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One evening, I dropped by a roadside food stall for an early dinner. As the place was crowded, I shared a table with a tall and skinny young woman and her tough-looking boyfriend.

They stood out among the other diners because of their fashionable appearance. Their conversation turned out to be as interesting as their looks. I was not eavesdropping. They talked quite freely even with me at the table. Or, at least, that’s my alibi for overhearing their conversation.

“It’s not easy, you know, after my hospital stay,’’ the girl said. “I keep feeling hungry all the time. But if I eat, my body will soon balloon.’’

She puffed on her cigarette incessantly as she ranted. The friend lent a sympathetic ear.

Then the food arrived. On her plate were two pieces of steamed tofu topped with plenty of sambal (chili sauce) and no rice. On her friend’s plate was a scrawny piece of grilled fish and a bit of rice. Mine, on the contrary, had two robust grilled squid, tofu and a plate full of rice.

She didn’t even look at her food. While her friend and I attacked our meals with gusto, her eyes remained fixated on her BlackBerry. Maybe she was trying to push aside the image of her unappetizing dinner. She looked miserable as she toyed with her tofu. When there were only crumbs left on her plate, she kept scavenging as though she hoped there would be more than what met the eye.

“I’m still hungry,’’ she sighed.

“Maybe you should try brown rice from the supermarket,” her friend said. “I’ve heard it’s not fattening.’’

“But it doesn’t taste as good as the white,’’ she lamented.

I couldn’t agree more and decided to order a second helping.

When my rice came, steaming hot, she eyed my plate with envy.

“I heard koko (brother) has a bottle of arak (alcohol made from fruits or grains) from China that suppresses appetite,’’ she said, lighting another cigarette. “Maybe I could order one from him.’’

“Yeah, you could try that,’’ her friend said, lost in his own thoughts.

She went back to her BlackBerry. Suddenly her face lit up and she said, “You know what? Kimmy, Dina and Sita are coming to my place tonight. We’re going to watch ‘America’s Next Top Model’ together.’’

“Yeah, maybe you can learn a few tricks from the show,’’ her friend said, now immersed in his own BlackBerry. Her eyes sparkled and for once, her pale face looked alive and animated.

I watched with a satiated stomach as she walked off on stilettos carrying two water bottles.

“She’s a model, isn’t she?’’ I asked the food stall keeper as he was clearing the table.

“Perhaps,’’ he said, with a dreamy smile. “She’s beautiful.’’

She was indeed picture perfect. But was it worth her suffering? Isn’t it more important to eat well, especially after a hospital stay? Is it worth denying oneself a well-balanced meal for the sake of beauty?

Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against dieting. In fact, I believe watching one’s weight can be good for your body. But avoiding essential nutrients just to keep calorie intake down is not a healthy way to lose weight.

“The main goal should be to keep your body healthy,” said Riani Susanto, a naturopathic doctor. “You shouldn’t force yourself to get thin. Instead, you should aim to be your best and healthiest self. You’ll look good when you feel good about yourself.”

Dear girl, whoever you are, maybe it has always been your dream to be a fashion model. But if it drives your health downhill, maybe you should consider a different path. Perhaps you could consult your gym instructor or nutritionist. They could draw up a healthy exercise and dieting program for you.

“Everyone is unique and different,” Riani said. “So there is no diet formula that works for all.”

Dave Nuku, a trainer on TV show “Biggest Loser Asia,” suggested exercising with friends. It’s easy to get bored when you’re doing jumping jacks alone, but doing the same thing among friends and sharing some laughs might encourage you to return to the gym the next day.

As for me, and the rest of us who don’t need to get slim for our jobs, I think it’s OK to be a little plump in all the right places, as long as our bodies are fit and healthy.

 

Sylviana Hamdani is a senior features reporter for the Jakarta Globe.