101 CRAZY WAYS FOR A GIRL
TO STAY SLIM IN ASIA
Kelly England
Being slim is not just a fad in Asia and particularly
in Hong Kong, it is verging on an obsession.
There is seemingly no limit to what determined
people will do to drop the pounds in order to fit
into the latest sample size designer outfits, clad
with the matching bag, shoes, makeup and
perfume. However, what is most interesting are
the ways in which this weight loss is being
achieved. I can confirm that going to the gym or
eating better or less is extremely low on the list of
priorities, if infact at all featured.
In America, women eat endless and unlimited
packets of those funny marketing mans dream
"Only 100 Calories Per Bag" products, jam
packed full of junk. In France, Mademoiselles
slow down on their cheese consumption and
switch from red to white wine. In England they
join Weight Watchers and eat low fat microwave
meals in front of the telly while dreaming of
skinny jeans. However, in Hong Kong they don't
bother with such relatively simple strategies, hell
no, they come in hard and full throttle.
Women
and increasingly men, reject slow slimming
solutions and refuse to take no for an answer in a
compelling mixture of pure efficiency,
competitiveness, and unwavering demand for
fast results.
Am I the only one that has noticed that HK's
buzzing metropolis has been plastered head to
toe with pictures of 'before' and 'after' photos of
scantily clad young women next to dramatic,
graphic dollar signs? That's not to mention the
quality of these photos - we are talking the most
unflattering images possible pre starvation. This
is then followed by very obviously retouched
images to even the untrained eye post the
subjects apparent usage of the advertised 'diet
secret'.
The latest Chinese whisper on the street is the
'setting yourself on fire' beauty technique - PS
this is not a joke - whereby the 'therapist' (who
you will be praying has received some sort of
safety training when lying naked on the table and
it's too late to change your mind) wraps you in
cellophane and wet towels, then douses them
with alcohol and sets you alight!
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According to the
salon in question, it is completely safe and so far
there have been no
mistakes, therefore I feel fully reassured, don't
you? There are up to fifteen cms of fat to be lost
in the first session, so what are you waiting for!
If this technique is not up your street then don't
fear, because there are many others wiling to
take you down the garden path, such as those
that offer 'Infra Red Fat Burning'.
The beauty
salon I use for more regular treatments that I
shockingly actually see results for (i.e. waxing,
manicures and facials) didn't even have the
nerve to explain how the machine works when
probed. It seems to be common beauty industry
knowledge that they offer no more benefits than
acting as enormous white dust collectors that
help to drag the punters in.
Following five sessions Nancy Wu told me, "The
therapist insisted that I had lost three inches on
my waist, but I can't really see any difference
myself. I booked another package anyway, you
know, just to see." There seems to be a situation
similar to the Emperors New Clothes going on
with this technique, whereby no one, including
bizarrely even the customer will dare to admit
that the treatments don't seems to be working.
This is in a similar style whereby women tell their
hairdresser every visit that they absolutely love
their finished hair, thank and tip them before
rushing home to restyle franticly before their
husband's see them.
How about slimming pills? There is an
abundance of these buggers around, many of
which claim to be 'herbal' which suggests that
they are somewhat safe and healthy right? You
guessed it, wrong. The Asian slimming industry is
littered with so called 'herbal' pills that have
turned out not to work, but also to be extremely
dangerous. Take the tablets imaginatively called
'Slim 10' for example, which were withdrawn
frantically from Singapore's shelves due to links
with liver failure. Although, I doubt it would have
received even a tenth of the press had a local
celebrity not have been one of the victims of the
pills.
That's not all folks, if after following all of the
slimming techniques available to the average
woman in Asia you still didn't see results then
you could also consider surgical procedures such
as Liposuction which many equally dubious
clinics are happy to perform.
I think that it is time that more positive steps
towards health and slimming are encouraged.
Health, fitness and beauty should be image
priorities rather than simply striving to be as
physically small as is humanly possible. We are
all individuals and should not be limiting
ourselves by forcing our bodies to look like the
clones of misguided slimming success stories?
This crazy obsession that is seemingly never
ending in Asia must end, and should instead be
replaced by the message that health is wealth.
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