Yue’s Yappings

Whoever said “you can never be too thin” must have visited China. Being size 2, with BMI (body mass index) of 19, I never thought I was too fat until I visited Shanghai. The streets of Shanghai are full of skinny women that look like they breathe air for food. Once my friend and I were walking down the street and saw a line of people that literally wrapped around a store for 2 miles. Being curious, we walked over and asked what was going on. It turned out the people were in line to buy the latest dieting pill imported from America.

Shopping for clothes in Shanghai can be very frustrating - the pants are narrow on the hip and shirts are tight on the chest. I often have to settle with size large.

Whether I like it or not, my friends in China often give me unsolicited comments about my chubbiness, some even going out of their way to squeeze my upper arm and tell me how fat I am. I am sure all of these comments mean well, it shows that my friends truly care for my wellbeing. But what I really want to tell them is how much I hate these comments, and that I am not fat by any stretch of the imagination. But I hold back my tong; instead, I just ignore the comments and ask politely “Please pass those yummy Shanghai dumplings.” I figure there is no point of dieting while I am in China with all the wonderful food that I can’t normally find in the US. I figure I’ll start a diet when I get back home.

On my last trip to China in June I learned of a diet called the “milk and apple diet.” Here it goes. Day 1- Eat and drink nothing but apples (limit to seven apples) all day; Day 2 - Eat nothing and drink only low fat milk. Day 3 - Eat normal food. Day 4, 5, 6 - repeat days 1, 2, 3. Continue with this process until you achieve your desired weight. Well, I started this diet when I returned to Denver, Day 1, after 4 apples and no water all day I was feeling hungry and mostly dehydrated. I never made it to Day 2.

I am so thankful that I am living in US where I am thinner than most people. As far as being fat in the eyes of my friends in Shanghai, I am not going to worry about it until my next trip to Shanghai.