Slim End Less

A girlfriend of mine has stuck to this eating regime for several months - she has had the flu twice, her once lush hair is brittle and she is pale as a ghost. But it works, she says, because her jeans have dropped a size.
We are so bedazzled by celebrity that women's magazines spend their lives telling us about celebrity faddish diets that allegedly work. They cite Cameron Diaz (apparently nothing white passes her lips), Jennifer Aniston (lives on the smell of a non-oily rag and works out three hours a day) and now our very own Magda Szubanski (Jenny Craig ambassador).
Magda looks fabulous but the Jenny Craig way is another trap. Pre-packaged meals work for three months or so and then the taste gets you down. The diet juggernaut has introduced recipes to - wait for it - prepare your own food. The heart of the diet, however, remains the microwaved wonders of Ms Craig.
I am now on a sensible eating plan. I have been persuaded that alcohol's calories are empty ones (boo) and I am exercising regularly. I feel good. This is the only regime that works.
The Prime Minister's taskforce will be lobbied heavily by the faddists in coming months. They will all come out of the woodwork, desperate to maintain their grip on our collective waistlines.
The slim bottom line is, though, that effective weight loss takes time and should never, ever involve a "diet". That word should be banned forever.