It’s shawl time!

Dear Mary,

I don’t know if I’m right in saying that shawls and ponchos are appropriate to wear only with long gowns. As such, for a 2:30 p.m. wedding of a dear friend (reception follows immediately in a function hall 10 minutes away from the church), is it right for me to wear a tube top and a-little-above-the-knee semi-A line chiffon skirt with a poncho or shawl of the same material? Could you suggest a suitable attire?

I’m really terribly pressured to come up with something that would look good on my dear friend’s big day. – Shawl Girl

Your outfit sounds just fine to me. Shawls, depending on the material, can be worn at any time of the day – yes, even in the evening. I always wear my pashmina to afternoon Mass, because of the air-conditioning in church. – Mary

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Home Remedy For Eye Bags

Dear Tingting,

I’m in my late 40s and my problem is my puffy eye bags. Is there a cream that could remove eye bags? What can you suggest? – Eyebag Lady

Sometimes, having eye bags is genetic. Vitamin C can tighten the skin’s eye area. One home remedy is cold water. Soak a tea bag or cucumber in cold water and apply on eyes for 10 minutes. – Tingting

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Desperately Seeking To Be Slim

Hi Lucy!

I’m 17 years old, tall and chubby. I want to have a slim body. I try to exercise every morning, but I’m not getting any thinner. I’ve been dieting for eight months now, but my body is still the same. What can I do to have the slim body that I want? – Not Totally Chubby

I wonder what your diet is. There must be something you are not doing quite right. I am clueless as to how to help you as there are so many diets out there and you did not specify which diet you are on.

First off, how do you define a diet? I hope you are not starving yourself, skipping a couple of meals and then binging on a high-caloric one, which just won’t work. Or are you on a very high-carb diet? Remember, just because you stay away from meat does not automatically mean you will lose weight. What kind of exercise do you do? Cardiovascular activities are calorie burners and this, supplemented by a healthy diet, will make you lose weight. Look into the Atkins diet. In principle, this diet encourages you to control the amount of carbohydrates you eat, allowing your blood-sugar level to stabilize, thus making you crave food less and feel full of energy all day. But exercise has to go hand in hand with your diet. Do avoid crash dieting because it just won’t be worth it in the long run. – Lucy

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The 3-Day Diet, For The Nth Time

In response to scores of requests, we’re reprinting the 3-day diet for the umpteenth time:

Day 1

Breakfast: Black coffee or tea, 1/2 grapefruit or juice, 1 toast with 1 Tbsp. peanut butter

Lunch: 1/2 cup of tuna, 1 toast, black coffee or tea

Dinner: 3 oz. any lean meat, 1 cup green beans, 1 cup carrots plus 1 apple, 1 cup regular vanilla ice cream

Day 2

Breakfast: Black coffee or tea, 1 egg, 1 toast, 1/2 banana

Lunch: 1 cup cottage cheese or tuna, 8 regular saltine crackers, black coffee or tea 

Dinner: 2 beef franks, 1 cup broccoli or cabbage, 1/2 cup carrots plus 1/2 banana plus 1 apple, 1/2 cup regular vanilla ice cream

Day 3

Breakfast: Black coffee or tea, 5 regular saltine crackers, 1 oz. cheddar cheese, 1 apple

Lunch: 1 boiled egg, 1 toast, black coffee or tea 

Dinner: 1 cup tuna, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup cauliflower, 1 cup melon, 1/2 cup regular vanilla ice cream plus 1 apple

To find out more about the 3-day diet, there are a lot of websites on this diet.

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