Sunday 16 March 2008

The Lost Battle of Dieting.


I am sure am like every other girl out there. I worry about my waistline and feel guilty whenever I eat anything remotely unhealthy. Isn't the world a cruel place? Why is it that the food items that does your body good are the most expensive and worst tasting set of food available? Before I came to this country I didnt even know what my dress size was. I've heard about the gym but only thought of it as a place people who have too much money go to or where a girl in search of a mega rich Aristo go to. A trip down Excellence Hotel Ikeja on a Saturday and you will find all those beer bellied rich man sprinting away on the treadmill. How futile when by 6pm that same evening they are at Iya Rici's beer-palour drinking goat meat pepper-soup and Odeku.

Back to me, In Nigeria I eat what I want to eat and am never worried about my weight. In fact what pre-occupied my mind then was how I could have a bigger bum and boobs. I was never the stick thin neither was I yokozuna. Infact some people called me 'lepa-orobo' mainly because of my tiny waist but voluptuous hips. My stomach was taut like someone who does 120 crunches a day when in fact the only sport I did was a regular swimming every weekend. Even that wasn't done with the intent of keeping in shape.

Fast forward 5 years, I now know what a dress size is. My first shopping down Oxford Street was at Benettons where I went home with some size 10-12 clothes. In the land of plenty I developed an unhealthy craving for Doritos and for someone who had always liked biscuit I had loads of varieties to choose from. Then my waistline started to expand but I didnt see it. I sent photos of myself back to friends home and they say 'you've added weght'. Still I couldn't see until one day I went shopping and I noticed I had to buy a size 14...what had happened? I've always had big cheeks but now it looked I had golf ball stuffed into my mouth. I consoled myself that am big and beautiful and size 14 was hardly fat.

But the attention from guys started to dry up. No longer was I regarded to as sexy, they just say you're beautiful and that wasn't quite enough for an egoistic girl like me. My friends told me a few home truths about how different I looked now and in fact took the effort to send me a school magazine that had a picture of me as one of the hottest babes on campus. Dang! it was time to act.  I went shopping for a whole healthy range (weight watchers to be precise). I spent £140 in one go and in a week had thrown all of them in the bin. It wasn't just me. I couldn't stand all them yeye food abeg and went back to my pounded yam and egusi soup but knew I still had to do something. So I went shopping for diet tablets; Adios, Zotrim which  had no desired effect on me so I ditched them. 

It took a while for me to know that it was entirely futile trying to loose weight. My life now is different from the life of the girl in that magazine so embarking on the journey of yoyo dieting was a complete waste of time. Back then I used to go dancing from Thursday to Saturday and of cos my swimming every weekend and these activities were enough to burn off whatever fat I may have absorbed from eating ewa elepo. However in London, I try to go the gym which I pay £35 for and only managed to go 7 times in 3 months. I dont have friends to go out dancing with and even if I do where was the time? The little time I have left for myself is spent catching up on lost energy during the week in preparation for the following week. My life is home, school, work and back home and food is a major part of my daily activities.

However, one look around you and you get a constant reminder of why 'fat' has been criminalised so no matter how busy I am, I have to find time to embark on a permanent solution diet. Last year July I read up on all available journals on healthy dieting and through my gained knowledge I lost 17lbs. Yippee! that's a whole stone and 5 pounds and I went back to being a size 12, it was all worth it. Now am told am sexy again and some even say am smoking hot now that's what i want to hear... The down side to my new found figure is the guilt trip that accompanies every unhealthy food I ingest. My friend bought me a strawberry cheesecake today and I almost finished the whole lot. Now I feel so guilty about putting such bad food in my body that I've become suddenly unhappy. hence my reason for writing this. Mentally, am thinking how many calories have I added on to my body and how do I loose it. I've had to change my wardrobe and am so scared of going back to a size 14 and do a new set of shopping only to loose it again. This back and forth is what I dread but even I know that it is what am going to be beleaguered with for the rest of my life. Dieting is a lost battle so why even try?

28 comments:

tobenna said...

Why even try?
I'll tell you why?
First, you become healthier.
Have you gone for a medical checkup recently?
If you have not, you should.
I did, a few months ago and I'm happy I did.
Its amazing how the human body works and also scary.
Good luck!

Parakeet said...

Ah...Tobenna you picked up on something I couldn't make up my mind on while I was writing. I didnt know if I was saying dieting is good or bad...i guess I was just throwing it open for people to decide. Yes, I've been for a medical check up lately and I didnt like what they're told me. They want me to loose another half stone and if I do there'll be nothing left of my tiny bum and my size D boobs. Dieting is good as long as you're prepared to commit to it for the rest of your life but am I?

tobenna said...

Hang on, let me go google up what size D boobs look like.

Hmm, doesnt look bad. Infact, it does look great :)

From your post, you had the assets when you were slimmer in Naija, so it should remain.

Maybe you should stop using the word diet and use healthy food. :P

Parakeet said...

Lmao...Tobenna, you had to google my boob size? Now that you know what it looks like then you should understand why I dont want to loose anymore weight. Besides the more weight you loose and pile on the more your skin looses its taut texture and elasticity. I see what you mean by substituting the word dieting with healthy eating but I do know its a facade and that doesn't help. God help me...

soupasexy said...

whatever jare, i want to gain weight but that ish is eluding me...i eat eat eat nothing..i wanna get to a size 5 atleast, right now am a 3 even if i gain 4ibs when i get stressed i loose 5..its so annoying..errone says u shd be a model, perfect ht, perfect shape...me i just want bigger booty and bigger boobs..

Parakeet said...

@soupasexy..how true that different strokes for different folks. I can give you the secret to plumping up within 2 months. Plenty of Mcdonalds, chocolate muffins and cheese cakes. Dont forget crisps such as Doritos, no exercise and no active life. You'll get the boobs and bum you want in no time...lmao!

Anonymous said...

dieting!!!!hmnn!!i have had my fair share of it

Anonymous said...

Deiting my foot i tried and failed so badly coz i fear tabs but if you want the tabs thing we have some in Uganda go to http://buttercookie.wordpress.com and ask her about Maroo tabs if she can deliver for you i can send them to her meanwhile you see the changes in one week...

O'Dee said...

Girl, u nd 2 try oh, but dnt kill urself.
I alwas gv myself a treat 1ce in six/four weeks.
Stay healthy.

Mrs Somebody said...

oh dear!!!
Don't give up.....keep trying.

anonymous gal(retired blogger) said...

Congrats u bold gal.yes we love hearin bout how hot we are. but are loath to admit it.

doll (retired blogger) said...

A UK 12 is good....but its good you are concious of putting on some extras.
Personally i find it easier to watch my weight than to battle to loose it

Parakeet said...

@besilent...thanks for the info
@oluwadee...you know I think that's the best appraoch, treat yourself once in a while and stay healthy...I'll keep in mind. Thanks love
@Mrs Somebody...yup I intend not to give up no matter how hard it is...cheers
@anonymous gal...spot on, we never like to talk about things that affect us so personally but thank God for girl power!
@doll...size 12 is what I want to be even after I've had all my kids...did I hear you say wishfull thinking? lol

♥♫♪nyemoni♫♪♥ said...

welcome to blogsville ollay...came over from your naughty friend - afrobabes blog....hope you have fun!

Parakeet said...

Thanks Nyemoni...you've all made me feel so welcome and am glad I found blogging. My days will never be boring now...

guerreiranigeriana said...

afrobabe definitely knows how to spot nice bloggers...

...don't kill yourself for indulging in sweet/guilty pleasures...it has to be fun otherwise it sucks...i am speaking of healthy eating...

...i agree that you should throw out the dieting word...and try to think of the whole eating, cooking and working out thing as a creative process...you're a naijababe right?...so get in the kitchen and mix and match things so that it tastes good but isn't soooo bad for you...if you eat a whole cheesecake, the next few days, make sure you eat nutrient rich foods and maybe go dance at the club or in your room...exercise can give you an energy boost...

...no excuses for not being healthy...just be creative...i hate the gym and it takes too much to motivate myself to run...so i play soccer when i can, train capoeira angola and dance, even if just in my room...try googling awilo videos on youtube and dance away in your room...na workout be that o!!!...lol...it's about your health and you have to make that happen!!!...good luck and keep us posted...

Jay said...

Oh God, dieting, that word scares the shit out of me. I used to be a US size 2, 1yr later I returned to Nigeria a size 6, everyone was on my case, GAWD, jay, u re soooo fat now (LOL) imagine my surprise, because I definitely did not notice that i was gaining weight.

I'm tryin out organic foods, and working out, we'll see what happens. Good Luck

Parakeet said...

@guerreianigiariana..."try googling awilo videos on youtube and dance away in your room...na workout be that o!!!"
Now am LMAO! Na real workout...thanks for the advice...they sure will come in handy...

Don said...

Welcome to the blogosphere. You do make a person think. I pretty much can eat a horse and not gain weight. So I would have to say that dieting isn't all that its cracked up to be.

Naija Chickito said...

Hey girl, welcome to Blogville. I think I'm going to love you. Will be back to comment on the weight matter later. (Hopefully) Right now though, I have to go.

Afrobabe said...

Dieting??? Dont even get me started...The problem with my dieting is I like to give myself a treat for eating healthy....every day!!!

So if I eat vegetables I like to celebrate with chesse cake and some pounded yam..!!!

Parakeet said...

@Jay...are you seriously a US 6? Thats like a UK 4 gees..you should be on the catwalk...
@Don...thanks for the warm welcome...lucky for some re your diet. Wish I was like you.
@Chickito...thanks for stopping by...this place feels better than the real world
@Afrobabe...you completed the part I didnt include...am just like you but too ashamed to admit...lol

Jay said...

Nope Ollay, a US 6 is more like a UK 12, definitely NOT a UK4. LOL

ablackjamesbond said...

I cant see my belt when i stand these days...and i dont drink beer or anythg...
...wifey has placed me on a dish of Pap, fruits and fish...

...not sure i can do it...but i know i need to ...

..starting a dance class at work to get some exercises going...Gym lazy colleagues like me have registered too...
...The office gym instructor is not smiling

Anya Posh said...

My dear that battle isn't worth a dime. You know what, those guilt trips will only make you miserable. What you need is EXERCISE! Not random crunches here and there or lifting weights but running or biking long distances. Hunny, that's the only proven solution I know. I've seen it work on me and several others. I went from being 'cute' to 'bangin' hot! That's what running will do to you ;) So if it means joining those folks at the gym to sprint away some of those extra pounds then that is what it'll take. Good luck & keep us posted!

Bookie19 said...

This issue of weight is a little depressing..
Ive been trying to lose wight for a while now and its just not working
I really like food and my schedule doesnt permit me to have a social life talk less of hitting the gym..I need to drop about 20lbs..

Sam Oracle said...

I really don't see weight loss or increse as a problem.
Maybe itz because I'm not a girl, i think you should let yourself be.

Parakeet said...

@Jay...oh I didnt realise there was such a gap in the dress sizes between the US and the UK...na wa o
@ablackjamesbond...I know what you mean but I guess dance classes will really help. I wish I could find one close to work or home.
@anyaposh...running???????Do you know I cant even walk up the stairs down my station without gasping for air...you must have some stamina girl!
@bookie19...if that's you in that picture then you dont need to loose any weight...you look fab as it is already
@oracle...men are lucky, they dont have to worry as much as women do about their weight...dont say that to metro-sexual brothers though!