Diet aids...

Not sure about these. I guess I was brought up with the old fashioned Scots attitude that anything worth doing should be hard work and probably painful, if it tastes good its probably not good for you, if its fun its not work etc etc - all of that baggage we carry around that says life is really hard and then we die and go to heaven and its all wonderful. I've never really bought into that part of it but I'm not going there today!!

So anyway, as a result of these boring subconscious beliefs, I've never really believed in any of the millions of things that promise to make you lose kilos with zero effort - as far as I can see the only thing they make lighter is your bank account!

I tried hoodia when the local health food shop gave me a free sample but didn't notice any effect though I know some people swear by it. I tried a friend's Slendertone machine once as well but I found it so tickly I couldn't stop laughing, though I guess laughing does use up calories so maybe it does work. I've done a few faddy diets in my time but my boredom threshhold is set pretty low so a diet of bananas or grapefruit might well work but I've never stuck to it long enough to find out! Cabbage soup - now there's a good one, I actually quite like vegetable soup but the other inhabitants of my office asked me to stop and even the dog wouldn't sit near me!

The other day I was clearing out a cupboard and found a pair of "slim shorts" (Slim Shorts - Black, Size SM ok one thing - if you need a size small why do you need slim shorts at all??? ) - I have no memory of buying them, no idea where they came from but they are made of neoprene and a quick search of the Oracle told me they were to encourage sweating which would increase fat loss around the hips and thighs. I wasn't convinced but hey, they're here, no harm in giving them a try.

Well I can tell you that they certainly encourage sweating! Just putting them on was a major exercise and probably at least as good as a yoga class! So full marks for doing what it says on the tin and extra points for the extra calories burned trying to get into them! They're a bit noisy, so I threw on a pair of leggings over the top and took the dog out for a brisk walk (OK a brisk walk with my dog consists of a quick jog, stop to sniff, quick march in the opposite direction, flat out after next door's cat, another long sniff..... repeated as many times as she can get away with) but we went round three lakes reasonably fast.

So my verdict after one use is if sweating makes you have thinner thighs then they certainly work - I'm not entirely convinced but if it works for thighs maybe I should just go for the whole body effect and walk the dog in my wetsuit - that would give the neighbours a laugh!!

BTW if any of you have any other diet aids you think I should try out, let me know and I'll report back - I probably won't take photos though!