FAT SHAMING

BATTLE OF THE BULGE - PART 20 (WEEK 21)

Recap and vital statistics:

I am 5 feet and 10 inches tall and 60 years old.

I was super-slim till about 10 years ago, then gradually got fat.

I started this weight loss programme on March 16th when I weighed a whopping 120kg and measured 49-47-51 (chestwaist-hips) inches.

I am aiming to drop to 85kg or less and I have made some progress.

But unless you are formidably self-controlled and unusually lucky, progress within a dieting context is not a totally uncomplicated linear thing, whereby you steadily drop a few kilos every week.

Sure, one can steadily forge ahead for sustained periods of time. But there are also phases when it is a case of one step forward, one step backward, followed by two steps forward, then no movement at all for a while. The whole process is emotionally exhausting!

These frustrating fluctuations and demoralising standstills are caused by disciplinary lapses (one cannot always resist food or liquids that one knows are fattening) or the fact that the body often - stubbornly and sadistically! – refuses to let go of excess lard quickly, even when the owner of the body is eating and drinking abstemiously.

Miscalculations and ignorance also play a part in the seesaw-ing and plateau-ing that is the bane of most dieters’ existences.

For example, I’ve been a lifelong fan of ube or native pear. This delicious purple-skinned delicacy has creamy flesh, so I have always known that it could not be as low-calorie a snack as watery vegetables like celery and not-very-sugary fruit like raspberries.

But most fruit and veg are healthy and not terribly calorific; and I had absolutely no idea, until a friend enlightened me last week, that a medium-sized ube contains just under 200 calories.

Oh Dear!

I have cheerfully scoffed my way through several large bowls of ube since it became seasonal a couple of months ago, in addition to meals that were, I now realise, less fattening per gram than the ube.

Meanwhile, the average woman needs to eat 1500 calories per day or less to lose weight. But my ube consumption alone exceeded 1000 calories most days. So it’s hardly surprising that I barely lost an ounce in July and started to regain lost weight in early August.

Ah well. Never mind. We live as we learn! And the overall picture is still encouraging.

I am still 11 kilos lighter now than I was at the beginning of this project. And I’m exercising regularly, despite a painful knee that is gradually getting stronger precisely because I am exercising

One thing I’ve learned – apart from the fact that I shouldn’t eat 10 ubes a day unless ube is all I am planning to eat on a particular day! – is that you do not have to be perfect to lose weight and should, if you fall off the horse, just calmly dust yourself down and climb back onto the horse and continue your journey, in an unperturbed and positive frame of mind.

As a healthcare guru said in an internet article I read a while back (apologies to said guru…I copied his or her words on wisdom and pasted them onto my laptop and forgot to make a note of the source’s name):

If you have an “all or nothing” approach, you’re less likely to achieve your goals. When you are too restrictive, you may find yourself saying “I had a hamburger and fries for lunch, so I might as well have pizza for dinner.”

Instead, try to say, “I had a big lunch, so I should aim for a healthier dinner”

And avoid beating yourself up when you make a mistake. Self-defeating thoughts will just hinder your motivation.

Instead, forgive yourself. Remember that one mistake is not going to ruin your progress. When you aim for perfection, you will quickly lose your motivation. By allowing yourself flexibility and forgiving yourself, you can stay motivated throughout your weight loss journey.

This lesson doesn’t just apply to the weight loss challenge.

It applies to all aspects of life.

So, my dear readers, no matter what trials and tribulations you are facing at the moment, do NOT throw in the towel. Just keep going on and on and on.

Human beings were not designed to be perfect, so just keep trying your best and forgiving yourself for being a mere mortal when you let yourself down or encounter obstacles that may or may not be of your own making.

Just set realistic goals and list your strengths and believe that you have what it takes to achieve anything you want to achieve (within reason!).

See you next week.