...and the doc said (very sweetly) "you're overweight by ONLY 10 kg" !!!!

Yes, it finally happened. The annual medical do at the workplace where they always tell you to stop eating fried food. To bring down your trigliceride levels. To start exercising. (Yes, I DON'T EXERCISE AT ALL.)

I'm glad i took the test. I'm not complaining. Poor souls from the office, they come and beg us to voluntarily take all tests (including some optionals) and follow it up with a doctor's consultation.

The moment I got on to the weiging scales, I was miserable. Most of my male colleagues at that time in the room weighed less than me and had such sick grins across their face.
:-( If THAT is not depressing, what is?

During my pregnancy I lost about five kilos (I was overweight by seven kilos pre-pregnancy). So i was superthrilled at one great side effect of my pregnancy was that i actually LOST weight. Most of my family and friends had expected me to pile on at least 15 kilos because i love sweets and fried foods. But Sonny Boy made sure mamma threw up everything she ate right through till she got to the labour room almost.

I even managed to stave off the weight after getting back to work, posibly because I was still nursing him. Then I stopped. In the initial months after the delivery I was on a rather strict "confinement diet" (any Indian woman from an orthodox and traditional family will know what i'm talking about). But I had lost my appetite (from post-partum Blues) and actually didn't get around to eating much. My dear dad and hubby would occassionally sneak in foods i craved -- chips, puffs, spicy veg stuffed buns from the bakery, and even a burger once!

But once i came back to work, i would sneak-eat bhel puri and samosas, and masala dosas outside. Sneak eat because I was blackmailed every time the lil one took ill to not eat any food from outside home, not eat fried and other spicy food. :-)

But once I stopped nursing him, it was almost like i broke free. I ate, rather binged, on all my old favourites with a vengeance.

Now, that's showing. I knew it all along that i was gaining weight. I wasnt fitting into clothes that i could wear after i had Sonny Boy. So there. The knowledge was there. But i wasn't ready to act on it.

But now, when the doctor very sweetly (and genuinely at that) smiled at me and cooly said "You're ONLY 10 kg overweight. But it's ok. You can cut down oily food, exercise and try lose one kilo a month" it was a stinging slap on my face.

I've started to pile on more vegetables on my plate. Am planning to slowly phase out rice at dinnertime (which is very difficult coz rice is my comfort food). Trying to see if I can eat fruit for dinner (over a period of time).... oh it's so difficult. Just when I decide this, people are suddenly visiting and bringing gifts of ...food!

But I will try. Control portion sizes, type of food, change eating timing..and yes EXERCISE. Fellow mothers, pray for me.