Generally, I am always thinking; thinking about what to do today or thinking what to cook today or thinking what to write today. While doing anything else, these three things are always on my mind at different times. On visiting a friend, something struck me like lightning and I thought of elaborating on it with my writing because, well, that’s what I do.

I started gaining weight after I was married, not after having a baby but much before the pregnancy. I wondered why but now, after pondering on it, I understood why many of us, women, get fat. Let me list them out for you so you can probably think about it and, if you want, work on the same. But remember, determination is the only thing that will get you anywhere in life.

Today, everyone wants to lose weight and everyone wants to do it as fast as possible with little or no hard work from their end. Do you really think you can gain something without working your ass off for it? Whether it is for money, a figure or a big house, you have to work hard for it. Likewise, if we don’t watch what we eat and do some sort of physical activity everyday, we will keep increasing weight. Today, our lifestyle is our biggest enemy, then comes the dirty 30s when each grain of rice starts to matter.

Love and ghee

Usually, after we get married or perhaps even before that if we are living in a joint family, if the elders in the house do not know about healthy living, the younger ones suffer out of ignorance or respect. Imagine your favourite aunt making ghee ladoos or deep fried bajyas. The aroma itself is making your hunger pangs go bonkers. What will you do? Instead of saying no to them when offered to you, you will eat it for any of the three reasons:
1. It is tea time and you are hungry.
2. You don’t want to upset your favourite aunt.
3. Whether you like it or not, you have to eat it because it was made with the love you are being forced to digest.

Not saying No

How many of us will say no? Well, I say no to both the above and more, like tea, coffee, chocolate, biscuit, deep fried items (which may or may not include loads of love and oil), etc. Yet, I’m getting fat because of my enormous appetite for rice, like a typical Mangalorean. Imagine my size if I ate all of the above too. Yes, I dance but I do not practice it as often as I should so, practically speaking, I need to keep my diet on check, eat less rice and dance more. Say NO to junk.

Irregular meal time

Another way of getting our calories to rise is irregular food habits. Besides missing your breakfast and lunch, many housewives wait for their husbands to eat. If your husband is home on time, you can do that but what if he himself has irregular timings or gets stuck somewhere regularly? Do you still wait for him to come home and eat or are you made to wait for him so that there’s a full house at the dinner table? Stick to your timings and munch on a fruit, to give him company, when he is home late. The earlier you eat, the better it is for your system to slowly digest the food. Eating on time and eating slowly help keep you slim.

Depression

Many people have the inclination to eat, easily available junk, when they are over stressed or depressed. Postpartum depression is one of the biggest causes of increasing weight in us, women. Besides irregular hormonal changes, your weight increases, due to the depression, which further depresses you. Try keeping your mind off anything or anyone that depresses you, including your spouse. Keep yourself busy with something that you enjoy doing. Shift your focus because only if you have to find a solution is when you strain your brain, otherwise worrying does not get you anywhere. To shift my focus, I dance. My hobby serves as a good exercise too, so it helps.

Restaurant food

After I met my husband, I realized that I continued eating at restaurants but I stopped walking like I used to. Kuwait, the place I was born, bred and married, has amazing food and we would regularly visit KFC or Pizza Hut without any aerobics class in the plan. Only when I found my tops choking my chest, I quickly switched to having oats for breakfast. This helped quite a lot because of its health benefits and the fact that I was having my breakfast every morning. Probably, this is what you call a balanced diet. 😛 Bluntly, avoid eating out too often and eat healthy at home. Even if you do eat out often, watch what you eat.

Work

The other side of a housewife waiting is the husband at work. Whether you are working at home or in the office, give your stomach some time and fill it with healthy food so it will take care of you in the future. Only you can consciously make yourself do this, not your wife, not your husband, not anyone else. If you are determined to stay healthy and eat on time, you can without depending on anyone else to feed you or remind you. I used to keep apples handy so I don’t go digging for fast food joints when hunger strikes. Also, try and reduce work stress as much as possible.

It is time to change our lifestyle, our thinking, our friends, and concentrate on those that love you and encourage you and spread positive vibes around you. Take care of your self, body and mind and feel the difference. Whereas getting fat is concerned, no one can help you, but you. If you want to lose weight, a conscious effort is required. If you’re happy with how you are, make sure your weight is not starting to become a reason for your future illnesses. If you want to shape up, you can do it with a lot of determination. I am currently and faithfully working on myself, what about you?

_{Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya}