Towards a fitter image

I'm not a fitness guru nor a dietician but keeping fit really is essential as far as prolonging life is concerned and also speaks to the image you portray. If you keep fit you feel well - if you feel well, you look good I think! Too boot, clothes look, hang, and drape better on a fitter body as today much of what we wear is about fit and cut.

There also seems to be a misplaced notion that wealth and girth are intrinsically linked in a positive manner. You don’t need to have the body fat of an elite marathon runner but neither is taking up two seats on a plane considered kosher anymore - it's true you'll pay double on some airlines! It's ok to have a little extra weight around you so long as it is not shortening your life expectancy nor hindering your ability to carry out your day to day activities.

In the good old days before colonization we spent a large part of our time roaming the plains and eating sparsely. Modern life has brought these activities to a grinding halt and there seems to be a marked lack of exercise accompanied by an alarming increase in Kenchic Inns. Trying to stay fit is vital at this point in human evolution, in fact anything to get the heart pumping. The exercise options available are so many from kick boxing, aerobics, yoga, weight lifting even walking instead of using the car, or taking the stairs rather than the lift. If the thought of jogging for miles appalls you and you cannot get (or afford) a gym, there are exercises you can do at home. Even ten minutes every other day is better than nothing.

It’s all very well to exercise every day but it has to be coupled with discipline when it comes to diet. You are what you eat! To look good, feel good and create a positive image we need to eat foods that are going to help replenish cells quickly, give us energy as well as give us pleasure too (it doesn’t have to be a diet of cherry tomatoes and black tea). If our diet is not well balanced, we'll experience low energy levels that can affect confidence in both professional and personal life. If we are tired, irritable and lethargic through a poor diet, there is no way we are going to perform at our best at work.

As we get older our weight redistributes itself around the body, sadly often ending up as a spare tire around our middle. The premise of this piece is that diet and exercise can help, but it is important not to fight too hard against nature. There is pressure to look a certain way but for many of us, it is not what nature intended, so look at your body and ask yourself how easy it is going to be to achieve the shape and weight you want to be. Most people do wish to be leaner but we should not get hung up on trying to lose too much weight. It is essential however that we keep fit, and not allow the body run to too much fat. Most people who are overweight eat too much of the wrong kind of foods. Over indulging in nyama choma, beer, masala chips, and ovenfuls of white bread are clearly hazardous for health and weight. Cutting out junk and fatty foods, drinking plenty of water (at least a litre a day), snacking on fruit instead of crisps, eating smaller portions, eating plenty of leafy green vegetables and making sure to chew the food properly all help. It really can be as simple as that. It is also a good idea to have two or three alcohol free days a week, you know who you are. Also calculating your body mass index(BMI) is a great way to see if you are at your ideal weight. Let me conclude by saying to create a positive image we must portray fitness and energy, whatever size we are.

To being the best man you can be

Men, yes you manly men out there - I think we all need to pay a little more attention to dress, style and grooming for success both socially and in business. Here are some tips for the fellas which your mama may not have told you and for the women with jamaa's who may need some prompting courtesy of Primer Magazine with one or two life lessons thrown in for good measure.

1. You know that feeling you get when you’ve finished dressing and you know you look good? You should strive for that feeling every time you dress. Those times where you look at yourself in the mirror and you’re not sure something matches correctly? Trust yourself, it probably doesn’t.

2. Want to start dressing better? When you don’t know what to wear in the morning the default should be a button up shirt. And polo shirts and t-shirts are not the uniform for weekends either.

3. A guy should always have a blazer he can wear with jeans. Most times a suit jacket won’t work, you need something shorter.

4. You’ve bought that nice new suit great – now do everyone a favour and please REMOVE the tag on the sleeve

5. Different scents for different events. Consider having a fresh, light cologne for the daytime and work hours, and a more full-bodied scent for evenings and going out.

6. The proper way to put on cologne: Hold your arm straight out and spray towards your chest. You only need one, two tops. Don’t spray it into the air and walk into it; that smelly water is expensive and this method wastes most of it. If you’ve got a bottle with no spray, apply small dabs under your ears and to your wrists.

7. Keep those nails cut. Next time you’re on the toilet for 5-10 minutes, put down the newspaper and use the time for grooming your finger and toe nails (yes those trotters of yours should not be shredding bedsheets) The goal is to maintain a thin white line at all times.

8. Here’s a priceless tip - dark or patterned underwear will mask ahem...“normal wear and tear.”

9. Tt only costs about Ksh3000 to replace your entire underwear collection. Why are you forcing yourself to wear ratty undies from god knows how long ago? For the cost of a medium priced bottle of whiskey, everyday can be nice underwear day.

10. White athletic socks should only be worn with athletic shoes.

11. Rejection is just an emotion. Learn to not take it personally or you’ll never be as successful as you want to be.

12. Skip the formalities of talking to a stranger and trick yourself into being more friendly by pretending that you know the person. Think about those greetings you give and the faces you make when you’re happy to see someone you know. Do that, but with a stranger.

13. You have to stop worrying you’re going to offend someone and really go for it. The worst case is you lose something you never really had, the best case is you get what you want.

14. Always have one spare birthday card and one spare multi-purpose card for emergencies.

Full list

African Movie Academy Awards

The seventh edition of the African Movie Academy Awards 2011 was hosted at Ole Sereni last week. A good friend of mine in the business attended the glitzy awards show. I was too far down the totem pole to be invited but here is their unvarnished, no-holds barred take on the event. Be warned this is not for the faint hearted....
When one thinks “movie awards event”, one would automatically revert to the American Oscars, which have become synonymous with some serious pomp and circumstance, and not to mention class. Here's their 10 point review of the event.

1. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION
No offense to the very lovely Ole Sereni, but let’s face it; Mombasa Road on a Friday evening is a nightmare! Granted, any road on a Friday evening especially when it is end month, is a nightmare. I still think that Sankara, or Crowne Plaza would have been more befitting to this event. Centralization of location is critical! Plus the above two hotels to me are the most synonymous with glamour and class within the city limits. They both have ample, secure and TARMACKED parking as well. Everyone got there pretty haggard and in a foul mood from combating City Hoppas and Matatus in traffic. And everyone was LATE.

2. HALF A RED CARPET IS NO RED CARPET
The red carpet was the shortest one that I have seen, of any VIP event I attended. The organizers would have done well to extend it right from the beginning of the walkway, all the way to the lobby entrance. The media were also nowhere in sight! I counted a mere three photographers! I have been to an A List concert with more media that the AMAA nominations! The ladies will understand me on this one. The parking lot at Ole Sereni is fine gravel. By the time you parked your car and made it to the red carpet, you had more likely than not gathered a fine layer of dust on your feet, and caused serious injury to your fabulous heels! Sigh…. I had to formally apologize to my shoes for the grave injury I caused them!
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3. BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE
If I had paid KES 10,000.00 I would have at least expected to find complimentary bottles of water on the table. It took quite a while to actually flag down a waiter and get a simple bottle of water. To add insult to injury, it was a cash bar! A glass of wine was KES 1500.00. A bottle of Bellingham’s Cabernet Sauvignon at Nakumatt is KES 1440.00 give or take. Now why would I willingly pay a similar amount for a glass of cask Drostdyhof wine? This was blatant daylight robbery, and a complete disregard of good service. Granted, there was some complimentary Baileys and Johnny Walker Black from EABL who was a partial sponsor of the event. But I can assure you that only 2 hours into the event, they had completely “run out” of both. And we all know what “run out of” actually translates to: the rest of the bottles were in someone’s boot, house, or hotel room! 


4. AFRICAN TIMING
The saying “T.I.A.”: which stands for This Is Africa, has never been truer than on this balmy Friday night. This event that was pegged to begin at 6pm, which based on the location was a virtual impossibility, actually began closer to 10.00 pm. We actually had time to go upstairs to the REAL bar, that had REAL bar prices, have a drink, relax, come back downstairs, freshen up, take photos, mingle, sit down, update our Facebook and Twitter accounts, check email, call mum, make plans for the rest of the weekend, update Facebook again, Tweet about the fashion faux pas witnessed, and the event still had not began! The MCs started without a majority of the celebrities being there. The likes of Noah Ramsey and Rita Dominic came in much later. People’s attention span was short, and no one was listening to the MC due to a decided lack of coordination of the event, not to mention the rumbling stomachs, because there was no soup, bread or salad in sight even as late as 10.30 pm!

5. CATERING 101
Anyone who has any Catering 101 experience can tell you this:
- Never serve the soup at the buffet line! It makes more sense to serve the soup while your guests are seated. The tables were already set up after all. Can you imagine balancing a soup bowl, a plate of food, and a dessert plate, all the while trying not to trip over your fabulous swanky gown? It is a nightmare!
- Secondly, everyone knows that you should make a buffet line double sided to speed up service and keep the queues short. This was not the case. Each buffet line only had service on one side. All they had to do was push the tables forward and add serving spoons on the other side, and bam! The speed of service goes up!

6. “YOU CAN PAY FOR SCHOOL BUT YOU CAN’T BUY CLASS!”
Jay Z said it, I believe it! This event was about movies. But the nominees were announced using a projector and a PowerPoint presentation. I think that is hilariously ironic! I do not think that it would have been that difficult to get a flat screen set up and arrange to show clips of the movies that have been nominated, as well as the actors, actresses, directors, producers, and others. I think I even noted the Times New Roman 12 font on the PowerPoint. I mean I had no choice but to laugh out loud!

How can you have plastic center pieces with humongous peacock feathers as your center pieces? I mean these things were a sight to behold! And not in a good way! We actually took photos like people did back in the day, where you pose looking like you’re holding KICC, or you are at Uhuru Park holding a sunflower. I mean it was just plain tacky. Oh the horror! What made it worse was a passing comment that I heard, about plastic center pieces being the “future of décor”. Ughhh! I thought I was going to pass out from grief! Next time, dear AMAA organizer, if you’re stumped for ideas, a fishbowl with colored water and beautiful floating petals or flowers, with tea light candles on the table (also notably absent) would do the trick. Ps: the feathers did a good job of obstructing our view.

7. DRESS CODE! ENFORCE IT!
At the risk of being seemingly mean, it is high time Kenyans started enforcing dress code and adhering to it. Sadly, it is our men who seem to have lost the plan. At least I know the ladies came looking fabulous, with the exception of some fashion faux pas that shall be discussed at some other time. I saw men in jeans, for crying out loud! Sigh…. It is very sad. If you actually want your event to be taken seriously, as a top tier event, then it is important that you enforce the dress code. Only then will you be able to set yourself apart from other events and event planners, by setting the correct impression. After all, image is everything in showbiz!

8. AN MC IS THE LIFE OR DEATH OF A PARTY
That was the most boring MC ever! I tried to listen to him, but the rambling went on and on, and without much food in the system, it was impossible for me to focus. I think my rumbling stomach, in a symphony of other rumbling stomachs may have drowned him out. Emceeing is one of the most important jobs for a successful event. The crowd gave him no air time. He might as well have been my Form 2 Biology teacher, who used to walk in, and I mentally check out. 

9. GOODIE BAGS… OR WERE THEY BADDIE BAGS?
As an invited guest, would probably have had to get one to actually have a discussion about the goody bags. If you had planned for it, how is it that invited guests (almost a whole table) could not find any to save their lives? This takes me back to the KES 10,000.00 cover. I would have been a very unhappy camper to have paid this amount, and leave even without a token of appreciation, especially if I had actually paid KES 1500.00 for a glass of wine. Don’t you think?

10. ATTITUDE… THE RIGHT ONE!
As an event planner and host, it is important to be accessible and WARM. Not cold, and aloof. You are in the business of people, and not events. It is people who attend your events. Taking time to courteously acknowledge guests is important. They are after all your bread and butter. And believe it or not, you need them, more than they need you. Some of them did in the end fork up the whooping KES 10,000.00 didn’t they?

Now it is important to note that when the event began, each table did receive one bottle of red wine. This was pretty okay. And lucky for us, not everyone on the table wanted a glass; otherwise we were all looking at roughly half a glass of wine each, at which point we would have to fork up the KES 1500.00 for an additional glass. As you can tell, I was unimpressed by the beverage price list.

The celebrities who attended the show were mostly warm and gracious, Rita Dominic above all. The band “The Villagers” was spectacular, and reduced the impact of the above mishaps. DJ Adrian on the Ones and Twos was also pretty cool, and Ole Sereni’s buffet wasn’t too bad either.

The overall moral of the story is that high expectations were set for this event, and sadly it ended up being another case of over promising and under delivering, which is the true bane of our existence within our society.


Looking glamorous in white - when at a glitzy event, go all out to impress


Can you spot the Kenyan?


That centre piece

Your thoughts?