Reflections on losing weight and the battle to keep it off to achieve a fit life
I was always the fat kid. All of my baby pictures show me looking very cherubic and well-fed (euphemisms for “fat”). In some of them, I am either eating or drinking something (what were those photographers thinking?)
Growing up, I don’t remember being bothered about being fat. Yes, I got teased often but I either had thick skin or didn’t get teased enough to think it was a big deal. Then I got into boarding school and lost a ton of weight. I remember my mother crying on the first visiting day because she couldn’t recognise the boy she had dropped off just one month before. I’ve never thought to ask her if those were tears of joy or sadness, maybe I should.
From secondary school to university and then youth service, I managed to maintain my weight somewhat. Many still regarded me as chubby but I wasn’t as fat as I was in my earlier years. I looked at pictures from back in the day and I looked like I had been starved! Why many people could have sworn I was fat still beats me, they must have all looked worse than I did then!
The weight started to creep in again a couple of years after I started working. Long hours, being deskbound and eating all sorts of junk food were the enablers. I had never been keen on physical activity and even if I was, I had barely any time for that so I kept on gaining weight.
The first time I succeeded in losing weight consistently was over 10 years ago when I stumbled on a dietician’s advert on Facebook. I quickly scheduled a session: he took my blood pressure, weight, and height readings, and interestingly, a blood sample. A week later, I got a personalised meal plan detailing what I could and couldn’t eat. I followed the plan strictly for about five months, lost about 12 kilos and then fell off the plan.
Six years later, at the largest size I had ever been in my life, a friend and I, while going through Instagram, saw another friend’s transformation pictures. She had lost over 20 kilos and she looked very good. We both decided we could be more serious about losing weight and we fixed the first day of the next month as the start of our healthy eating lifestyle. I didn’t think much about it at the time but somehow I found out that one day became one week which became one month and then one year. I was losing weight gradually and after about two months, it was obvious to anyone who knew me.
Many people asked what inspired my weight loss but I honestly do not know why I kept at it for so long. I do know that gradually fitting into some of the clothes I had bought in anticipation of losing weight many years before, motivated me to continue. Three days after I started, I randomly tried on a pair of jeans I’d had for many years but had been unable to wear and it wasn’t so tight anymore. Many months later, that pair of jeans became too big for me. I discovered that stepping on a scale can be deceptive. Doing what I call “the clothes fit test” is more effective: try on clothes that don’t fit every week and see how well your body begins to adjust to them.
On this second attempt at consciously losing weight, I tried almost everything available in the weight loss manual except wire my jaws shut. I might as well have as I also did water fasts. I, first of all, read up on the keto diet but all those carb replacements didn’t look interesting so I decided to cut out carbs completely for a few months. I stopped eating cereal, rice, yam, and swallows like eba, amala, and pounded yam. Instead, I just ate the accompanying soups. I gave up biscuits and pastries (anyone who knows me knows I was made to eat baked goods so how I survived many months without that remains a mystery to me). At some point, I even gave up all types of meat and ate just fish and eggs.
I also did intermittent fasting (eating within a certain block of time daily, usually 6–8 hourly blocks, around the same time). The first time a friend sold the idea to me, I thought she was evil but now, it seems like child’s play. I started with eating within an 8-hour window then moved on to a 6-hour window. I also did a one-hour daily window for one month and twice or thrice, I did a water fast for at least three days (no food, just water: at my first attempt, I did almost 10 days drinking mostly water). Interestingly, it has been tough doing some of these things again.
I have always loved walking and after a few years, I decided to add brisk walking as part of my lifestyle change. Initially, I wasn’t sure it did much for my actual weight loss because I had lost the bulk of my weight by just changing what I ate. It was when I took a break from brisk walking that I realised it contributed to the fitness process. It did wonders for my form, skin, blood pressure, sleep patterns, and surprisingly, my metabolism. Overall, the results of changing what I ate and engaging in physical activity were amazing. Over 3 years, I lost approximately 30 kilos and I managed to maintain that weight for another year.
Regrettably, I reverted to my old ways 2 years ago and I remember exactly when. It started with me feasting a lot during my birthday month. I had intended to resume my intermittent fasting lifestyle after that but I just kept on indulging in all sorts of sweet things, especially carrot cake which is my kryptonite. Well, one month stretched into another and then another. If I had just maintained my resolve, maybe my 6-packs would be in place by now.
It has been tougher than before but I am gradually getting back to my former lifestyle. Brisk walking daily, drinking plenty of water and eating healthy meals in proper proportions instead of always snacking (I am still snacking though, it’s a work in progress).
I know that one of the major reasons I found it hard to lose weight years back was because I was expecting to see massive changes in short periods. In reality, the pot belly didn’t just appear in one day and it would definitely not leave in one day either. I have learnt that losing weight first starts in the mind. Once you make the decision, you can influence your body by taking small, consistent actions. One day, you will be a fitter and healthier person: this is the way I see things today.