The D Spot

As soon as we reached home from the Shangrila holiday, most of us were in a state of sheer denial, except Vince and Alan, Jr. We all shunned that small gadget at home, called “the weighing scale”. No one wanted to get any closer to it, as if it were a plague, and to face the grim reality that it would tip a few more pounds, at least 5 pounds beyond what it read before the Christmas holidays.

Monica, the diet fanatic, and who had an appendectomy on Christmas day, also didn’t like to come any closer to it, even if she was a mere 100 lbs. When she came home from hospital, she was aghast to have gained 2 lbs, which for her was bad news. Prior to hospital confinement, she was happy at 99 lbs (she started many lbs heavier a year ago). Everyone knew that anything above 100 lbs (her max) would place her in a depressed state. Every time she takes her weight, she sees to it that there is nothing attached to her which would add a fraction of a pound. She even takes off her watch.

Pauline has shunned the scale long before the Christmas holidays. She has totally stopped taking her weight, when a few months ago she would happily announce to everyone her blissful state of weightlessness, meaning, in an ideal state of ideal weight. Her siblings blame her pep and gymnastics training, which have given her a big appetite. But we are not worried, she will lose those excess pounds fast, we are sure, as she has always done in the past.

BA has been blaming me for the extras (about 12 lbs maybe), since he has been hanging with me from day 2 of retirement. We would always find an excuse to eat out. Alan, Jr. doesn’t mind the extra weight – at 10, he needs to grow fast (but his siblings say, he should grow vertically, not sideways, not even front way). He even sleeps early to allow the growth hormones to work double time. With Vince, he has no problem – his siblings tease him for having a small stomach and the appetite of a cockroach.

Angela, who lost 12 lbs in 4 months (April-August) and 10 lbs in 5 weeks (September) was the bravest of all to tip her scales. I recall how furious her pediatrician was when we came for a check up in September – losing 10 lbs in 5 weeks was a NO NO, she said! She urged her to tell the truth, or else, she would refuse to continue taking Angela under her care – did she take any substance (meaning drugs?), or diet pills? Not taking her anti-goiter medicine, doctor said, was not reason to lose all that weight in 5 weeks. Truth was, she has simply stopped eating. Imagine, eating only 3 pcs of pan de sal with a slice of cheese everyday for 5 weeks. She has lost her appetite, and her siblings were telling her that she would be a psychiatric case if she continued to be such, a bolemic? or an anorexic? Since that visit to the doctor, she has maintained her weight at 100-105 lbs. She has started eating healthy foods, though she has totally stopped any meat, taking only vegetables, fish, dairy, and yes – chocolates! Since then, she has regained her glow, her hair which has fallen in bundles (true true) has started to grow, her skin eruptions have cleaned up (by the way, she has already been cleared of toxic goiter), and she always has that smile on her face – signs of a healthy lifestyle.
MOMENT OF TRUTH
As for myself, my, my, my! I had to face the truth. It was Angela who helped me though it. I found her a few days ago on the weighing scale, grinning approval. The 3 lbs she gained over the holidays was still acceptable for her. She asked, “Mom, do you want to take yours?”, and I said, “NO! thank you, I am not prepared for it”. She held my hand, guiding me to the scale, giving me all the moral support she could muster, as if ready to face the gallows, “Don’t worry mom, a few pounds would not hurt”. OMG! oh my golly gosh! That was it! 127 lbs (and I was only 118 lbs a few weeks before. Unhappily, I asked, “What have I done to deserve all this?”, and finally proclaimed, in acceptance, “I am FAT!”. She could not do anything to console me. She knew, deep in her heart how it was to have those excess 10 lbs.

IT’S A PROMISE - I WILL LOSE THOSE EXCESS POUNDS! and SOON!

9 years ago, I was fat, yes, FAT. Couldn’t blame myself, I kept saying, after having 7 children in a span of 16 years. But after getting tired of being fat and resolving to lose the excess pounds, I successfully lost 20 lbs, all in 5 weeks. And I plan to replicate that feat, not necessarily going foodless the way I did at that time. Foodless in the sense that I stopped eating all the nice things in life (ice cream, cake, soda, meats, poultry, cheese, and chocolates). I ate only veggies, fish and fruits, in small servings. At that time, my officemate who sat next to me was the victim of my mood swings. Anyone who goes hungry will definitely have mood swings and even go crazy. My only goal that time was to lose weight, and maintain the ideal weight afterwards. Since then, life felt so good, maintaining a weight between 115-120 lbs.

But this time, it would be a different way of losing weight. I am not very ambitious. I plan to lose 10 lbs in 6 weeks (not 20). I know, my metabolism has slowed down, now that I am nearing that golden age (ouch!). The past years since losing those 20 lbs have been experience enough. And you dear readers, who are in the same situation, are welcome to join me in my aim to lose 10 lbs in 6 weeks.

First step is to face the truth. Be in denial, if you must, but do not take too long. For how can you proceed to the next step if you do not know the baseline. So, don’t be afraid to tip that scale, take your weight. Be ready physically, emotionally and mentally.

Second step is to make a target and plan. Do not be cruel to yourself, make one which is workable and practical. Target for say, 10 lbs for a start. Find out from those weight charts the ideal weight, taking into consideration age, BMI, current health condition (ulcers, hyperacidity, heart condition, blood sugar, etc.). It’s all common sense – those with health problems should consult a doctor first.

Now, we are off to the third step – the ACT of losing weight itself. For this, one needs a STARTING POINT. Often times, we tell ourselves that we would start losing weight TOMORROW. As such, we end up eating as much as we can TODAY. When tomorrow comes, we give ourselves another extension, and another one, and another one. And before we know it, we have gone nowhere, what hurts more is that we are a few pounds heavier. So let us stick to our STARTING POINT.

Remember, the key word is EAT LESS (have you seen the term going on a diet anywhere? I have always said, lose weight.). One does not necessarily need to stop eating. And foremost is to treat this ACT not as a punishment or a struggle, but something which the body is not averse to. Maybe, even something enjoyable. How? Continue eating the foods you like, but in smaller portions. Drink a lot of water, or begin by drinking less of the sodas and juices and little by little replace them with water). I used to be a heavy coke drinker, but I have weaned myself from it slowly. Until the point when only the sight of a bottle of coke in front of me gave me satisfaction, without even the need to drink it.

Add fibers. Cut down on fatty foods. Eat your veggies (those lettuces, carrots, corn). Eat fruits. Drink your multivitamins. As nutritionists would say, EAT A BALANCED DIET.

Coffee lovers would kill me for this – but I encourage drinking TEA, not the bottled iced tea (there is more sugar that tea in these commercial preparations). During my 6-month stay in China, I tried to discover the secret as to why Chinese ladies were svelte, despite their huge appetites. My conclusion was that they drank tea (no matter how much I gulped coke when I was with my Chinese friends, they still took tea – tea was part of their daily fare, they had special tea for headaches, for stomach aches, they had tea for almost everything). And they take the BIKE to work. Brisk walking will also help for those who do not exercise.

I bet you, seeing those pounds disappear, albeit slowly, is motivating. You will even end up shunning the pork and the fats, and the sugars, and begin living a healthy lifestyle. Believe me, the above steps have worked for me, over the last 9 years.
LAST WORD

As to chocolates, I do not intend to totally cut them out of my system, just slow down. Daughter Monica is right (and we all agree); she says we girls can never divorce from chocolates, we can only feign LQ (lover’s quarrel, that is). No matter what, we always end up going back to them. Chocolates (the nicest ones) will be my reward, while and after losing weight.

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