This is the 2nd article in My Weightloss Journey. You can read the first one here.
At my heaviest - 95.4kAt 69 years old, I hit 95.4 kgs and I am only 158 cms tall (5 feet 2 inches), I was fat!
Fat is such an “in your face” word isn’t it? It leaves nothing to the imagination. Medical folk use the term “clinically obese”. I am not sure which is worse to hear.
Friends, family, and even strangers who think you are too fat but are afraid to be direct, will describe you as cuddly, well padded or “big boned”.
You know that spare tire, apron, or whatever you want to call it, between your belly button and your “lady bits”? Yes, we have euphemisms for everything that shouldn’t be mentioned in polite company.
Dr Jane, my niece does not believe in euphemisms. That is your Cortisol Belly hanging over your broeks.
Oh, the thigh gap all of us fatties aspire to. Chafing thighs and shorts, if you dare wear them, uncomfortably creeping are so uncool.
So, how did I get so fat?
I was a very hyperactive scrawny child. Swimming at the local municipal pool twice daily, before and after school, and playing hockey several times a week. To save bus fares, a group of us walked to and from school and church and on the weekends we would walk several kilometres to the beach, enjoying the waves and roasting ourselves and then walk a little more slowly home.
Mom had 8 mouths to feed and she was a magician in this regard. Breakfast was porridge followed by bacon and eggs in various ways. School lunches were sandwiches and fruit. Dinner was always soup followed by a small portion of meat and 3 veggies, and of course pudding.
I always had a sweet tooth. Dad used to tell me I had a spring in my arm - always ready to grab the last biscuit or piece cake. It is sad how we remember these hurtful comments.
Food has always been my comfort. I have never been tempted to smoke, drink excessively or dabble in drugs. Although I thought I was a bit overweight as I progressed through high school, looking back at my class photos I was very much average.
I continued to play badminton, tennis, squash and swim regularly. At 27 I gave birth to my first son and I was fanatical about weight gain and losing it afterwards.
At 30, I was much more relaxed with my 2nd pregnancy and I ballooned, putting on 18kg. The rot had set in. When you have been pregnant for 9 mths and used to being bigger, losing the weight became less important. Finishing toddlers leftovers, baking treats, work stress, and lack of sleep took its toll. I also stopped exercising regularly.
Over the next few years, I half heartedly dieted for a few days but it never lasted. I settled on weighing about 65kg, 10kg more than I wanted to be.
Even after my divorce, I felt that my weight was manageable when I first moved to Cape Town. As my depression and sense of failure increased, I binged more.
When I met Dave, he was newly divorced and also broken. He loved to cook and we binged together. We both loved junk food.
And that is how I got to weigh 95.4kg at age 69.
Read how I lost the first 10 kgs.