Time to be nice to the meatsack
I am a classic Generation-X child. Over the past 30 years or so I grew up never wanting to get married. Probably never wanting kids (maybe just the one and he/she'd be named Behemoth). Listening to punk, rock, techno, going to gigs, eating whatever I wanted, playing computer games, drinking a lot of alcohol and being generally anti-establishment. I dreamed of being an artist and decided early on that I should aim to die of consumption in some dingy studio as many of the greats had. None of these interests leading naturally to physical exercise.
It's funny how you can go on for years thinking something utterly ridiculous but never having the heart to really face it. For instance that I would somehow be the lucky one to have a hot bod no matter how many toxins I consumed, smoked, drank - while doing close to no exercise. Yup. I was pretty muscular and supple for a girl and I kind of thought that would really last me forever. It's taken me this long to grow up and realise that I'm not indestructible after all.
Time's gone by and these days I kind of secretly would like to get married. Kinda. Not the whole white dress, aisle, limo thing God Forbid! But some kind of heartfelt commitment ceremony with someone who I would like to live the rest of my Life with and who feels the same. Formalise it. I'm even feeling a tug of remorse each time I get my period (another potential baby lost). And it used to be a "thank God" moment.
I realised quite a while ago that 1) at 78kg (and 163cm / 5'4") I was the fattiest I'd ever been, 2) that I was trying to hide from the world, stress, bad governance and the need for action by drinking to the point where the fuzz would distract me. I've had a glass of wine through to two bottles every night since 2004 (possibly earlier, but I know this date). That's six years of a constant assault on my liver, but more so my stomach.
And recently I'd noticed I was gulping it down, and not treating it like a glass of wine. More a desperate medicine. Going to bed with an acid stomach, and finally, before starting this change, I focused - really focused - on how I was feeling after drinking one evening: disappointed in myself, disillusioned in the promise of alcohol, acid tummy and I realised that there was a band of pain right across from my stomach to my liver.
The only thing I could put my weight down to (so I thought) was the drinking. You see, I eat pretty well. I love to cook, and I try to be good. I was semi-vegetarian, no saturated fats, no sweets, chocolate, ice cream.
I'm not too good with self discipline, so have previously had success with formal programmes. I lost 18kg on Jenny Craig, which taught me portion size and the value of visualisation. Another time, when I had less to use, I joined Weight Watchers, and lost 10kg. It's a good programme to follow when you want to learn how to eat whatever you want, but sensibly.
I've also done a lot of reading on how food affects your body, with the most influential book being The Powerhouse Diet by Leslie Kenton (read it!).
Recently a friend lost a lot of weight by switching to a low GI diet, so I read the book she used too: The GI Diet by Rick Gallop, and a lot of it echoed what I'd learned in the Powerhouse Diet, and I felt convinced that what I was eating was still OK.
So what's been making me fat?
The only thing I could put my weight down to (so I thought) was the drinking.
Well. I was two thirds right.
It's funny how you can go on for years thinking something utterly ridiculous but never having the heart to really face it. For instance that I would somehow be the lucky one to have a hot bod no matter how many toxins I consumed, smoked, drank - while doing close to no exercise. Yup. I was pretty muscular and supple for a girl and I kind of thought that would really last me forever. It's taken me this long to grow up and realise that I'm not indestructible after all.
Time's gone by and these days I kind of secretly would like to get married. Kinda. Not the whole white dress, aisle, limo thing God Forbid! But some kind of heartfelt commitment ceremony with someone who I would like to live the rest of my Life with and who feels the same. Formalise it. I'm even feeling a tug of remorse each time I get my period (another potential baby lost). And it used to be a "thank God" moment.
I realised quite a while ago that 1) at 78kg (and 163cm / 5'4") I was the fattiest I'd ever been, 2) that I was trying to hide from the world, stress, bad governance and the need for action by drinking to the point where the fuzz would distract me. I've had a glass of wine through to two bottles every night since 2004 (possibly earlier, but I know this date). That's six years of a constant assault on my liver, but more so my stomach.
And recently I'd noticed I was gulping it down, and not treating it like a glass of wine. More a desperate medicine. Going to bed with an acid stomach, and finally, before starting this change, I focused - really focused - on how I was feeling after drinking one evening: disappointed in myself, disillusioned in the promise of alcohol, acid tummy and I realised that there was a band of pain right across from my stomach to my liver.
The only thing I could put my weight down to (so I thought) was the drinking. You see, I eat pretty well. I love to cook, and I try to be good. I was semi-vegetarian, no saturated fats, no sweets, chocolate, ice cream.
I'm not too good with self discipline, so have previously had success with formal programmes. I lost 18kg on Jenny Craig, which taught me portion size and the value of visualisation. Another time, when I had less to use, I joined Weight Watchers, and lost 10kg. It's a good programme to follow when you want to learn how to eat whatever you want, but sensibly.
Recently a friend lost a lot of weight by switching to a low GI diet, so I read the book she used too: The GI Diet by Rick Gallop, and a lot of it echoed what I'd learned in the Powerhouse Diet, and I felt convinced that what I was eating was still OK.So what's been making me fat?
The only thing I could put my weight down to (so I thought) was the drinking.
Well. I was two thirds right.
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