Holiday: Body Image

One part of me got really depressed this holiday, in the midst of fun and games (specifially Uno and Quick-Scrabble - and boy do certain family members know how to hit you with the "dirty" cards!).

I took a good hard look at myself and found I don't like what I see. I've hit my heaviest-ever mark of 85kg, 20kg more than when I started work here 9 years ago. I'm majorly unfit and unhealthy, not eating right and leading a horribly sedentary life. I'm tired of my legs swelling up after a day sitting behind the desk, and I'm tired of clothes feeling too tight. I even started noticing little pockets of "fat" on my feet, where my slip-on shoes met the top of my foot. That is SO not on!

A few days ago my sister-in-law unexpectedly turned up with some new jeans for me - actually a range of them in sizes I prefer not to state. And not one fit me. I felt awful trying them on in front of her, a tiny petite girl. I felt bad on a hot day this weekend wearing shorts in front of her and my brother. And I hated climbing on a scale for my two-monthly clinic visit. The nursing sister there has informed me I need to do something NOW, or my health may be permanently compromised.

Granted, with my fit dad around, we did a lot of walking this holiday. Up the mountain slopes, around town, across the nature reserve (my shoe broke as we started and I ended up doing that one barefoot!). In the last week my pants feel looser, and my stomach bulge has shrunk considerably. I don't own a scale, but am going by how I feel instead of what it would say anyway.

With the wonderful weather we're having, with summer on the way and the sun rising earlier, it's time for me to get out there and walk more. I find myself waking up an hour earlier than normal, and the daylight lingers for a few hours after work. I'm hoping to use these times to walk the campus and the mountains, to get fit again and walk off those kilos. The dogs could do with a run too. (I realized that this extra weight is like carrying a load of 20kg potatoes around - no wonder I get tired easily!:) ).

My son has not been well and I've had sniffles for a week - next up on my to-do list is an overhaul of our food intake. Summer weather makes it easier to eat lots of fresh stuff and less heavy things. We've gotta get out of our rut and try new stuff, avoid the starchy stodgies and hit the veggies and fruit. It's going to take some sitting down, the two of us, and formulating a plan we both like.

And we need to get out more. Not only outdoors, but rethink our social lives, entertain friends and family, find fun (cheap/free fun) things to do that give us time together and time with others.

So this holiday has been a bit of a wake-up call. Time for change, before it's too late.