keeping it down

After 33 years of being used to eating as much of anything that I feel like eating, I've finally reached the point where I have to stop and take stock of my slowly increasing weight.

I've always been slim most of my life. Even after I gave birth to my son, I was able to lose the extra weight I gained during pregnancy and went back to the 122-125 lbs I'd been maintaining for about three years. Before that, I weighed even less. I used to worry that I might have a thyroid problem but my doctor said I was just lucky to have a speedy metabolism and to be thankful for it. So, despite my humongous appetite (I can eat up to 4 cups of rice), merely by being constantly on the move at work, my weight remained static.

That's until a year ago when I came back here to Riyadh, with my son in tow, to join my husband. I was going to be a stay-at-home mom until he turned two. Now, life here in Riyadh has turned me into a couch potato. With minimum chores to do and not having the luxury of living in an open country where I can freely go out whenever and wherever I want to, I have turned to watching TV, surfing the net and reading whatever books I can get a hold of to keep me occupied. The most exercise I get is probably the walking I do on our weekend trips to the mall. I tried to play badminton again but with the game schedules that are set against J's working hours, it's been difficult to make it a regular thing. Add to all that inactivity my hearty appetite and what I get is a body that's almost 2 sizes larger than what I used to be.

I'm still far from being fat although if you knew me five years ago, you would say that I am. At 133 lbs with a metabolism borked up by age and pregnancy and my genetically inherited fat cheeks and double chin, I realized that it's time I took control of things before they went out of hand.

I tried to go on a diet a few times over the past 7 months but I never could last a week. My body would be screaming for sustenance and I would always end up eating even more. Until I had a lightbulb moment over a month ago when I realized that I didn't have to deprive myself of all that I loved to eat. What I needed was to take them in moderation and to remind myself every time I wanted to eat more that I could always have it again tomorrow. My biggest challenge is always the weekends because we eat out but I'm slowly managing that, too.

It's been nearly a month and a half now. I haven't lost much yet but I know I will as long as I keep doing what I'm currently doing. I've also made some changes to our grocery list - no more chips, chocolates and sodas. We now buy more fruits for smoothies and to eat as it is, brown bread instead of white bread, whole grain cereals and skinless chicken breasts. Slowly, we're going the healthier route. J started going to the gym this week and I've begun doing 30-minute sessions on the treadmill again. I've asked him to remind me every afternoon to go and run while I encourage him to keep up with his exercise program. It's easier to keep up with THE PLAN when no one's trying to sabotage it.

Hopefully, the next time I write about my weight, it'll be because I'm finally back to the size I'd like to be. Wish me luck!


Mood Music: Daft Punk Ft. Kanye West - Stronger "Remixed"