Now, I'm not usually one for watching diet programmes, as after the first five minutes of 'all you need to do is eat well and exercise' I'm usually bored to tears and turn over. Then there's the horror that is Supersize vs Superskinny and I'm left feeling slightly queasy as they compare anorexics to obese people. Well since I had no expectations about this programme and I was painting my nails I thought I'd give Natalie Cassidy's Diet Secrets on BBC Three a shot.
First off, I like Natalie (Sonja from Eastenders). I like how she's one of 'us girls', y'know, not blessed with a super fast metabolism and how she had to work at losing her Eastenders weight. I like that she didn't resort to lipo (we'll forgive her the boob implants) and I like how refreshingly honest she is in the show.
She looks at fad diets from around the world and spends a week trying each one. Yes, we know you shouldn't encourage fussy eating, and yes, there are disclaimers about how extreme dieting makes you fatter in the long term but it does make great TV to see Natalie running for the loo on the cabbage soup diet and quizzing supermarket staff about what cabbages taste better for 'variety'.
The problem is that when she tries the notoriously faddy diet, the Maple Syrup diet she loses 6 pounds. And the tester she has for a sidekick loses eleven! All of a sudden I have an urge to try it, despite the warnings that it will kill your metabolism and leave you spotty and tired..but THIN!! I know it's a bad diet, as one of my colleagues tried it earlier this year and fainted, but the benefits, even short term seem so tempting...
And that's where the problem lies. By highlighting these diets it makes us more aware of them, and if sensible beauty savvy people like me are semi-persuaded to start it, how much more so young impressionable minds? There's no right or wrong answer but it's good to keep in mind when watching this. Natalie's sidekick was forced to stop the diet by the programme's doctors for medical reasons, but we won't have a doctor watching over us if we try it. Keep that in mind.
Related: Argh. nine days on Aloe Vera Gel! See here for more TV news.
