under 90kg about 9 years ago and earlier this year dropped… Read more »
Yesterday on The Punch, Tory argued that Karl Lagerfeld’s rather out there recent comments were right - “sort of”.

The gist of Karl nobody-wants-to-see-a-round-woman Lagerfeld’s contribution was that the fashion world was all about fantasy so it shouldn’t be criticised if it chooses to use only skinny models with protruding bones on their catwalks, or photos that are digitally altered to make a models’ waist the size of her neck. It’s all fantasy, silly. What’s the harm?
Tory’s semi-agreement seemed rather more based on personal preference and a dislike of a recent magazine’s choice of “plus size” models.
Continue reading "Counterpunch: Body image problems are far from fantasy" »
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Bojangles says:
Hey, who’s managing Nora’s company while she’s bunging on about pointless crap? Having a long lunch are we Nora? Well I’d better be going I have a company to run…into the ground. Probably because I only hire people with the biggest hard luck stories. Read more »
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Julio says:
Nora Charles is so incredibly obnoxious it’s hard to take anything she says seriously. Read more »
In our body-image obsessed world, being told that you can be thinner by the weekend sounds delicious.
That was the hook Grazia magazine used in publishing the latest US diet craze in its “Thin by Friday” feature in the June issue. NOVA 96.9’s newsreader Kristy Warner has also shared her experience of the diet on-air.
Continue reading "Medical mag calls out glossy on potentially fattening diet" »
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Simone says:
When will magazines such as Grazia cease this irresponsible jumping on of fad diet bandwagons, I wonder? They owe more to their readers than recklessly promoting such obviously unhealthy solutions to losing weight. Surely by now we’re all aware that there are no miracle diets, or if there are, they… Read more »
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K says:
Severely restricted calories = losing weight. Groundbreaking news, Grazia. Read more »
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