As usual, during summertime, the celebrity magazines like People, Us Weekly, Ok, Self, Shape, etc…are always loaded with weight loss info, celebrities’ successful diet story, summer bikini bodies and etc. I love reading those types of magazines. It’s weird, isn’t it? Why are a lot of people so curious to know about celebrities lives?

After I looked at a few magazines and flipped around a few pages, I found nothing and my husband and I stepped away. A really nice lady in magazine stand wished us a nice and safe trip. She also said “happy mother’s day” to me (Our flight was right on mother’s day). Later she said “Almost” smiling and pointing my tummy with her eyes.

After a few minutes I realized why she said “almost.” What did it mean? I asked my husband if he could give me his opinion. I wore a loose top at the time. Plus I felt like my tummy was bloated before the flight. Apparently I forgot to suck my tummy in. Apparently she thought that I was pregnant. My husband laughed so hard. And from that time he keeps teasing me “almost.” I asked my husband if I was fat and looked pregnant and he said “almost.”

Well that’s my story. Am I offended?, No! That’s a call to arms for me. It makes me realize that I need to do something with my weight or at the very least the way I dress. I indeed looked pregnant.

There’s another similar story. But not quite, because it turn out ugly at the end.

I have a friend in the office who a few other coworkers and I noticed looks different. A few months ago she stopped smoking in the office after lunch (she used to do it al the time). She started wearing a lot of baby dolls and flats. Her body looked more full than usual.

Here I am while other people don’t have a bravery to ask, dumb me! Big mouth! Thinking that honesty is best, I came up to her and told her “hey please forgive me if I’m wrong ok” and then leaned toward her and whispered right in her ear, asked:

“Are you pregnant?”

I thought she would smile at me and answer my question BUT she was so mad at me. She raised her voice and yelled at me. She asked why everybody asked her the same question. Was she so fat that people thought she’ was pregnant?. Again she told me women didn’t asked such sensitive questions even though someone was 6 or 9 months pregnant That’s a NO NO. Well, I don’t know. I thought I could ask someone politely and honestly. I’m just curious and there’s no intention to hurt anyone. I mean it.

I’m still in shock from that answer. I think the culture is different here in the United States. In Asia we can just ask any question to anyone. But over here in the U.S. the same question might very well be taboo.

Within two years? Geez!!.. why is it so difficult to maintain weight? Why why why body! Why do you need to change?

There’s something you really need to understand and watch really carefully once you’ve lost the weight. It’s the maintenance part. The big mistake a lot of people run into after dropping the weight is going back to their old habit. We always take things for granted. We forget the struggling so easily. Even though we don’t do it right away, a few extra calories over time add up.

That includes me. I always said to myself, I can eat this and that because I’m still skinny now. But I don’t realize (maybe I realize but try to ignore it) weight is always accumulating over time. It can take three months, six or even a year.

Last month I traveled home to see my parents overseas. We saw bunch of pictures of me from five years ago when I left them and some pictures from two or a year ago. Since we hadn’t seen each other for about 5 and one-half years, it was really shocking for them to see how much I have changed.

My dad told me “You are gaining weight, that is, you are fat.“ I know he didn’t have an intention to hurt me, that’s just the way he says things because he knows me. My dad is the only person I know who can say things really honest in front of you no matter whether it hurts or not.

But he has a point though. It depends on who, how, when and where you use “honest words.” Some people need harsh words and others don’t. I’m a stubborn person. I need strong words to finally make me a move.

Unlike my husband who always says things in his sweetest voice and smiles “almost” honey; “you are not fat, just borderline” because he doesn’t want to hurt me. But that doesn’t impact me much. If he said that, for me, that means I’m still Okay.

My dad’s words indeed struck with me. “I’m fat.“ I need to do something before it’s too late, I thought to myself.

And that is how my new passage begins…………………… to try another try  (“My Dear Body” June 1, 2010)

Not the kindest of descriptions, that, but I have to say most fat people (and let’s not hide behind such terms as ‘big’ or ‘a little overweight’ or ‘differently weighted’ or ‘horizontally gifted’) absolutely hate the way clothes do nothing for them. And while that is a cause worthy of our concern, I wouldn’t say it is the biggest reason to lose weight. Of course, none of us would mind looking as though we had just got off the ramp wearing the latest designer dreams, but the point is, there is, to my mind, a bigger reason to lose weight.

Very simply, being fat equals being ill.

Losing weight is a global concern

There’s no way to put this gently, so I’m not going to try, but the fact is that thin people live longer than fat people. Medical research has established that obesity – roughly defined as more than 25 percent body fat in men and more than 32 percent in women – is one of the biggest threats to good health, and the worrying news is that a little over 20 percent of the United State’s total population is clinically obese.

And though I mention the US as an example, the urge to lose weight has gone global, to the extent that we are witnessing the emergence of an entire industry built around weight loss. For example, a friend who was in India recently told me about a reality show on one of the TV channels that pits very fat people against each other in a race to lose as much weight as possible over the course of a few months. In the end, the biggest loser wins. Sounds familiar? Yes it does, because we know all about NBC’s The Biggest Loser, but the thing is that the globalization of a show themed on losing weight merely proves my assertion.

Excess fat has been proved to directly or indirectly cause heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Scared? You ought to be, because a National Health and Nutrition Examination survey found that three out of four Americans (that’s 75 percent, in case you want it rubbed in) die of either heart disease or cancer; and roughly 80 percent of those deaths are associated with lifestyle diseases born out of inadequate exercise.

Losing weight impacts your health

Let’s take heart disease, for instance. Once you are obese, it takes more of an effort to breathe, simply because the heart has to labor harder to keep the blood circulation going, to the lungs as well as to other organs. The overwork takes its toll by enlarging the heart so that blood pressure rises and heartbeats become irregular. If that weren’t bad enough, obesity has also been linked to higher levels of cholesterol, and in extreme cases, this means that the arteries are narrowed owing to plaque deposits on their walls – a classic symptom of arteriosclerosis.

Not immediately fatal, arteriosclerosis is nonetheless potentially so, because as the deposits grow, vital organs like the brain, heart and kidneys are deprived of blood because the narrow arteries can no longer deliver enough blood to them. In a vicious cycle, this means that the heart is forced to pump harder, and so blood pressure rises. Get the drift? Small wonder that nearly 25 percent of all heart problems are linked to obesity.

Then there’s cancer. Medical research has established that excess body fat acts as a sort of warehouse for carcinogens, though research on this subject continues. While more women are likely to suffer from breast and uterine cancer owing to the presence of excess body fat, obese men are under threat from colon and prostate cancer.

Finally, there’s diabetes. This is not the forum for a medical discussion, but you have to know that whether or not you develop diabetes depends on how far the balance between blood sugar, body fat, and insulin within your body is upset. The problem, as you may guess, begins with excess blood sugar, which is stored in various vital organs. When these organs can’t take any more sugar, it is turned into body fat. But when sugar levels exceed the maximum capacity of the fat cells, the pancreas starts to produce more insulin to control sugar levels, and thus you have diabetes, a potentially fatal disease that can in turn spawn such grave conditions as heart and kidney failure and blindness.

Losing weight impacts your lifestyle

“At the beginning of the 21st Century, obesity has become the leading metabolic disease in the World. So much so, that the World Health Organization refers to obesity as the global epidemic. In fact, obesity is a common disease affecting not only affluent societies but also developing countries. Currently 300 million people can be considered as obese and, due to the rising trend in obesity prevalence, this figure could double by year 2025 if no action is taken against this threat.” (Extract from a 2004 research paper by Xavier Formiguera and Ana Cantón of the Obesity Unit of the University Hospital in Catalonia, Spain.)

The inescapable fact is that obesity is a ‘lifestyle disease’, so that when you lose weight, apart from the obvious health benefits, you also acquire a healthier lifestyle and a mental shot in the arm. Trainee psychologist Priscilla Sayers, who has been conducting a study on the psychological impacts of obesity among people aged 18-35 years in Philadelphia, says losing weight successfully is one of the best ways to increase low self-esteem. “It really makes a difference to a person’s lifestyle when she or he loses weight. I have seen people become more outgoing, better dressed, and more confident – all because they lost 20 pounds in four months,” she says.

Hard to beat, isn’t it, the combination of improved health and lifestyle? And to think that losing weight is all that you have to do.

According to a study conducted in October 2004, 18 percent of Americans could be described as clinically obese (roughly 32 percent more than their ideal body weight). In numerical terms, this meant one in five Americans was clinically obese. The situation, sadly, persists. “I would say that we are leading increasingly sedentary lives,” says nutritionist and dietitian Deborah L. Sayers. “Our lifestyles now revolve around sitting in an office or sitting at home or sitting in a pub or club or whatever. And all the labor saving devices that have become part of our lives make things worse.”

So weight loss is the need of the hour. And natural weight loss is fast gaining ground as the preferred method among a large part of the global population. Very simply put, natural weight loss methods do not involve a specific diet (high-carb, low-carb, high-protein, low-protein, zero-calorie, negative-calorie, the works), pills, powders, weight loss clinics…I could make this a really exhaustive (and exhausting) list, but you get the drift. In essence, natural weight loss is all about how you can use your body to get rid of the excess flab that it has been carrying.

Natural weight loss basics

“When you are starting out on your natural weight loss program, the two basics that you need to keep in mind are nutrition and exercise,” says Deborah. “And it is essential that you set realistic weight loss goals.” In effect, what this means is that not everyone can expect to acquire a body like Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt (amazing pre-ordained combination of good-looking bodies), because what shape you end up with will depend to a large extent on your body type. However, you can most definitely shed excess fat and eliminate obesity regardless of your body type.
So, the basics: “The creed of ‘drink plenty of water, eat healthy food and get regular exercise’ is easy to sum up but so difficult to maintain,” says Deborah. Terence agrees. “I was so tempted to gorge on all the burgers and ice cream that I could, and then wash it down with a miracle diet pill,” he says. The fact is, however, that he didn’t, and four years later, weighs 170 lbs for his troubles. “I guess I still need to lose about 10 lbs or so, but I am not complaining. And I am never going to use pills and stuff.”

The biggest problem with ‘pills and stuff’ is that you are forever at risk of regaining the weight you lose once you stop using them, whereas if you lose weight naturally, you can actually manage your weight too. As Deborah says, “Just keep doing the things you’ve been doing.”

So what have you been doing?

“Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, sup like a pauper.” Hmm…now where have we heard that one before? In my case, it was from my mother’s Aunt Fran, who made sure her family started the day with a meal of mammoth proportions, or that was what it seemed like to nine-year-old me when I stayed with her occasionally. Breakfast was a Ritual That Must Not Be Tampered With, and involved fruits (more than one kind), raw vegetables (carrots were vomit-inducing but Good For My Eyesight), smoked salmon or tuna sandwiches, and even a lamb chop on occasion. And raw honey…oh my, lots of it, and milk or cream depending on your preference.

Okay, I can feel some of you wincing at the list, but just change a few of the items around (rye bread and yogurt are a good idea, for instance) and make sure the stuff is organic, and you do indeed have a breakfast fit for kings. The thing is that you need to eat a large one, and then go easy on the lunch (simple brown bread and cucumber sandwiches will do nicely), and eat a light snack by 7 pm. AND STOP EATING thereafter. For a full diet chart, consult a dietitian, but the point is to limit the calorie intake.

Studies have proved that people who consume a majority of their daily caloric requirement early in the day tend to consume fewer calories for the rest of the day, whereas people who eat larger meals at night tend to consume more total calories each day.
Get moving

If daily workouts and a regimented exercise schedule is not an option, try walking – nonstop for at least an hour every day, preferably early in the morning or after sunset. “You don’t have to half-run,” says fitness trainer Dennis Li. “You can just walk at your normal pace. Walking is the best cardio-vascular exercise there is, particularly for those who are unable to go in for any other kind of cardio training. Regular walking boosts your metabolic rate and therefore promotes constant burning of calories.”

Watered down

Drink at least eight glasses of water every day, beginning with first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Water is unparalleled when it comes to flushing out the toxins from your body, and is great for your circulation.

Eating healthy, drinking water, walking: is that all there is to natural weight loss? Er…yes, actually. Hear it from Terence: “Just cutting down on the carbs and sugar made such a huge difference. And I walked as though I was going to break the world record. It was difficult, but my cravings for sweets began to disappear after the first two months or so. And my mom advised me to look in the mirror every time I felt like giving up.”

So there you are. And if Terence can do it, any reason why you can’t?