ARE YOU TOO PLUMP ?

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 134, 27 August 1927, Page 20

ARE YOU TOO PLUMP ?

DIET AND EXERCISES THAT WILL GIVE YOU A SLIM SILHOUETTE To be too stout these days is a sartorial crime, and there are few penalties that a woman would not willingly endure rather than be dubbed fat. Very strenuous exercise is never necessary, and when indulged in, often brings lines and wrinkles to the face which were not there before. Besides, unaccustomed exercise imposes a strain on the heart, and should never be undertaken without medical advice. The woman who notices that she is putting on weight should make up her mind to deny herself her usual evening dinner. Let her make her chief meal the midday one, and refuse anything after six o’clock in the evening except a cup of weak tea or a little fresh fruit (bananas excepted). She should take a glass of hot water the last thing at night, and if she will give up her early tea in favour of a very small glass of hot water, t-o which the juice of a lemon has been added, she will soon find that her weight is steadily decreasing. A simple nourishing and at the same time weight-reducing diet such as the following, persevered with for at least three months, will result in a steady decrease in the measurements and weight of either man or woman.. Begin the day with a glass of hot water and lemon as suggested above. Breakfast.—One cup of tea, no sugar, and very little milk (China tea for preference), a lightly boiled egg, brown bread, no butter, and a little fresh fruit—orange, apple or pear. Midday.—Chop or steak, grilled, any green vegetables preferred (no potatoes or peas), fresh fruit, small quantity of cheese and dry biscuit, no butter. Tea.—-Cup of tea, no sugar, very little milk, dry biscuit. 6 p.m.—Fruit, glass of water with fresh lemon juice, no sugar, dry biscuits. A cup of weak tea and an orange are allowed between six o’clock and bed time. A simple exercise which will be very beneficial to those anxious to reduce weight, can be practised night and morning for from five to ten minutes. Stand erect, with the feet apart, toes turned out, and hands placed lightly on hips. Twist the body from the waist-line, moving it to the right as far. as possible, but keeping the knees rigid and without moving the feet, which should be planted firmly on the ground. Then, with a quick movement, twist the body round to the left. Return to original position and repeat. This exercise has a wonderfully slimming effect, and helps to make the muscles of the back and waist supple.

THE TODDLER’S MEALS When the baby is promoted from an all-milk diet toward the end of his first year, it seems as if he had a most delightful vai'iety of menus. But it must be remembered that this variety has to last a whole year. There is practically nothing that can safely be added to his food until he is over two years of age. It is, unfortunately, common to find children who were robust and contented infants developing into disappointing toddlers, and the explanation is almost invariably to be found in unwise feeding after the simple allmilk diet. Mothers are too apt to think that after he is 18 months old the baby can be classed with older children as taking “anything that’s going” with the exception of a few very rich dishes. It should be realised that until the child is two years old nothing should be added to the diet allowed at 15 months. The chief foods eggs, beef juice, milk puddings, sprouts, spinach, boiled lettuce, steamed white fish, porridge, bread, butter, honey and stewed fruit juice. Stewed prunes and dates pulped down are excellent. Strawberries and bananas must be avoided as they are apt to bring out a rash. Cabbage is not good, and no new potatoes should be given. Indeed, potatoes should not appear in the toddler’s menus more than twice a week. They are too starchy and form useless flabby fat. Brown bread or rusks should be mashed in his gravy instead. Calves’ loot jelly and the pulp of a baked apple should be given as often as possible. All salt foods, such as bacon, are absolutely taboo, but in the winter a good breakfast dish for the toddler is bread dipped in bacon fat, this being extremely heat-giving. As most of the food is of a mushy nature, it is important to give the child plenty of hard crusts to gnaw. The friction helps the circulation in the gums round the roots of the teeth. Almost every child can take the yolks of eggs, though the albumen of the whites may disagree with him.