my mom hosted a party at her home with a whole bunch of our relatives & the last time I saw most of these people were at my dad's funeral last year (I was on my way to losing about 30 lbs). And I have to mention prior to the funeral they haven't seen me in a while. Only 2 of my relatives commented on my weight loss but most of them kept silent. I believe they chalked it up to me not eating because of my dad’s death (he had terminal lung cancer) & figured I would gain the weight back. Little did they know that eating healthy & working out was very good therapy for me & helped me to get through this very rough patch in my life.
Specifically I have these 3 female cousins that are a few years older than me (I'm 37) & it's really bothering them that they're getting older. They’ve all had children & are slowly gaining weight especially around their mid-sections. In addition, they would all lament about how hard it is to lose weight as you get older especially after having kids. In addition, they're battling high cholesterol, high blood pressure, & diabetes.
These are the cousins that were skinny in their 20’s & never seemed to have a problem with their weight & always looked good in skimpy clothes. Then there was me…when I look back now & although I wasn’t overweight in my 20’s, I was always self conscious about my body & always wore baggy clothes. I secretly wanted to be skinny & confident like them. They were the ones that would make comments behind my back to my sister, “she looks like she’s gaining weight” at every family get-together. I know now that they kept in shape only through dieting (& not the healthy way).
Fast forward years later…I feel more confident & in better shape than I ever was in my 20’s & 30’s. I was actually looking forward to this party. I bought a flattering chocolate V neck top that just fit me just perfectly & the lines were very slimming & a pair of size 6 petite fitted black jeans.
Prior to arriving at my mom’s, I packed my cooler with apple slices, carrot sticks, almonds, & string cheese. This has become automatic for me before I go to any party – it prevents me from starving & reaching for unhealthy choices. Fortunately, there was a fruit salad & soybeans (I stopped my sister from adding melted butter to these) so I could snack on these too.
My mom needed help cutting up a whole roasted pig she ordered so my hubby & I were glad to help (& it kept me away from the food table). A funny thing happened…as I was cutting up the pig I couldn’t help but focus on the layers of fat that kept falling off of it. I thought to myself “I had 30 extra pounds of this on my body!” So when we were finally done & it was time to eat dinner I couldn’t bring myself to eat any of the other foods that were swimming in grease (fried chicken, fried noodles, etc) even though I had planned to indulge a little. So I ended up just plating some broccoli salad, more fruit salad & soybeans.
Earlier in the day I made this wonderful pear cobbler dessert for the party & decided I’ll save most of my calories for that (I always volunteer to bring dessert to parties so I can have a piece & not have the rest of it sitting at home). Since I didn’t indulge in the other foods, I decided to make myself a generous serving along with some ice cream. My cousins just looked at me as I happily indulged.
I look forward to attending more family get-togethers & I do not have any ill feelings toward them. I do want to show them that it is possible to keep in shape even as you get older especially after having children. Hopefully one day they’ll swallow their pride & have the courage to ask me how & I’ll be happy to show them.
I went to a family party last nite…
