All the world says that we must all exercise to be healthy. Eat light and in small quantities to stay fit.
When we were kids we could eat what we liked, play how much we wanted, sit upside down post a meal and nothing went wrong. Metabolism was at its peak and food seemed to be in short supply.
Through to the teen years - suddenly chocolate became our biggest enemy. Instead of going to the heart and making us smile, its hit our hips or our cheeks - acne if you please! Cheese, butter, ghee - all those wonderful dairy products that mom used to feed us for our skin and bones- had become foes of the belly! Whatever happened to comfort foods like vada pav and french fries?? how could these fabulous friends become allies of the fat brigade?
But, did we workout? Naah...we would rather die hungry than exercise! We sashayed down roads wearing clothes that camouflage our curves and we got so smart that we knew when to wear stripes and when to don that plunging neckline! Time to get married now that we were in the mid-20's, and all the world became a gym. We walked up stairs and took the train instead of jumping into a cab. Some of us actually spent money and time on the treadmill at the local gym with a sadistic trainer whipping us into shape.
But what happened post marriage? Leftovers, romantic dinners, pizza lunches and of course the family meals...all designed to return to form and forget all the torture we put our bodies through just to get married. Pregnancy brought with it "eating for 2" meals, followed by much love and affection in the form of assuaging all craving at any odd hour of the day or night. I know a friend whose husband stocked enough icecream at home to feed a school. She had an insane craving for milkshakes with icecream at 2 a.m!! She gained 30 kg by the time the baby was born! The boy is 11 and she is still working to lose those kilos!!
Well now that the kids have grown and some have left the nest, a lot of women realise the damage they have incurred on their bodies! The pleasantly plump curves are now just plain flab; the cute, soft arms are actually bat wings! That cherubic face has jowls, and its no longer love handles but saddle bags and cellulite on thighs! That is when working out takes on a new meaning! They hit the gym with a vigour only shown earlier when they were to get married. The walks on the treadmill, lifting weights, tromping on the stepper et al...all in the hope that they regain their lost beauty!
Its better late than never. Though I sometimes feel that younger women need to be informed of the vagaries of beauty and flat bellies! They disappear so swiftly that we can hardly see it go. One should be screaming from rooftops-hit the gym today babe! Eat right today!! Make it a lifestyle change today!! Don't wait til you are 40 and your body is screaming at you to just let it be. The belly fat is so upset and distraught that you want it to leave you when all along all you did was encourage it to grow and take roots!!! The buttocks and hips and thighs are so confused with the constant workouts that they are frightened into dormancy! It takes the trainer months of whipping you to make an inch go. So, why oh why endure that humiliation when we can just be fit right from the start???
When we were kids we could eat what we liked, play how much we wanted, sit upside down post a meal and nothing went wrong. Metabolism was at its peak and food seemed to be in short supply.
Through to the teen years - suddenly chocolate became our biggest enemy. Instead of going to the heart and making us smile, its hit our hips or our cheeks - acne if you please! Cheese, butter, ghee - all those wonderful dairy products that mom used to feed us for our skin and bones- had become foes of the belly! Whatever happened to comfort foods like vada pav and french fries?? how could these fabulous friends become allies of the fat brigade?
But, did we workout? Naah...we would rather die hungry than exercise! We sashayed down roads wearing clothes that camouflage our curves and we got so smart that we knew when to wear stripes and when to don that plunging neckline! Time to get married now that we were in the mid-20's, and all the world became a gym. We walked up stairs and took the train instead of jumping into a cab. Some of us actually spent money and time on the treadmill at the local gym with a sadistic trainer whipping us into shape.
But what happened post marriage? Leftovers, romantic dinners, pizza lunches and of course the family meals...all designed to return to form and forget all the torture we put our bodies through just to get married. Pregnancy brought with it "eating for 2" meals, followed by much love and affection in the form of assuaging all craving at any odd hour of the day or night. I know a friend whose husband stocked enough icecream at home to feed a school. She had an insane craving for milkshakes with icecream at 2 a.m!! She gained 30 kg by the time the baby was born! The boy is 11 and she is still working to lose those kilos!!
Well now that the kids have grown and some have left the nest, a lot of women realise the damage they have incurred on their bodies! The pleasantly plump curves are now just plain flab; the cute, soft arms are actually bat wings! That cherubic face has jowls, and its no longer love handles but saddle bags and cellulite on thighs! That is when working out takes on a new meaning! They hit the gym with a vigour only shown earlier when they were to get married. The walks on the treadmill, lifting weights, tromping on the stepper et al...all in the hope that they regain their lost beauty!
Its better late than never. Though I sometimes feel that younger women need to be informed of the vagaries of beauty and flat bellies! They disappear so swiftly that we can hardly see it go. One should be screaming from rooftops-hit the gym today babe! Eat right today!! Make it a lifestyle change today!! Don't wait til you are 40 and your body is screaming at you to just let it be. The belly fat is so upset and distraught that you want it to leave you when all along all you did was encourage it to grow and take roots!!! The buttocks and hips and thighs are so confused with the constant workouts that they are frightened into dormancy! It takes the trainer months of whipping you to make an inch go. So, why oh why endure that humiliation when we can just be fit right from the start???
