I’m not a nutritionist or a health expert, so this disclaimer comes upfront. What I am is a person who has been battling the bulge for decades and has yet to find my perfect Zen. What I hope to help you understand is that its never going to be about achieving the perfect weight; it ALWAYS has to be about fitness!
What Do You Weigh
For many years I had been obsessed with numbers, I tipped at 86 kilos after the birth of my daughter in 1999 and it brought back the childhood memories of being chided by everyone at home, for being overweight and how difficult it would be for me to get a groom. Growing up in a society where the ultimate goal for every girl is to get married to the “right guy”, I became acutely aware that I may not find the ‘ideal’ match because of me being pleasantly plump.
I did what most girls my age did, tried diet fads – I’m an expert at the General Motor Diet, tummy tucks and increasing my BMI via artificial means. The crash diets led to crash weight loss that bounced back the minute I got back to normal eating. The tummy tucks lasted till the next burger intake and once the BMI momentum was lost, I was back to square one.
Work Out or Out Work
Exercising was another route that I did embark upon; I became an expert at swimming half hour at one go. My gym instructor too was happy with my dedication towards pumping iron, but to be honest, I would lose a couple of inches and some weight, but I was never able to sustain the weight loss. The max I have gone down to is 68 kilos, and this was a big achievement for me. The methods to realizing this goal were lame, increasing my BMI through artificial means and stringent diet control. The effects of this lasted for about two years and then again I was back to being – 86 kilos.
Fitness IS The Goal
Cut to present day; and my purpose for this article – do we need to be focused on us being fat or fit? The answer is obvious – fitness! This should be our true goal. Once I realized that at the end of the day, what really matters is how fit I am, life has become a lot easier. What made me realize this is the fact that I am surrounded by family that is unhealthy. I have a cousin, who is super thin but super unhealthy; she can eat three ice creams at one go and still not gain an ounce. However she battles with thyroid and other health challenges. My parents are diabetic and my mother has arthritis … get my drift?
The minute I opened my mind towards the possibilities of me leading a healthy life … my outlook towards my weight changed. I no longer strive to lose weight; I opt to live healthy! There are many things I have put into perspective that serve as a constant reminder towards my commitment to better health. I started an Instagram account that is tracking my weight loss; this is to motivate me and keep me accountable towards my progress. I have more than twelve hundred people following me and the encouragement that I receive from them is overwhelming.
I no longer look at losing weight as a challenge, by changing my mindset towards my body and its fitness level, I have realized that losing weight is a byproduct of healthy living. Embracing my body type and letting go of my obsession of looking lean for others, has brought about a great change. What this means is that all you need to do is change your mindset, accept who you are and strive for a healthy life rather than chase lofty dreams of attaining a Victoria’s Secret body type.
Go for it people, you have me rooting for you!