The Extreme Diet Hotel: Extremely Ridiculous OR Extremely Inspiring?

Every millennial bone in my body felt sickened as I watched this middle-aged, sour-faced, Russian Audrey Hepburn figured woman, confidently state that her ‘guests’ survived on a meagre 450 calories per day. Not healthy by any standards. Comments have included terms such as 'body shaming' and 'starvation', even going as far as 'promoting eating disorders'.

But here's the fundamental question: Do some of us need to be extreme to get what we want?

There’s an internal conflict within me. My mindset ranges from a 'body-positive-I’m-fine-as-I-am' mentality to 'die-hard-healthly-goal-chasing-weight-loss-warrior'. This TV show struck a significant cord within me. 

In our modern society, we constantly strive to be better, look better and feel better. Example: for those not blessed with a fast metabolism (i.e. me), weight loss is a familiar territory. But with all the body positive role models and affirmations swimming about, it can be difficult to discipline oneself. 

Ok, so this TV show is an extreme example. But to some degree, we need extreme in order to make changes in our ritualistic lives. I lost 4 stone, and I would definitely describe the gruelling discipline and motivation that I had to bring on a daily basis as 'extreme'. If I hadn't pushed through the days when I felt ill or tired, I wouldn't have succeeded. And so it is on this show. Galia, a.k.a The Slim Reaper, does not take anyone's shit. I respect that. Having Galia's no-bullshit approach to getting-the-fuck-on-with-it would really help a lot of people who are chasing goals. Some of us, myself included, have the tendency to be, dare I say it... snowflakes.

Essentially, I believe the message that we need to take from this seemingly satirical programme is that of perseverance. Any goal is achievable - IF you work for it. You cannot give up and expect results to follow. And this show demonstrates that, albeit in a rather ludicrous way. Nonetheless, an interesting watch. Especially as the groundskeeper sounds like Aleksandr Orlov (pictured below). 

Aleksandr Orlov (www.british-gazette.co.uk)

40 Years of Animal Aid

A look back at humble beginnings, as the largest animal rights pressure group in the UK celebrates its 40^th anniversary

Animal Aid was formed in 1977 by primary school teacher Jean Pink. Her inspiration came from philosopher Peter Singer’s book Animal Liberation, which uncovered the truth about factory farms, laboratories and vivisection. Her outrage was shared, and soon a group of likeminded people formed. They travelled to London every Wednesday to give out hand-made leaflets, which highlighted the truth about the torture that animals were suffering. The campaign was a success, and soon Animal Aid groups began forming across Britain rapidly. Jean gave up her job in order to devote all her time to campaigning. She established Animal Aid as a pressure group and set up an office in Tonbridge. This was the beginning of a modern animal liberation movement in the UK.

In 1987 the Living Without Cruelty Exhibition was organised at Kensington Town Hall. It was the first event of its time, and influenced the rise of vegan fairs which are now prominent across the country. This was followed by the Christmas Without Cruelty Fayre launched in 1993, which still takes place annually.

Education was their next focus, having already funded the independent Youth for Animal Rights. They formed the Animal Aid Youth Group in 1986, which spawned a successful and comprehensive campaign to end compulsory dissection for GCSE students.

Some of their most notable achievements include ceasing the sale of horse meat from Ascot, halting the production of a large primate experimenting facility at Cambridge University, and forcing John Lewis to disband its shooting club. One undercover investigation they generated exposed widespread illegal cruelty in slaughterhouses, and even resulted in two men being jailed. At the forefront of this particular campaign was ensuring that the UK’s ten largest supermarkets deal only with slaughterhouses that have CCTV installed.

Animal Aid campaigns against all forms of animal abuse and promotes a cruelty-free lifestyle by raising public awareness. They predominantly target the public, MPs and the media to share their message, as well as conducting undercover investigations to expose animal cruelty. Despite receiving no government funding, they provide teaching resources free of charge to schools, funded entirely through donations from members and supporters. Their campaign methods now include demonstrations, events, lobbying, and distributing films, leaflets, posters, factsheets and reports.

Animal Aid has gone from strength to strength, playing a fundamental role in activism for veganism and animal welfare, and will continue to do so for many years to come.

Jean Pink (front) joins demonstrators against animal research at Cambridge Uni. Circa 1980 (all images - credit animalaid.org.uk)

The F word

To the man that called me fat (and all of his predecessors):
thank you.

For making me run a little farther
a little harder
til I crossed the marathon finish line
for helping me wake up at 6am to
run before work
for teaching me the difference between
kindness and bullies.

but
I am tired
of apologising
for taking up extra space.

I am sick
of analysing every cm of my skin
praying for a number on a machine to decrease.

I am done
hating my softness
in a world full of hard.

I officially give up
trying to perfect
what I should already see as perfection.

So thank you
critics, bullies and arseholes
for showing me
that in the face of hate
and cruelty
the answer is always
Love.

Crying over spilt milk

So an EU court has decided that the word ‘milk’ is to solely be reserved for the white stuff that comes from animals. Not only this, but we can no longer use ‘butter’ or ‘cheese’, as these are ‘reserved for products that contain animal-derived dairy’.

Where do we draw the line now? Must we rename nut butters, body butters, lip butters and the like? Is sun-cream only to be named so if it contains dairy?

On the flipside, with the words now banned from dairy-free packaging, it will be a lot easier to navigate the supermarket aisles (especially for newbies).

Dairy-free products have steadily become more and more popular in recent years, owing to many factors including the vegan movement, discovering allergies, and the awakening of many eco-conscious souls (see: Cowspiracy). This has in turn created a deficit for dairy farms, which vegans believe has ignited scare-mongering, of which this new law could be a prime example.

At the end of the day, not calling the soy drink that I put in my coffee by the name ‘milk’ doesn’t make that much of a difference. I’m still calling it soy milk. Sue me. J



Alpro - milking it?

Blogging hiatus

A belated Happy New Year to you and yours.

It is with great regret and sadness that I announce the loss of my beloved father, who we lost on Christmas Day. Due to his suffering, I was absent from my writing, and indeed blogging. But I know he would urge me to return to it as soon as possible. 

So with his smile in my mind, I will return. Thank you for reading my blog, and I do hope you will continue to do so.

Peace and love. xoxo

Being Vegan Sucks

Yes, you heard me right, (or read me right?). I hate being a 'vegan'.

So why don't I go eat a bacon sandwich, you ask? Well, here's the thing.

I DON'T WANT TO EAT ANIMAL PRODUCTS. That's it really. I choose to not eat meat or dairy. It makes me feel healthier. And I love animals.

I wrote my dissertation on 'veganism', promoted the lifestyle and justified it using all the evidential support I could gather. I watched the documentaries, read the books, scoured the internet for facts. I learned the horrific truth, and now there's no way I can ignore it.

I don't preach. I don't care if you love steak, that's your prerogative, as this is mine. But I am so sick of being chastised because of the way I choose to eat. I don't judge your dietary habits, so why are you judging mine?

People ask questions; they're curious, naturally. What do vegans eat - they ask. Well, the answer to that is everything, bar flesh and dairy products. It really isn't that hard, otherwise we wouldn't do it.

I like the vegan community - some of them are militant which drives people away - but most of them are kind and caring souls, similar to myself. I choose to eat this way for compassion, for both animal and humankind.

The contradictions I see every day in meat-eaters enrage me. They despise animal cruelty, but don't think about it when buying cosmetics. They sign petitions to stop the Yulin dog-meat festival, yet sit there eating a ham sandwich whilst doing so. Where's the line? Why choose to care about some animals and not others? That's just my stance on it. But I don't call them out. I keep my mouth shut - I lock my opinions away, because it's the polite and correct thing to do. I'll answer truthfully - if I am asked. Otherwise, I stand by the phrase 'live and let live'. So why can't the rest of you let me live?

I'm sick of being painted with a vegan brush, labelled and almost excluded from this 'normality' that is meat-eating. So much so that I almost want to rebuke the label of 'vegan'. How sad is that?

If I simply said I had a lactose intolerance and an allergy to meat, no one would care. I would seldom be plagued with questions because it would be deemed intrusive and rude. I might be pitied for not being able to eat bacon, but I certainly wouldn't be asked question after question about my diet. So why is it that when the word 'vegan' comes into the equation, people think they're entitled to start plaguing me?

Please stop asking me ridiculous questions. I don't miss bacon, or any meat for that matter. I like vegetables, I eat plenty of protein, and no, I am not malnourished. I'm drinking a cappuccino, about to eat a packet of crisps. Surprisingly, crisps, which are made from potatoes can be vegan too. It's almost like it's a vegetable or something.

Running Away from Cancer

I have reached a dead end. Late nights, early mornings, too much coffee, not enough sleep. My light is faltering. I'm neglecting myself, pushing my mind to the limit, to distract myself from the reality.

My Dad has cancer. He's very unwell, and my life is changing in a way that I am struggling to comprehend. My Mum has only just recovered from cancer herself, and I really struggled during that time.

My health and fitness has declined, along with my mental health. It's time for me to slowly take back the reins of my own life, and empower myself.

Me being me, I like to challenge myself in the most ridiculous ways possible. So... I have decided to run the London marathon.

With the inspiration from my parents illness, and the urge to better myself, I feel that this challenge will push my every limit, and give me the answers that I need. At present, I'm looking for answers in places that will never give me any. I'm abusing myself with excess.

Time to heal.