Sendusout

“Melissa, you’re getting fat. Everyone knows it…you’re not getting any slimmer.”

While this may be true, I was still a bit surprised to receive this comment as we were standing around talking to people after church today. We have been warned of this cultural difference and other missionaries have joked about receiving this very same comment, but I had hoped that maybe my few extra pounds weren’t so obvious to others. I wasn’t offended by the comment, but as we all know, it is something you would never hear in the States.

Even so, I decided I had better prove them wrong. So with renewed vigor, I pulled out my Winsor Pilates video today and did the 20 minute workout. The problem is, gaining weight is so much easier to do. Don’t exercise, eat what you want and forget about the Win in 10 plan, Atkins diet or weighing down. For me, my personal favorite weight loss program has been the Nursing Baby Plan. You can’t beat the daily consumption of 600 calories. I would have to walk 5 hours, do aerobics for 2 hours or tread water for one hour to burn the same number of calories each day.

This method has worked surprisingly well with all three children, and with Elanor I managed to thin down to a size I have not been able to wear since my Senior year of high school. We didn’t have a bathroom scale to measure my weight, but I could make a pretty good guess and the sad truth is that I have probably gained back 15-20 pounds since I stopped nursing Ela 8 months ago. Ughh. At this rate I will be blimp size in a few years. So I guess my carefree attitude may need some adjustment.

Saturday night Jordan gave us a quote: “If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.” He was talking about dreams and how to achieve them. While losing 10 pounds may not be considered a dream, it is a goal most of us probably have, along with many others, and I have decided there are several goals in my life that may require me doing something I have never done before. Maybe I’ll try exercising a little more and eating a little less for starters.