My name is Fat Frog and I live in a swamp: water retention and that horrible bloated feeling

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Fat Frog

Bloated, queasy feeling? Can’t get ridofit of it….

Yes, I am that fat frog from the Motilium ad. I go through packets of the stuff and spend my half my life feeling as though I’m carrying around about ten pounds of excess water.

I have two sizes of jeans in the wardrobe. Fat jeans and normal jeans – because there are some days I just can’t get into my normal size without an overhang you could balance your cup of tea on. My weight on the scale can jump by four pounds depending on what time of the month it is.

Women suffer from bloated queasy feeling all the time and it’s got nothing to do with too many bags of chips. Well okay, maybe some of it does. A lot of it is connected to the menstrual cycle and the hormonal swings that cause water retention and just plain old bloatedness. In my case, certain medications I’ve been on have made me balloon up like a bullfrog – and the day after a night on the tiles sees me looking as though all those glasses of wine are still in me. And have had children and multiplied. Fizzy drinks are not good – and beer instantly makes me look like (and belch like) a truck driver. And good old tea is a red flag. Tea!

It’s such a miserable feeling and I’ve tried tons of things in the past with varying degrees of success – a good old detox and cutting out all the crap is always a sure thing. But so boring! You can’t live your life like that. Have a read of the Detox category to have a look at some of the things we’ve tried. I’m now taking a probiotic supplement that I’ve heard works wonders, it’s too early to tell if it will do any good but I’m filled with hope.

What about you – do you get this crappy bloatedness? And if you do have you found anything that works?

Tags: bloated, detox, fat frog
Posted in Diet & Wellbeing | 55 Comments »

Diet Coke… what’s with the anorexic puppets?

Monday, July 5th, 2010

“Hey that’s a bit off isn’t it?” said my friend as the new Diet Coke ad finished.

“Eh… yeah” I said. “In so many ways”

Horrible Bratz type puppets, with bug eyes, nasty lollipop heads and stick thin legs and bodies acted out an “everyday” office scene. Victoria Beckham lands a huge pile of paperwork on a Bratz desk (for some reason snarling, “Check this”) and the resulting tension needs to be eased by the whole office ,”dancing” in formation on desks, on their way over to the vending machine – as you do

It’s just as well they had strings to hold them up. Those stick legs would never have carried them over to the vending machine otherwise. This is a truely dreadful ad – not least because of the message it sends to young girls already familiar with the Bratz franchaise. The puppets are far too thin. Horribly thin. Now I haven’t checked because pro ana sites make me feel ill, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the body image in this advert is being hailed as something new to aspire to.

But maybe you don’t agree – think I’m overreacting and you like the ad?

Tell us in a comment!

Tags: body image, diet coke, lollipop heads
Posted in Beauty News & Links, Diet & Wellbeing, Rate it | 53 Comments »

Five A Day not the magic bullet it was promoted as: but is it still useful?

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

For year and years most of us have lived by the instructions to eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day to prevent cancer and other serious illness.

So I dutifully chomped and munched – even though I bloody hate veg. I can get them down if they’re disguised in soup or stew or something, but if they’re on their own on the side of the plate I have to bolt them down really quickly. But I love fruit so I though I could make up a bit of ground there.

Then we were told it was better to eat more veg than fruit, so there went that plan. But I still tried.

When studies started to emerge disagreeing with this whole Five A Day for disease prevention lark I was crestfallen. But other reports suggested that it’s all about keeping a balance (cutting down on saturated fat etc) and so Five A Day still has a role to play – it’s just not as clear cut as we might have liked to suppose at first.

Look I think, if nothing else, at least the Five A Day campaigns have provided us with a catchy slogan, encouraging us to add more variety to our diets.

What do you think? Is Five A Day something you aim towards or do you see it as a load of hype?

Tags: diet, fruit, healthy eating
Posted in Diet & Wellbeing | 33 Comments »

Preventative eating: an actual thing? Or not?

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

But listen this might happen to me later

I had a friend who would never go anywhere without a little snack in her bag.

Some biscuits or crisps – a bar of chocolate maybe.

“It’s the thought of being hungry” she explained. “I can’t bear it. What if I was stuck somewhere with no food anywhere and the hunger struck me?

“And if I know there’s going to be a big gap between meals, I’ll stuff myself so that I’m as full as I can possibly be to reduce the chance of hunger later.”

I was really surprised at the time but now I find that this is more common than you’d think. “Oh yeah” people have said to me. “Preventative eating. You know eating more on the off chance you might miss a meal”.

I know diabetics have to carry snacks around with them – but the rest of us? Is this something you do too?

Tags: diets, poll
Posted in Diet & Wellbeing | 38 Comments »

Beginners Pilates: First Impressions

Friday, May 21st, 2010

So in addition to taking up circuit training and mortifying myself during the very first class, I have recently started into Beginners Pilates. This is all very unlike me. Usually, my idea of strenuous exercise involves getting up off the couch to make tea during ad breaks and I have yet to make it past Week 2, Day 2 of the Couchto5k running programme, but Himself’s sister is getting married in July. She’s not particularly Bridezilla in most ways, in fact she might be the most laid back bride I’ve ever come across, but she is like a woman posessed about toning up for the big day and was looking for a plus one for the gym time.

Ironically, she decided not to stick with the Pilates in the end, but I signed up for the full 6-week course. I’ve been talking about doing Pilates for ever and reckoned that my shocking weak back muscles and slouchy posture couldn’t help but benefit from classes that would strengthen my core muscles.

I’ve only being doing it for a couple of weeks so far but my flexibility has already improved immensely, my posture seems better, and I think I’m less stressy. Yep, I’m very much enjoying them. Almost as much as I’m enjoying saying “No, I can’t tonight, I have me Pilates!” in manner of the bloke off the Brennan’s bread ad at every opportunity.

Tags: exercise, fitness, Pilates
Posted in Diet & Wellbeing, Hands, Body & Feet | 33 Comments »

Calling all Mammies: Pregnancy Beauty Recommendations Required!

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

pregnancy beauty tips

Calm down, calm down. It’s not for me, but if you’re a regular blatherer you can’t have failed to notice that a good few of Beaut.ie’s regulars have either recently had or are having babies. One of our most stalwart supporters, Tina, asked on Twitter yesterday if we could do a post on the best bodycare buys for pregnancy.

I have to confess, I am definitely not an expert in this area. I can point towards Trilogy’s Rosehip oil as a good product for stretchmarks, but I’m at sea with what else product-wise might be good, what supplements might be helpful to take and whether, in fact, the dreaded silvery marks can even be avoided at all as your bump expands.

So, if you’ve had a baby or you’ve currently got a bun in the oven, we want your product recommendations for our brood of breeding Beaut.ies (an alliteration too far?).

What’s good, what’s crap and what’s so-so? Rate ‘em all here.

Tags: pregnancy, Rate it, stretch marks
Posted in Diet & Wellbeing, Hands, Body & Feet, Rate it | 85 Comments »

It’s Monday. It must be diet day

Monday, April 26th, 2010

For how many years now have I been doing this?

All week I have a relatively healthy diet, positively glowing with health and smugness at the amount of water I’m drinking, the fruit I’ve consumed and the amount of sweets I’ve politely said “no thanks” to.

But come the weekend that all goes down the pan

Because all Friday afternoon in work I’m positively itching for a glass of wine. It’s there in the fridge, I can picture it. It’s cold. It’s calling to me. And then a takeaway to go with it. And the meeting with friends on Saturday for lunch. And there’s that night out on Saturday that I must just go on also. And then a wicked hangover on Sunday necessitates the eating of enormous amounts of crap. I tell myself that food consumed to cure a hangover contains no calories. But I’m starting to suspect that may not be true.

Gah!

There’s no use in me thinking “well if I go out to dinner I’ll just order the salad with dressing on the side and a glass of sparkling water”. No, I want to live life and have fun and that means ordering all the yummy things on the menu and washing them down with more lovely wine. What’s the point in going out to dinner if you just don’t relax and enjoy it?

If I could just get through one weekend I could break the cycle. Or so I tell myself.

But unless I lock myself away in a strict nun like fashion I can’t see that ever happening.

What about you, how do you cope with weekends and the diet disaster that they are?

Tags: diet, healthy eating, living for the weekend
Posted in Diet & Wellbeing | 40 Comments »

1 in 1000 for Cystic Fibrosis in Flora Women’s Mini Marathon 2010

Monday, March 15th, 2010

An email came in from Beaut.ie sis.

“I’m entering the mini marathon” she explained. “And I’m running for cystic fibrosis cos a pal of mine has it – and she’s doing the marathon too. She puts me to shame! Anyway I was wondering if you’d say it on the blog. Because you see they’re aiming to get one in 1000 people running for them and if you can even get a couple of people to sign up for CF it would be brilliant.”

Well of course we will! The state of cystic fibrosis care in this country is truely atrocious and every penny they get makes a real difference.

Read all about running for Cystic Fibrosis here – and if you’re not running yourself, make a donation!

Tags: charity, cystic fibrosis, mini marathon
Posted in Diet & Wellbeing | 5 Comments »

Crisps or chocolate? Or both? Together.

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

When it’s a rainy/cold/grey day outside and you’re reaching for the remote and snuggling up on the sofa in your slippers, one thing will make the day of happiness complete. You’re possibly hungover. Or possibly just in a piggy mood.

Not Jeremy Kyle, or Judge Judy or Dr Phil or other rubbish telly will complete you – no it’s junk that you need. But do you choose crisps or chocolate? Or do you choose both – and eat them together? Oh delicious.

I must admit that I’m partial to Dairy Milk and Taytos. Together. Sounds horrible? Not so: it’s scrumptious!

And I think I would commit murder for Tayto Bistros and Galaxy Cookies.

What’s your snackulette of choice: are you a saintly four squares of Green and Blacks person, or are you two big bags of tortilla chips and a box of Celebrations (andnowIfeelsickIamgoingtobed) type of piggie?

Tell all!

Tags: chocolate, crisps, sugar cravings
Posted in Diet & Wellbeing, Popular, Rate it | 75 Comments »

As Photoshop Turns 20, What Do You Make Of Digitally Manipulated Photos?

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Did you know that Photoshop has emerged from the awkward teenage years and turned 20 last month? Yep, while it seems hard to believe that it’s been around for so long Adobe’s flagship image editing software is now pretty much standard kit when it comes to picture manipulation. And even if other programs are used to edit photos, photoshopping is still the colloquial slang used to describe any form of photo trickerypokery (which Adobe apparently aren’t one bit happy about.)

Now unless you’re an enthusiastic amateur photographer or use it for the day job, most of us are probably only really aware of Photoshop and the like when used as a celeb-enhancing tool by the glossies, or when we describe retouched ads as being photoshopped.

Even so, that means we’re confronted with digitally perfected faces and bodies and hair on a near daily basis. And while we may be sufficiently media savvy to know that’s the case, it seems to me that photoshopped images are part of an escalating trend where nothing short of absolute perfection is permissable. The recent plastic surgery marathon that poor Heidi Montag – an already very pretty girl with an enviable figure – underwent of 10 operations in a single day is surely testament to that.

Of course, the enhancement of images isn’t a new phenomenon. Before the advent of all-out photoshopping, there was airbrushing, and even prior to that pictures were being sliced and diced. An iconic photo of Abraham Lincoln that dates to around 1860 is actually a composite of Abe’s head and another politician’s body.

Ouch.

(more…)

Tags: advertising, celebrity, photoshop
Posted in Celebrity Watch, Diet & Wellbeing | 15 Comments »