Beat that bulge! Diets driven by the desire to be thinner than our mates

We all know the drill: we wake up bright and early on Monday morning ready to embrace fruit, granola and poached eggs… only to be scoffing down a spice bag by Friday afternoon. 

#shame

Yup, life is hard. But it's fine because there's always another Monday lurking on the horizon.

Now it has been revealed that the average yo-yo dieter is only motivated by looking at their mates anyway: a Forza Supplements study found that the main incentive for women to lose weight is… remaining thinner than a friend or sister.

And regardless of the triggers, by 30 we have spent an astonishing three YEARS on a diet. Oh and by 40, that will length of time will have increased to almost SIX YEARS. 

That's a hell of a long time spent asking for your dressing on the side. 

Indeed, the majority of Irish women will diet twice a year, on average losing about 4lbs through dieting alone. 

And just why-oh-why do we spend so much of our 30s counting calories? Well, fear of middle-aged spread and gaining weight during pregnancy are both apparently at fault.

There IS light on the horizon though. Many woman tend to become comfortable with their figure by their 40s resulting in spending much less time dieting…

So here's to hitting 40!