The Dubai stone

If you've ever heard of a thing called the 'Dubai stone', you will know that it's not something you really want to have. What is the Dubai stone? The short answer: FAT!

The saying goes that anyone who moves to Dubai is guaranteed to pile on the pounds – usually ending up a good stone or two heavier than normal.

Lack of exercise is the biggest culprit. Dubai isn't a place where you can go for a walk through the countryside or cycle to work and back. A summertime walk will fry you like a pork chop and a cycle ride down one of the busy seven-lane highways... well it's just not something you'd be advised to try.



I never really thought I was that fat when I lived in Dubai until I first moved to Berlin for a trial month to see if I liked the place as much as I thought I did. I rented a cheap apartment in Tempelhof and spent my days exploring the many cycle paths through the city and cycling the 40 minute journey into the city centre and back, as well as walking around outside, visiting the outdoor markets and enjoying Berlin's colourful neighbourhoods like Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg.

To cut a long story short, a month later, I returned to Dubai to pack up my stuff and leave for good, looked in the mirror, and was pretty much amazed at my shrinkage.

While I know I was probably doing a whole lot more exercise than I would have if I lived in the place, I also recognised the huge benefits of simple pleasures like walking down a street or cycling into town that just isn't an option in Dubai (no pavements to walk down).



Where food is concerned, you're not going to get a generous supply of beautiful fresh veggies in the desert. Organic is hard to come by (unless you make an extra trip to the city's one organic shop) and everything in the supermarket is either shipped in from some far flung place, (which always makes me feel a bit sorry for the world), hugely GM'ed or loaded with pesticides (which makes me feel sorry for my tummy).

I've always been big on herbs, buying big bunches or parsley and coriander every week. Well I always thought that the herbs I buy in Dubai had a real texture like plastic, so I assumed it was probably GM. My suspicions were confirmed when I discovered a whole different plant growing from my parsley stem. But then again, how else are you going to grow veggies in the desert?

Moving to Berlin was such a crazy u-turn for healthy foods than Dubai. Almost every street has a beautiful organic shop where you can pick from a countless variety of delicious fruits and veggies. You can also shop from one of the charming farmers markets. I once bought a 'flower salad' – very yummy and looked very pretty on my plate too! :)



Well now that I'm back in Dubai (albeit temporarily) I am super determined to keep the pounds off. It's the height of summer right now, so walking isn't an option (I tried this a couple of weeks ago and discovered that my entire body was covered in blisters when I got home!)

One of the good things about Dubai is that most apartment blocks have a gym and a pool... soooo, I'm making sure I get my 20 minutes cycling session in every morning. I see myself a bit like a wind-up watch and I've really noticed how much extra energy I have when I start my day like this! Every few days I've also been going for a really lovely swim... nothing strenuous – just a bit of a splish splash while enjoying that all-important sunshine! :) And for a touch of Middle Eastern fun? Belly dancing!!! Amaaazing workout and sooo much fun!



As for the food, well I'm making sure I put in the effort to get myself down the the organic shop at least once a fortnight to stock up on beautiful, colourful veggies that I know will flood my body with health and vitality. You might be stuck in the desert, but there's always a way to make things better... and so far so good... I haven't seen that Dubai stone creep up on me just yet! :)