Almost three and half years ago, I took on the role of caring for my mum and in that time I slowly stacked on quite bit of weight, at least 15 kilos. And then over a few months, from July to September, lost almost all of it fairly quickly. I had quite a bit of feedback from readers saying how much they appreciated my story. Both about the weight loss and my experiences as a carer. A few of my readers even told me of how they had lost a few kilos applying my ‘method’, if I can call it that. It won’t be trademarked and I’m not taking on Jenny Craig! So I thought I’d update you on my progress.
It’s now early May 2022, and I’ve continued to lose the kilos. I was down 12 kilos at the time of last writing. And I had expected to slowly lose a few more kilos gently over the ensuing six months or so. Well, I’m now down 20 kilos. It’s quite hard to imagine that I was carrying that much extra around, but I was. I’m pretty much at my ideal weight now. I continue to bike ride and swim my 32 laps (1.6km) at the ocean baths with ease. And I recover after the swims and rides in under a minute. I remember taking way longer to recover after exercise when I was carrying that extra weight. I’m enjoying bushwalks as well. I’m continuing with the intermittent fasting — not religiously, but most days. Now that I’m comfortable with my weight — and it’s not a struggle to lose the weight — I can ease up on that if I choose or eat earlier in the day if I want. However, I will say that when I do do the intermittent fasting, I lose weight — 500g to a kilo in the day — with ease. So, I know it works. My diet remains much the same, adjusted as always for the changing seasons. Shopping at the local farmers’ market keeps my diet on its toes, so to speak.
The other thing I’ve noticed is I am far more flexible. I’ve long been able to do a number of yoga postures quite easily, and used to do them consistently for years back in the early naughties. I have enough body memory to do them well enough for my liking. But I’m slack! I haven’t done yoga for so long; I may get back into it soon. The other day I was showing a friend a particular posture just in passing and I surprised myself at how easily I just moved straight into it. It was like I was back in the naughties! Losing all that weight has made every move so much easier. And moving about is easier in general; I find I breeze through my day with a lot less effort; chores seem to flow — almost a dance. I know it’s not rocket science, but I don’t think it’s acknowledged enough. Most adverts you see for weight-loss programs focus on the improved appearance (“You’ll look years younger”, “Lose all that unwanted flab”, ‘Look fabulous for summer” etc). However, the inner wellbeing — the emotional and mental effects of weight loss — are also worth noting. To feel better about yourself is the real bonus. I feel quite a bit calmer and more spacious as well. Not that I was a wound-up toy to start with!
On a side note, I was in a service centre in March applying for a photo card and it was complicated for the person serving me — I won’t call them an agent, that’s reserved for James Bond et al! — and it was taking quite a bit of time. She was constantly asking her colleague how to enter certain data into the system. Her colleague had the patience of Job. Neither were showing any signs of feeling pressured; I noticed they both were calmly going about their tasks. At one point, the person serving me looked up and said, “You’re remarkably patient while I do all this.” To which, I found myself saying, “Well, it doesn’t pay to get all worked up and anxious about it. It’s not going to speed the process up, is it? I have the time.” Fortunately, it helped that I went in not expecting things to be speedy and I had nothing pressing to go to afterwards: I made sure I didn’t. That obviously helps. So, I came out satisfied and relaxed. Now I’m not at all sure that has much to do with weight loss; it might just be that I’ve adopted a more realistic attitude when dealing with bureaucracy! And I have more time on my hands these days. However, I would say feeling lighter has lifted my mood. I know it affects how I walk and how I move through my day. And maybe that affects attitude. And how much patience one has. Just my theory based on the experience of one.
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