yebaah!

My friend Roan asked if she could borrow my dance dvd.  I once raved to her about it as it helped took 20 kilos (yes, 20 kilos!) off my weight in 2006.   I used to weigh 65-68 kilos and for someone who’s an inch short of five feet, that’s heavy! 

I slowly gained my weight since i came to Australia and kept it for about 8 years!  Appearance wise, I didn’t care that I was heavy and fat.  But my near collapse on a bus when I ran after it to catch it made me realise the risk I was in.  I was heavy, unhealthy, risking heart disease, invalidity or death.

A hard process of self-assessment followed. Then, acceptance of the culprits:

1.  love of food + no moderation = gluttony

2.  lack of exercise and lack of will to start it = sloth

3.  no care attitude about one’s appearance = self-denial. 

Self-denial was the hardest to accept.  I even denied that I was in self-denial. I said, I accept myself and people should accept me for who I am.  I’m loved and that’s all that matters.  I said, I am happy and beautiful inside and that’s all that should matter.  To me, these mantras were true (and are still true today). 

But reality was, I put everything at risk.  Reality was, I was in the path of self-destruction by ignoring my body.  Reality was, I didn’t care enough for my family to stay healthy and not get sick.  There they stood, at risk of being troubled or hurt by losing a wife, a daughter, a sister because I was undisciplined, lazy and a glutton.  That was the reality.

Well, that hit me hard.  Hard enough to run to the mall and grab an exercise dvd, start on an exercise regime, and  change my diet.  I didn’t have any special diets.  I didn’t enrol in a gym. I didn’t have a trainer and a coach.  But I had motivation.  I was self-driven.  How did I lose all the extra weight in less than two months?  By kicking out the culprits.

Gluttony.  I ate in moderation.  Being Asian, I love rice and lots of it.  I cut it down to 1 cup every meal.  I ate more fish and salad instead.  I threw out bottled juice and softdrinks, and drank water and freshly squeezed juice.  I snacked on fruits.  Ice cream, chocolate and chips became occasional treats - just a handful instead of a packet or half a cup instead of a cup.  You get the picture. 

Sloth.  No quick fix here.  I had to get up and exercise!  I was not a morning person.  I even find it hard to go to work earlier than 9.00 am!  So I did it at night, even after a hard day’s work.  Exercising at night was good.  It made me too tired to do anything other than sleep after.  Morning exercises only made me eat more during the day.  I also chose an exercise that was fun for me, hence the dance dvd.  I started 30 minutes then built it to an hour everyday for two months. 

Self-denial.  I still believe in my mantras but I stopped making them as excuses.  I cared (still do) about how I look -  not on the bling-bling type of look but on the healthy body, good skin arena.  I wanted to look good for myself, for my husband and not just say, accept me for what I am.

The results?  4 weeks and my clothes and trousers were getting loose. Clear and glowing skin.  I felt lighter, happier….must have been all the feel-good serotonins from good diet and exercise.

To date, I’ve kept my weight at 45-50 kg range.  I’m 38 years old,  generally fit and with the energy level of someone a decade younger or less.  And boy, I can run.