Fat Pig (part 2)

Before picture

I have to add a part two to my previous blog entitled 'Fat Pig' where I lamented about the difficulty and frustration of buying clothes to fit me in Hong Kong shops and the inappropriate advertisements depicting pigs and encouraging women to get thin(er).  Somehow, by osmosis I think, the message has sunk to the inner depths of my brain and I began to think that I was fat.  Oh no, it can't be true! I hear you cry. To begin with I foolishly lived a lie, convincing myself that it was all the fault of Hong Kong.  Living in a place where all clothing is just too small was everyone else's fault - definitely not mine.

But you see it wasn't really anything to do with subliminal adverts or undersized garments, it was because I had piled on the pounds and eventually my waistbands were stretched to the absolute limit not to mention bra straps and blouse buttons.   Eventually I had to stop blaming Hong Kong and come clean in my own consciousness - actually I am fat!  Oh the shame!

I have to blame it on - well myself ultimately - but I can also shift some blame on the school I worked for last year that made me work for too long every day and, therefore, cut down my exercise time and, therefore, made me depressed, and therefore, made me eat chocolate and, therefore, made me put on weight.  Come on, give me that small comfort?

The time had come to do something about it.  So I bit the bullet, which made a change from Dairy Milk, and I joined Fat Losers, whoops, that is just my pet name for it.  I joined Weight Watchers in Sai Kung and embarked upon the humiliating experience of sitting in a room with other women where at least one of them knows exactly how much I weigh and all of them are fully accepting of my fatness.

I expected to have to stand up and say "Hello my name is Lesley Croft and I am overweight" in an Alcoholics Anonymous kind of way, but in fact it wasn't like that at all.  It has been a supportive and friendly experience shared with other people in the same boat as myself.  We can share in each others successes and admit our lapses without being judged too harshly while being encouraged to stick to the very sensible and healthy fad free diet.

After 12 weeks I am 9.5 pounds lighter so I can confirm to the world that Weight Watchers does work.  And the reason it works for me and has motivated me is that I know every Wednesday at 6pm I have to share my previously secret body weight with someone else who records it on my card and writes down just how much has gone (or not) each week.

The first picture is me on holiday last summer,  I will post the 'after' picture once I get to my goal weight - watch this space.

Comments

[Lesley]

It's not really me in that picture!!