"101 things to do before you diet" and "Practical Parenting - siblings"

Two books I've read this week, both from the library:


101 things to do before you diet by Mimi Spencer.
I usually run like the wind when I hear the word "fashion" so have never come across fashion writer Mimi Spencer before.  She writes brilliantly.  Her writing is intelligent, entertaining and very readable.  There aren't many people who could make a book about weight and body image such non-put-downable fun!


The book starts out by pointing out that we are all permanently on a diet, and yet as a nation we keep putting on weight - so dieting obviously doesn't work.  It then gives hints and tips on how to feel good about your body - which makes you look better!  Here are a few:  
6 - Laugh in the face of celebrity magazines - basically stop believing that the image they portray is either normal or aspirational.  Even the supermodels and supercelebs, who have their own personal trainer and dietician and who work full time to keep their skinny figures that way, are air-brushed in these magazines - it's all lies!
11 - Eat a decent breakfast
22 - Perfect your posture
30 - drink more soup
42 - find the right jeans
54 - practise calorie skimming by eliminating the easy things - i.e. lose sugar in tea, leave mayo out of sandwiches, eat sorbet not ice-cream etc.
68 - wear heels (this one's not for me so I'll move swiftly on...
76 get a hairstyle that works with your face, not the face of the girl in the magazine
81 - get busy - this is in a chapter about exercise an is about integrating more activity into your every day life
91 - aim for less stress


I think this book is great.  I'll be skimming through it again to get a few of these tips wedged in my psyche before I return the book to the library.  I may even borrow it again.  I might even buy it!


Practical Parenting - Siblings by Dr Richard Woolfson
I managed to finish this book in one evening while trying to settle Little Sister to sleep, so it isn't particularly hard going.  It talks about the pros and cons of different age gaps, introducing new baby, strategies to ease relationships, deal with rivalry, prevent too much competition or jealousy etc.  Not rocket science.