IN ancient Africa calling you fat was a compliment. It meant that one was more healthy and beautiful. There were no skinny models, fashion icons or Hollywood stars that society is glorifying as the epitome of beauty today.

The obsession for being slim is the new fad. The media and society has generally framed beauty to mean small and skinny. 

Rwandan women, especially young girls have not been left out on this trend.  Teenagers and university girls are starving in a bid to look small and sexy like the super models in exotic fashion magazines. They skip meals and survive on ‘dry’ tea in the pursuit of achieving a model’s figure. 

Jacinta Uwamahoro, a mother of three says the trend is worrying as more girls are resorting to crazy dieting habits to look slim and sexy. 

Sylvia Uwase was desperate to look trendy on her wedding day. She had to lose over 30kgs in three months so that she could fit in her wedding gown. 

Uwase sought advice from friends on how to lose weight fast and she was introduced to tablets that would do the trick.

"My friend Joan had lost weight in the space of a month so I asked her what she used and that’s when she told me of a shop in town where they sell slimming products. I went to the shop which is downtown and bought the slimming tablets,” Uwase explains.

She embarked on popping of three pills per day.  She adds that she started feeling nauseous and dizzy after two weeks of taking the tablets. 

"I lost about 10kgs in a space of two weeks. But I started feeling dizzy constantly. I went to see the doctor and I got a shocking revelation. He told me the slimming tablets have serious side effects including affecting my fertility. I was shocked and it scared me to death,” Uwase discloses. 

She adds: "Although I was able to fit into my wedding gown, as I walked down the aisle, the only thing that came to my mind was the possibility of not having children because I wanted to lose weight. I thank God that after eight months I was able to conceive.  Now, when other friends come for weight loss tips, I tell them to go seek professional help.”

The crazy dieting habbits   

Some of the crazy diets that women take on to lose weight include feeding on fruits and vegetables for weeks, missing meals like lunch and dinner and surviving on snacks for breakfast, among other diets they read about online or hear from friends. 

Jolly Iribagiza, a budget officer with the Ministry of Disaster and Refugees, says that she was once determined to lose weight and went on a diet. 

"I have used strict dieting to lose weight because one loses a lot of weight in a matter of days. I must say that the reason I found it easy was because I am not consistent with exercise routines or the gym,” Iribagiza says. 

27-year-old Iribagiza adds that she was under no pressure when she went on diet; she did so for health reasons. 

"There were times when I fed only on fruits and vegetables as a seven day dieting routine and I lost about 11kilogrammes in a few weeks. But of course after that, I went back to having normal meals,” says Iribagiza.

Several of these crazy diets have side effects and they include abnormal drop in body lipids, which can lead to poor metabolic functions, excessive loss of body nutrients,  poor energy formation and function, insomnia and abrupt rise in body calories because a person might increase their appetite eventually.

Realistic alternatives for losing weight 

Patricia Garuka, who works with Bralirwa, says that routine exercise is the best way to naturally shed off excessive weight. 

"I don’t diet to lose weight because it’s not sustainable. I exercise in the morning because in the evening I have to spend time with my children. At first it seemed hard and I needed to be disciplined but now my body is used to,” Garuka reveals.

Garuka says that she finds it unrealistic to feed on only vegetables and fruits in the name of cutting wait. 

"I understand the best way to lose weight is to watch out on what one is eating but I think it’s unhealthy to eat only vegetables and fruits in the name of losing weight. You have to balance the foods you eat. For instance you don’t have to pick on one kind of food to lose weight,” Garuka explains. 

She adds: "I try to limit what I eat. I have maintained the three day exercise routine per week and I’m happy to say that I have lost weight. I will continue to do so just to keep my body in shape.”

Gerald Luzindana, a nutrition consultant with Amazon Nutrition and Complementary Therapy says that weight loss should be about balancing the body mass index and fat levels which should always be monitored irrespective of the methods used.

"Weight gain is when someone puts on weight that is higher than their body mass which leads to accumulation of excessive fats in the body,” Luzindana explains. 

He advises that for anyone planning to lose weight, they should first consult a specialist to check one’s health before getting into any weight loss programme.

"Women are more conscious about their weight than men and this has led them to desperate weight loss measures. People shouldn’t follow their instincts as far as health and nutrition is concerned because we are emotional beings and if someone is desperate to lose weight, they might do just about anything to lose weight without putting into consideration the side effects,” says Luzindana. 

He adds that gaining weight or being overweight is linked to one’s lifestyle but research has also linked obesity to genetic factors.   In order for people to effectively lose weight they must know what it means to gain weight or to be overweight, Luzindana says.

Having excess weight means that one’s body is digesting more calories than it expels yet under normal circumstances we are supposed have a balance in what we digest and what comes out in form of energy. 

Luzidana says that natural ways of losing weight include snacking on foods with low calories like potato chips, popcorn, and fruits which help boost the metabolism of fats in the body. Eating foods high in fibres also stimulates the digestive system hence giving the body a good metabolism, and these include vegetables. 

As for speeding up the metabolism one has to work out, rest, take plenty of water, snack smart, eat more complex protein, resort to natural foods, sip on some black tea, and recharge with green tea.