I often get messages that read somewhat like this: “Weight Loss plan that WORKS! Lose upto 5 Kgs or More. Get...1 MONTH DETOX IN A BOX! Use code DETOX 40 & Get FLAT 40% OFF.” This links to a website where the “celebrity nutritionist” asks if we have “No time for exercise? No time for dietician?” Like the two are basic necessities of life. The product is sold on the basis of “inner cleansing” — not the kind that people go to church for — but the kind that “flushes out toxins”.
Meanwhile, a friend had an ad from her housing colony in Gurugram, which said, in all-capital letters, “Dear member, lose weight without exercising. Is it possible? Learn how intermittent fasting works to change your body from within.” The talk was going to be presented by a person who represented a brand of foods that facilitated weight loss, the website of which declares, “Weight loss plans: No hard work no exercise.”
Both are selling products and services by touching on so many raw nerves: our insecurities about being overweight, our dread of exercise, and our hope that life can (and must) be easier not harder.
My generation — X they call us, like the elusive algebraic letter that never knew its own value — has had it rough. We didn’t have role models who played sport for its enjoyment, with the result that we now have a generation of competitive people who are so busy registering for runs and positioning themselves next to the photographer so they can post a sweaty pic on social media. The corporate world — we were the first generation introduced to MNCs, remember — has linked it to goals, which means we must either look at weight-loss or some sort of landmark (30 marathons in 30 days).
For women, most of our mums didn’t exercise, spending a lot of time in the kitchen (even when they were menstruating, so you know what they’re going to be in their next life, if you believe a particular Swami). As children, many of us girls simply stood on the sidelines of the field feeling awkward in our skirts, hoping the games period would end soon.
It’s no wonder we find exercise boring, scary, tiring. We look terrible in tights, and we’re in awe of the few kitted-out folks running with ease in the park. Better to hide in the house and go with a “detox in a box” or a “subscription menu”.
The truth is, we do need to exercise, but we don’t need to join a gym, run a marathon, swim in the sea. We simply need to walk at least 30 minutes a day, breaking a sweat, in comfortable clothes. And ignore the false messaging that marketeers perpetuate.
