Wednesday 3 October 2007

A new-found old body

I’m wearing an old blouse today and I’m walking with a spring in my step. I’m celebrating my new-found old body. This is going to come across as rather shallow… but my level of confidence soars with every pound I drop.

I feel good today. I started running again last night and for the first time in weeks, I was able to sleep peacefully through the night.

I have a wardrobe full of clothes that I haven’t worn all year since my weight began piling up. Not that they don’t fit me anymore, they just don’t look the same on my body. Despite a healthy diet and rigorous running regime, my weight kept creeping up. It affected my self esteem and probably my blood pressure too. It didn’t help when friends commented on how slim I looked just a year ago.

Suddenly I was buying clothes a size bigger. I swear the extra bulk was showing on my face too. I exercised harder and ate lesser, but to no avail. I felt unattractive and discouraged.

While vacationing in France, the change in diet made me bloat up even more. When my best friend offered some friendly weight-loss advice, I felt miserable and self-conscious, I even stopped posing for photographs. She was losing weight day by day as we tackled the hills and valleys on our bikes while I was packing in the pounds. I even started wondering if I had fibroids growing in my body!

When I returned, I was at my heaviest. That’s when I decided to outsmart my body by tweaking my habits. I eliminated milk, cheese, nuts and white bread from my diet, ate simple home cooked meals and snacked on wholesome food like bananas and apples. After several weeks, the extra layer of fat around my tummy started to whittle away. Clothes, even the old ones, began to fit nicely again.

It’s a real confidence boost. I don’t feel lethargic nor do I have hunger pangs or food cravings anymore. I hope to stay this way for a long time.

I read recently that in Belize, a woman’s abdomen is viewed as the central axis on which physical and emotional health turn. The solar plexus, just above the stomach, is where we store stress. To banish the bloat, the women there turn to the Mayan practice of abdominal massage. Apparently, research shows that abdominal masssage increases blood circulation and lymph flow to expedite the body's removal of excess water and fat-trapping toxins.

This is probably what I should do next, if my weight starts creeping up on me again.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

From the title I thought Rusty dug up a body in the garden :-)

Congratulations on the new old body!

Blur Ting said...

Ha ha! Rusty has dug up some bones alright...not sure whose old body :-)

The Real Mother Hen said...

Hey you look good. You always, always look good.
No, I'm not kidding.
Robin also says you look good too.
We can't see your extra pound, really.

Anonymous said...

Ha...yes...oh no Rusty...dug some bones?? yuck..prolly some stuff that he buried a LONG time ago. You look FINE! What are you talking ABOUT! But yeah...sounds like you are on a healthy regimen..keep it up! I will be eating my tacos...sitting in my recliner and cheerin you on!

J@n!ce said...

I've got tons of clothes that I just cant fit back even after losing some post preggie weight. My bone seems to have grown bigger somewhere. Its really a waste seeing all those nice clothes there I cant fit in. I gave so much of them away to friends. I cant imagine I'm so skinny back then :)

Janice Ng

Blur Ting said...

Thanks MH and JY. Unlike the both of you, I tend to be on the bigger side due to my built. Hence, i have to be very disciplined or I'll puff up real quick. When I do, the pants sit so tightly around my waist and that makes me really grouchy all day. I have put on 10 pounds from last year. That's alot!

Janice - I agree motherhood does that to us. After I gave birth to my first son, I couldn't even pull my jeans up to my thigh. It got stuck at my calves. But don't worry, you look so slim and beautiful as ever!

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

Congratulations on that new found old body, now I'm gonna go look for mine ... LOL!

Amel said...

Hey, CONGRATS on the weight-loss, but more importantly, on feeling energetic and not having hunger pangs. ;-D

I'll remember the kind of diet you do...for precaution after I have my baby later on he he he...I know that it takes time to get rid of the weight he he he...

The World According To Me said...

Well done with your new found body, and new energy levels.
I have battled with my weight, so I know how good it feels when clothes fit again, and you feel active again.

One Wacky Mom said...

blur ting...taking off weight has a way of making us feel like a million bucks doesn't it?

I know the feeling. I've lost weight since I've come back from Hawaii and I'm feeling like a million bucks too! I'm with ya my sista!

SOUL said...

here's to banishing the bloat !
(maybe that's MY problem? :)))

Blur Ting said...

Oh Soul! You don't have a bloat but maybe you need to eat more (healthy) food. You're always skipping your lunch! I'm nagging here, but really..

Blur Ting said...

Nick, I didn't know you lost yours too? :-)

Amel, I don't think you'll have a problem. I see how slim and trim you are!

World - I read about your weight loss and was so inspired, I had to do something about mine too!

Oh Wacky mom, you're already so slim but being a woman, I understand... we're never slim enough for our liking.

Amel said...

Blur Ting, I used to be a chubby girl and everybody used to call me "Cidut" or "Cici gendut" (fat elder sis) even though I was never really THAT fat. I think it's a problem in Asia 'coz people tend to pick on you if you look chubby. At least my Asian friends who are considered "middle-sized" in Asia didn't feel any pressure about weight when they moved to Europe...they felt SO TINY when they are in Europe.

I used to love bingeing on snack at nights (midnight or so)...once I stopped doing that and exercise regularly, I managed to keep my weight steady. Plus years back I didn't exercise at all, so my body shape was pretty "nice" he he he he...So I used to have problems with weight. That's why I'm slightly wary about gaining weight during pregnancy later on he he he...

SOUL said...

you aren't the only one who "tells me how to eat".. or to not eat for that matter.
it's ok. shows you ..and they care i suppose eh?

take care, and have a great weekend!

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