Diet Schmiet: Neris and India’s Idiot-Proof Diet, From Pig to Twig
This book didn’t work for me. That’s not to say it isn’t brilliant, as it is. The only problem is that I enjoyed it so much, and was so thoroughly engrossed in the familiar and girlfriend-like patter of the narrative that I forgot the actual subject matter and settled into my comfy chair, glass of red wine in hand and full-fat cheese and crackers within God-forbid-I’d-have-to-stretch distance. Not quite what the authors were going for, given that it’s a diet book.
I like India Knight, read her regularly in the Sunday Times and while she’s not my journo crush that is Camilla Long, I always enjoy her heart-felt pieces over my breakfast coffee. Such a devoted follower am I that I even subjected myself to the ignominy of watching my cellulite get wrapped over and over again, leaving just pink pockets of flesh bulging through my mummified self in an effort to lose a miraculous 5 lbs before holidays. Because she said it worked. Never mind, to be fair to the beauty therapist, she hadn’t reached Miracle Module 2.4 in her beauty training – no amount of goo and bandages was going to make me thin overnight.
Hence, I buy diet books. Over and over again, as if the act of handing over cash and physically reading the book will transform my body. Usually, having read them, I will then undertake to follow the prescribed diet, quite often for two days, sometimes stretching to a whole seven. Then it’s Friday / Saturday / Sunday night and I’m reading something new and eating something horrific.
Anyway, back to the book. I’m not going to lie, it was free. Came with a glossy magazine. In my humble opinion paying €7 odd for forty-odd pages of ads, one letter from the editor and a smattering of pseudo-feminist witterings isn’t for me, so I usually only buy them when the freebie is more appealing than the mag. In this case, it was worth decidedly more.
The actual diet aspect is very achievable, and doesn’t require fennel flushes or mail order miracle berries. It’s normal, healthy food for normal, busy women and includes tips on how to dress your shape and make the best of your body. But aside from all that, it’s a bloody great read.
This was one of those books that you read while blow-drying your hair. Upside down. And while loading the dishwasher, splashing your feet with the contents of the whole day’s dishes and not caring. Or prop up in front of your cereal and fly into torrent of irrational rage when the boyfriend moves the milk and your book crashes down. Is it just me who does this?
Anyway, suffice to say I enjoyed the book, and you will too if you buy it / the magazine it comes free with – just maybe take it to the gym, not the couch like me 
Image from Amazon.com