I was born fat. Of course then everyone thought I was “oh so very cute”. I firmly believed that the ‘baby fat’ would miraculously disappear once I hit my teenage years and fat and pretty stopped being synonyms. Was I in for a surprise? As I grew so did my fat reserves. Of course I helped it along, ate whatever, whenever.

Teenage, of course brought with it the usual emotional turbulence and peer pressure and all that – end result additions to the already extra baggage I carried. But I was still not bothered enough to do anything much about it. Yes I would do the occasional fad diet, or ‘go for a walk’ but nothing to make any substantial changes. College and work did not change much.

Then I met, fell in love and married an amazing man. An amazingly fit man. It made me want to lose weight, to look pretty, because he was (is) very pretty. And so I went on every crazy diet I came across. And it set me on the ‘yo-yo’ weight loss cycle.  No matter how my husband tried to explain that healthy eating while exercising was the only way to lose weight and keep it off, I just did not get it. Then he introduced me to a friend of his, a wonderful trainer. She did not suffer fools easily and minced not words. Ever.

She snapped me out of my crazy weight loss haze and started me on a lifelong path of healthy eating and regular exercising. She introduced me to the concept of fat loss. She made me realize that what mattered was not the X kgs of weight but the composition of those X kgs. She worked with me to create an exercise plan that included various exercise formats and that I could follow.

It was excruciatingly painful initially , I hurt in places I never thought could hurt. I mean how can your little finger hurt!!! But once the aches and pains eased away, I noticed the subtle changes in myself, I was happier, less sleepy, got more done in a day and generally felt better. Though it was almost a year before the ‘oh so important others’ started to notice. And more than another year before the compliments started flowing.

But it does not matter anymore. I feel good and I know I look good and that’s all that matters. I am committed to exercising and healthy eating for life. I lose focus once in a while, but I know enough to get back on track again.

What are your experiences with exercise and healthy eating??? Do drop a line