Teta* wanted to lose ten kilogrammes. Her friend advised her to eat only rice and pineapples for two weeks but even before a week was done she had had enough.

"I was supposed to add hot water, juice and milk once a week to that diet. When a week was almost up my stomach was burning and the pain was so unbearable that I couldn’t stay on the diet one more minute,” Teta remembers. 

She has tried several diets but none of them seem to work. 

"I always quit every diet I try along the way. I don’t know if it’s my system that does not collaborate with them or I’m just paranoid to the extent that I can’t even lose a pound,” Teta reveals. 

Susan* has two sisters. She hated the fact that she couldn’t share their lovely clothes with them simply because she was too rotund. So she decided to go on a diet 

"My sisters would give away their sexy outfits to other people because I was too fat to even wear their t- shirts. When I decided to diet, I was so determined that I spent two days without having a decent meal. I started having only water and fruits for three weeks and a serious meal one day a week. I ended up getting sick and was admitted to hospital with severe complications,” Suzan explains.

She adds, "During the first week of the water and fruits diet, the craving for different food was so high but my determination to lose weight and fit into those sexy outfits drove me forward. No matter what. I didn’t know I was putting my life in danger.” 

The doctors at the hospital she was admitted to advised her to eat a balanced diet and in the required volumes instead of feeding on water and fruits. 

What is the most unhealthy celebrity diet?

The one thing that you will hear many women these days talk about is dieting to lose weight but at the same time staying curvy.  The question that must be asked is whether the media is pushing the idea of a  ‘thin curvy woman’ as the ‘ideal woman’, or celebrities’ instead? 

Recently in an article published by the Dailymail newspaper, ‘Is this the most unhealthy celebrity diet ever?’ Actress Alice Eve reveals she slimmed down for a role by eating nothing but SPINACH in a bid to slim down for her role as Dr Carol Marcus in Star Trek: Into Darkness.

From Beyonce’s maple syrup and lemon fast to Mariah Carey’s purple food only regime, celebrities are no strangers to bizarre food diets. 

An expert view on dieting 

Gerald Ruzindana, a Nutritionist with Amazon Nutrition Centre Remera said that dieting requires eating nutritious foods. 

"Nutritious meals are more about the quality of the food one consumes rather than the specific quantity,” Ruzindana explained. 

He also said that gaining weight is a result of consuming excessive specific types of foods. 

"Fatty foods such as red meat, sugary beverages and milk products to mention a few, if consumed extensively create high weight-gaining risks. The danger of these kinds of foods is body imbalance. Food is supposed to be our initial kind of medicine, so if you don’t feed well, you are not treating the body to the required standards,” Ruzindana disclosed.  

He further said that the body requires exercising so that you can burn the calories at the same rate we consume them. 

"The best way to burn calories is through exercising; make appropriate use of the food that you consume. For example walking twice a week for 30 minutes will benefit the body,” he added. 

He said, "Putting on weight means that the body is receiving a lot more fat than it actually requires. The whole point in dieting is that people should know the nutrition compositions that the body requires. There are macro and micro nutrients that the body requires. For example the macro nutrients most important for the body and required in large quantity include vitamins and carbohydrates, while micro nutrients are required in small quantities for example fats, minerals zinc, potassium and many others.” 

According to Akaliza Keza Gara, Founder and CEO at Shaking Sun, before embracing these unrealistic diets, one should first of all find out if they are leading a healthy lifestyle. 

"Although I’m not an expert in dieting to lose weight, I believe that exercising is the most effective way to lose weight and stay healthy.  I tried to diet but I completely failed because I would forget sometimes,” Akaliza explains.

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HAVE YOUR SAY

I would prefer to seek expert advice together as a couple lest my partner gets any complications stemming from my request to lose weight. If the best way is exercising, I would make sure we go to the gym or take evening walks together.

McDavis Genza, CEO Show Time Events

**

I would advise my partner to lose weight but how I talk to her about the weight issue matters. I wouldn’t let her use any chemicals. I would go with her to an expert and get advice on the safest way to lose weight. I wouldn’t allow her to embrace unrealistic diet programs.

Ismael Ntihabose, Managing Director CINEDUC Rwanda

**

Yes, I would tell him. I don’t want to admire other men when I have my own. I would let it out regardless of how mad it will make him because that is one step towards making it happen. If my partner starts boring me with overweight issues then it won’t work out.

Kiruta Sharifa, student