Lifestyle Choices

Most people who are plump are jolly and good natured. They are pleasant and easy going and not at all hard to get along with—until perhaps they take it into their heads to begin to reduce! Most of them are full of alibis and reasons for their extra weight. Except in rare cases there is only one reason why any of them are plump and well padded. They just love to eat!

“What’s the use?” they wail. “Everything I eat turns to fat. I just can’t lose weight.” This is probably true, partly because of the way they are going about it.

Going on a reducing diet is no new experience for most of these people. Usually they have tried all kinds of diets, liberal and otherwise. For a time they succeed, but in the end they often find themselves back at the same old level, far above the average for their height and age. Sometimes they are the butt of unfortunate jokes among their friends. In desperation they determine once and for all to lose weight. They are invariably in a hurry to do this. Some abandon food altogether for a time, only to return to their former eating habits with a vengeance and perhaps add a few more pounds. This is not a sensible way to lose weight. (more…)

Try to avoid having a fitted carpet under the dining table; it will stain very fast indeed. If you have fitted carpet, put a patterned rug on it — easier than the carpet to take away and clean.

Don’t have white or very pale floors of any sort — paint, carpet, rugs, linoleum, tiles — unless you are prepared for cleaning headaches.

Every home editor I know has had some sort of pale floor trauma before she learned her lesson.

Kitchen floor covering should be non-slip, not cold or hard to the feet, easy to clean and hardwearing. Sealed cork is all of these things. (Wicanders have the best selection.) Otherwise use good-quality PVC tiles or linoleum. Avoid ceramic tiles which are very hard on the feet, though practical. (more…)

ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT A CONTINENTAL QUILT

Acontinental quilt almost eliminates bedmaking. A good continental quilt (or duvet) can be the equivalent of at least three blankets and can cost and weigh considerably less than conventional bed clothes.

You’re supposed to make the bed only using a bottom sheet and a quilt cover, but I use two sheets traditionally and keep the quilt in its special case until spring cleaning time comes round.

You may want to know the difference between an eiderdown and a continental quilt and whether you can use a double bed eiderdown as a single quilt? No, not efficiently, because the eiderdown is tightly packed and crushed down and there are no air pockets to trap the warm air round you, as does the quilt, on the same principle as a string vest. (more…)

I took my first unconscious step towards female emancipation and away from martyrdom when I decided that, instead of teaching the au pair girl to cook for the children, it might be a better investment of time to teach the children to cook for the au pair. After all, I don’t change the children every year. For the first time they always ate what was put before them and they eventually asked to do the shopping, a task which they performed far more frugally than I.

The next step was to find a new job for the au pair, and to invest the money saved on wages in anti-drudge machines. One was the fridge-freezer, the other was the dishwasher, and any working woman with a family could regard these as business investments to offset against her wages in the family budget. The cost of both machines was equivalent to the au pair’s wages for eighteen months, not taking her keep into account. Furthermore, I’ll never have to do the freezer’s homework and the dishwasher is hardly likely to have an affair with my husband. (more…)

Should you work part-time or full- time? It depends on your needs. When I had my first baby I did part- time design work at home. Then I worked full-time from an office with resident home help. Then I worked full-time at home with no home help. Now I work at home, full-time during the term and theoretically not at all during school holidays. I have found it easiest (but not always possible) to go out to work full-time, and pay for adequate home help. For me working part-time seemed to involve twice the work for half the money with none of the office perks and protection. (more…)

Full-time or part-time shop assistant: Hard on the feet but can be more interesting than office work if you like meeting people. Part-time work is often easier on Saturdays.

Stocking shelves in supermarkets, to prepare for the next day, is one example of evening preparation work. Ask the manager of your local supermarket if there’s anything going.

Welfare workers are largely women. Child care officers are needed (training from one to three years necessary) so are youth club workers, youth employment officers, young people’s advisers (being married is a qualification and it’s possible to do as little as thirteen hours a week work). (more…)

Training: If you have had training you can probably find job opportunities through your professional body or through reading or advertising in your professional journal.

Assuming that you haven’t had any training prior to marriage and aren’t coping with pre-school age children, what is available? Most women are unskilled. Only 6 per cent receive any further training when they leave school. However, there are suitable training courses for `mature students’, the official description of any woman over twenty- three. You can exploit a talent which you already possess and are practising in your home (sewing or cooking) or be trained by a firm who wishes to employ you, or at one of the many courses at a local technical college. Generally what is difficult to acquire isn’t really the training, or even the job, but the determination to forget embarrassment, laziness or shyness — and go out and get it. (more…)

When, despite all your precautions of good diet, lots of rest, and proper exercise, you do find yourself with a cold or flu, don’t fight it! Listen to Mom and the family doctor, take your medicine, stay in bed, and try to get well. Remember, with a little bed rest and proper treatment, you should be back on your feet again soon.

The best cold-fighting diet is fruits, fruit juices, lots of tea with lemon and honey, and light meals like soups, plain chicken, or fish. Avoid rich foods such as milk, cream, and chocolate, which will only thicken the phlegm in your throat, making you feel worse. (more…)

Never underestimate the statement-making impact of the right shoes; the right pair can really carry your look! Never before have there been so many shapes, styles, materials, and colors from which to choose. Study the list below; how many of these do you own?

• Ballerina flats. Round-toed, flat pumps that are graceful and flattering for all but the very shortest of girls. Have several pair in a variety of colors to meet almost any fashion need, from prom dress to toreador pants.
• D’Orsay pump. A strapless, slip-on shoe with a wedge-shaped heel that widens at top, then tapers to a point.
• Espadrille. A flat shoe with a canvas upper and a flexible, rope or hemp sole. A great summer choice. Try a pair that lace up your ankles teamed with a long, flowing skirt.

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Shop with your head, not just your heart, and you’ll be sure to get the most from your foot-wise purchase. Touch the shoes you’re going to buy; rub your hand over suede shoes; the color should be consistent but look different each way. If it doesn’t, the nap is too short and it will wear poorly … If the shoes are unlined, take careful note: does the color come off on your fingers? If the answer is yes, you can bet that it will come off on your feet too … Velvet shoes should be thick and soft looking, feel plushy to the touch … With silk or other fabrics, check the edge where cloth meets sole; (more…)

Your poor feet! Walking, running, dancing, jogging, basketball and pogo sticks, stiletto heels and pointy toes—do they ever get a rest from all the abuse they’re forced to take? The tips below will help get your feet looking—and feeling—their very best, day or night. You don’t have to visit a fancy beauty salon to benefit from these footwise suggestions.

1. For swollen feet that are really beat, soak in cool salt water for five minutes. Dry carefully and moisturize.
2. To step up circulation, soak feet for five minutes in shallow footbath or tub of warm water; switch to cool, and keep soaking for an additional five minutes. You’ll be ready to dance the night away.

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Other things contribute to back troubles too—like poor nutrition, which results in stored waste in the tissues and the accumulation of fat, which puts far too much strain on heavily taxed muscles. You shouldn’t sleep on a bed that is too soft either—it won’t give enough support to your spine

and there is always the danger of hanging on to muscle tension left over from the daytime or putting too much of an unnatural curve in your spine during sleep. But you needn’t go out and buy an expensive orthopedic mattress. A simple, firm mattress on top of a board will do fine. (more…)

Lean is supposed to be beautiful. As a result, some women spend most of their adult lives trying to get thin and stay that way. For, in our society, thinness has become a symbol of loveliness, success, self-control, and social acceptability—and being overweight the twentieth-century bete noire of womanhood. You know the kind of thing: “Lose that nasty twenty-five pounds with our super new slenderizing regimen and it will transform your life into a wonderful world of bliss.” Well, don’t believe it. (more…)

Feet are more important to beauty than most women ever realize. When they ache, not only are your posture and movements affected, so is your complexion and your energy level. Nothing brings a haggard, older look to an unlined face like sore feet. Also, one of the most common complaints with which doctors are faced is fatigue. And behind this fatigue lies an unnoticed foot problem.

Little wonder, when you consider that city dwellers walk an average of ten miles a day. All your weight is borne by twenty-six little bones, some of which are the most delicate in the body. (more…)

Varicose veins are the most serious enemies of leg beauty. But they are not the accident of nature that many women believe. The problem is virtually unknown amongst native populations living on a diet of natural unrefined foods. But studies show that as soon as our highly refined Western diet of convenience foods arrives in a country, varicose veins start to appear. The hidden constipation that results from living on the average Western diet lacking in natural fiber from whole grains and raw vegetables is one of the prime causes of varicose veins, for uneliminated wastes in the intestines put constant pressure on the blood vessels supplying blood to and from the legs. Long-term overweight is another factor in the development of varicose veins. (more…)

Wash them every day, making a rich lather and massaging it over the soles of the feet. With a loofah, gently rub the tops and soles of the feet, not forgetting the heels, to loosen the dead skin cells, and with a soft nail brush, gently brush the tips of the nails from side to side. Rinse them well in warm water and if there is any hard skin to remove, rub a pumice stone over it. Finally, rinse again in warm water and then splash with cold. Dry your feet thoroughly by wrapping them in a towel and gently rubbing and patting them, then rub dry carefully between and behind the toes until absolutely all the moisture is gone. This is important in order to protect them from infection. If your feet tend to sweat, give them a light rubdown with alcohol. If they ache, massage some cider vinegar into the soles to cool and refresh them, or make a hot and cold footbath—three minutes of hot followed by thirty seconds of cold—and end with a good friction rub with a soft towel. Finally, dust each foot with dusting powder. (more…)

One of the best things you can do for your feet is to walk barefoot. Wearing exercise sandals is the next best thing. When your feet are free of shoes and hose they relax and stretch; exercise sandals are designed to let the feet do this. They follow the natural contour of the foot, imitating and slightly exaggerating the effect of walking barefoot. This is great for toes as they grip and then relax from the gripper bar with every step. But exercise sandals are just that—meant for exercise, not all-day wearing. You can tire yourself and develop bulky muscles in the calves if you wear them too much. (more…)

When problems arise, deal with them immediately. A corn or a callus is a simple thing to treat if you act right away. If you wait it can turn into a serious problem in time.

1. Calluses Areas where the skin is hard, calluses are really a form of protection devised by the foot that is sufferering from pressure or friction. They can be removed by soaking your feet and then rubbing with a pumice stone or special foot scraper. You can also spread petroleum jelly over the callus and then wear a cotton sock over it to bed. When you get up in the morning, it will be easier to remove. Thick calloused areas will need several treatments. (more…)

Another useful external treatment for cellulite is hydrotherapy. It is part of la cure in many of the best European spas. It works on the same principle that massage does, by improving circulation and gently but insistently breaking down the pockets of tissue sludge. There are two types. The first uses powerful jets of water directed onto the surface of the skin. The second involves the alternative plunging of the body into hot and cold water. (more…)

Water is the finest solvent in the world. It dissolves dirt on the outside of the skin and carries nutrients to and wastes away from the cells inside. Many a fine-skinned grandmother claims her exquisite complexion is the result of washing with pure water and soap. And health spas have long relied on the magic of water—hot and cold—mixed with mud, herbs, the essential oils of plants, or carefully selected mineral salts to smooth skin, relax tense muscles, refine pores, and revitalize bodies. But there is a real art to hydrotherapy. To make the most of bathing for health and beauty, you need to know the many ingredients that go into it and why each matters. (more…)