I gleefully jump off from the weighing machine.
I have never loved weighing myself, often just sneaking past the place where it sits prettily, taunting me. But now, I just love the numbers it shows: 125 pounds for my five feet. I have lost 18 pounds in 9 months and have managed to keep them off for the past two years!

Weight has always been a weighty issue for me. Mum used to say that I was one of the heaviest babies and she had to hire a person to carry me whenever she ventured out. She must be joking but I was heavy.

At school and college I was always called a pumpkin, not obese though but pleasantly plump. The only happy memory is that of my wedding day. I had managed to shed a few pounds not purposely but the tension of leaving my parent’s abode had melted the un-melt able.

So I was sweetly surprised when the women at my in-laws house sighed aloud, “She is so slim and beautiful! Wow! What a waist to die for and look at ours: waste bins!” I chuckled to myself under the veil...

But that was that. With two kids and over the years, the pounds returned with vengeance. The more I tried to keep them off, the more they struggled to remain. So I just gave up. I was loved for my jovial nature and jovial people are fat. So I was happy with my fatty status.

But not for long the fat was slowly becoming my enemy. I was diagnosed having hypothyroidism! So it wasn’t my jovial nature but the low thyroid that was the culprit! Angina, medicines and few years later, I was normal.

They say true friends never leave. The friendly fat re-appeared, smugly settling over at the wrong places .I really looked like a dolled up drum whenever I wore a saree.
“You look so cute” commented my friends. My husband always compared me to a Bollywood actress.  Not that it made me proud because she was the fattest we had: Tun Tun..
Years passed and circumstances changed but I managed to maintain my fat till it started affecting my heart again.

As a single parent my life style was dictated by my teenaged sons. My home was more like a, ‘take-away joint’. I cooked what was ordered by my ‘visiting’ sons: they came only to watch TV and sleep! To maintain myself, I was skipping breakfast and occasionally indulging in snacking with the boys Fruits and vegetables were rare items on our menu.

One day, to my shock, I overheard a casual acquaintance referring to me as, ‘‘that bob hired fat lady!’’
I was broken by the comment but it made me aware of how people really perceived me.
I stood teary eyed before the mirror .I looked so ugly, not my chubby face but my lousy figure. I looked so sloppy in my expensive dress.

I have always been brave and have never self-pitied myself but now I did!

It was not the end of my life at forty two. ‘‘Am I going to live in this over-sized cage all my life? ” I asked myself. “ No way” I screamed aloud.

It was ending December 2004. So I made a New Year resolution: To lose weight in 2005, as much as I could but without deadlines. I had to change my perception of myself. ‘A total makeover’ as they say.

God bless the inventors of computers, internet and Google for they became my saviours and guides. I scanned the sites for healthy living and positive thinking. There were scores of diet regimens and advices but I chose that which was sustainable and available.

I made my strategy for the battle with the bulge. My first target was my teenagers.

It had to be decided for once and all about, who was the boss at home.

I re-asserted myself and declared the closure of the, ‘take –away joint’.

‘‘This kitchen will not cater to your mindless needs” I announced to my shocked sons.

“You will have to eat whatever is cooked here or go out to eat!” I continued.

“But we can’t eat out daily, mum!!” snarled out the younger son.

“Then stay hungry, I don’t care!” I said in a matter of fact tone.

I was astonished how meekly they both bowed before my tough style and body language. “Oh God! Why didn’t I assert earlier” I thought as I enjoyed my new found confidence.

My first battle was won, feeding the teenagers is the biggest nightmare of any mum.

Now rest was going to be easy.

I re-scheduled my life. I started getting up early, going for walks and doing Yoga.

My day started with handful of nuts and raisins gulped down with a few glasses of water. Nutritious breakfast was in again. As a working woman I found that my day at work was not only energetic and efficient but I was much calmer and happier as well. Lunch and dinner were happy hours too with lots of salads and veggies though poultry was out due to the scare of the bird flu. Evenings had us munching fruits and low calorie snacks. Sugars, fats, bakery, beverages and salted snacks were shown the door.

But still I was eating more in a day than I had eaten all my life!
Paradoxically, I started losing weight steadily. At first I thought, my weighing machine had gone crazy but the inch loss was too obvious.
So the mighty fat had become meek!
But wasn’t it, ‘The more you eat, the more you gain!’
I searched the net again. What followed was a revelation!

Our body has been intelligently designed for survival. The ground rules were laid when we were cave dwellers. Food was scarce then, life style wild and eating times were unpredictable. We ate when we found food!

The food was stored as fat in our body and was consumed during the lean period.
But during regular supply the food was metabolized fully without fat accumulation.
We have come a long way from being cave-dwellers but the body blue print stays.
So my dieting was making my body go into starvation mode, making me fat and now that I was eating regular meals, I was losing weight. So simple!

My friends started noticing the ‘new’ me soon. I looked attractive even in simple dresses. ‘‘Are you dieting?” once my friend asked enviously as she offered me a plate full of sinful snacks. I politely refused the treat and said, ‘‘No, I am eating sensibly!”.
I loved my new found status. My new avatar made me popular soon as over-weight friends sought my guidance in getting rid of their obnoxious fat.
But my well meaning relatives were worried. “You look so weak! Where are your chubby cheeks? Are you sick?”
“No, I am fine, rather, I haven’t felt healthier.” I would quietly allay their fears.

Once it became too much when one of my friend’s remarked, “Have you become a diabetic?”  “Why for heaven’s sake I would be one?” I retorted painfully.
‘‘Because you have lost so much weight so fast!” she explained apologetically.

I could only quietly laugh at her ignorance.

But guess, you can never please people so why bother!

It is nearly two years now since I made my golden resolution to throw my weight away.
I not only succeeded but also inspired many around me to live healthy.
My sons have stopped fussing about food. We do snack together but rarely.
My soul mate husband loves me as I am.
My kitchen is my kingdom where I rule peacefully.
It is never too late to start anew.
And never believe those who say that, “New Year Resolutions are made to be broken”
I made my New Year Resolution work!
Believe only in yourself!