How Martha got her groove back: My journey to losing weight and living healthy

 

Regular exercise is a mood booster and core to fitness and wellness

As far back as I can remember I have always been on the small/medium side. I was that UK size 8/10 girl that could most eat anything I wanted, and not worry about gaining weight. At some point the doctor even said I was underweight, at 46 kg! Fast forward several years to my 30’s, working a desk job, owning a car and driving almost everywhere. Eating lunch at the desk because I don’t feel like taking a walk to go and look for food. And, of course, growing older. Somehow the stuff you could get away with in your 20’s seems harder to deal with as you grow older. Slowly, the extra weight began to creep up on me.

And then the comments started to come in: “Eh Martha you have put on weight.” “Eh Martha what are you eating these days?” Not exactly the greeting I want to hear when seeing an old friend after a long time but well there it was. Nothing too alarming, though, I told myself.

But,of course, at the back of my mind I was starting to get uncomfortable. Not just because of the comments but because deep down I was not ok with the idea of increasingly buying clothes in bigger sizes. And, sneaking looks at myself in the mirror, seeing that my body was changing. Then, while out shopping I found a pack of Zumba videos. Bingo, problem solved! I would exercise in the comfort of my home and the weight would disappear, I thought! Except, the number of evenings I chose to plonk myself on the chair in front of the TV far outweighed the times I exercised!

Months later, a work colleague introduced me to a Zumba class in Kampala Off I went. My attendance was very irregular and half-hearted, but I believed this was enough to keep the weight off. It didn’t. In fact, shortly after, I met a family friend. “Congratulations, Martha!” @@@@@@. WTF? Of course, I knew what she was referring to. To her I looked a couple of months pregnant! I can’t even remember what I said but mumbled something to the effect that I wasn’t expecting a baby.

And then, came the bombshell. A few weeks later, my mum tells me ANOTHER family friend had asked whether Martha “had her baby yet?”!

That was it! I couldn’t run from the truth anymore. I went back home and, looking in the mirror, accepted the fact that where there was once a washboard tummy (not exactly but a girl can dream) was instead rolls of flesh! I could see why my friend would assume I was pregnant. And it’s not that I was simply reacting to what people said. The truth is I was uncomfortable with my weight and people pointing it out just served to push me over the edge. The pregnancy comments, as they say, were the straw that broke this girl’s back. I decided to do something about it.

I started reading (mostly sites like WebMD) and learnt about things like Body Mass Index (BMI). I weighed myself and basically my height to weight ratio (152cm to 67 kg) showed I was overweight. Overweight? How? This isn’t a term I ever thought would describe me! Now experts have criticized the use of BMI as the sole indicator of overweight but still that stung! The die was cast. I was going to lose the weight and that was it.

I went back to attending Zumba classes and this time became more regular. I also started going to the gym. At that point I didn’t change my diet much because after all I felt that I wasn’t an “over eater”. A couple of months in, I weighed myself and from 67kg the scale was showing 69. (My friend Maggie says weighing scales in the gym are tampered with to make us go the gym more but that’s a story for another day!). I went back to my science blogs. “Keep going” the experts said. “As your body bulks up more and you build muscle you may weigh more.” Phew! Relief! I stuck with the exercise. I also decided I would look more into my diet habits.

Around that time, a lot of social media platforms I am on were discussing weight loss and the amount of (mis?)information was overwhelming. The diets! Oh my God; the Keto diet. The GM diet. No carbs after 3:00pm. Baby food diet (believe it or not, on this diet you actually eat tinned baby foods in baby-sized portions!) I thought long and hard and said to myself. “Martha be realistic and stick to the science!”

And the underlying principle there is that to lose weight you need to create a caloric deficit. Basically, the most effective way is through a combination of diet (restricting caloric intake) and exercise (increasing caloric expenditure).

I had already started the exercise part and that was okay. And by this time the comments had started to come in. “Have you lost weight?” Well, I wasn’t sure because the scale said I hadn’t but looks like people were noticing a more toned me. And some clothes felt loose. Anyway, I decided no crazy diets for me. I began to eat more fruit, vegetable and proteins as I cut back on (not eliminated) carbohydrates. I drank more water.

And then, the weight loss started. I came down to about 61 which is my current weight. Not such a big loss, but I was never that big to start with. Just overweight for my height? But the biggest transformation? The way my body looked! Where there was once sagging bits my body had really tightened up and I looked awesome, even though I say so myself! Bye bye love handles, hello toned Martha!

Meanwhile, Zumba class had somehow become more fun and addictive. I started going four times a week if I could, to compensate for the days I couldn’t make it. I began to look forward to class, thanks to a group of awesome instructors, and now I couldn’t imagine my life without Zumba!

What have I learnt on this journey?

1. A good diet and exercise are not just about the weight loss. It’s a lifestyle issue. Do I still eat junk? Once in a (very long) while, and in smaller portions. But the more I eat healthy foods the less I find myself craving junk.

2. Find an exercise that you enjoy. I don’t enjoy going to the gym much, but I enjoy Zumba and I love to swim. Those are my fundamentals. When I can’t go to Zumba or swim then I go the gym. Since it’s only occasional I don’t mind. Even when I travel, I find some way to exercise. I carry my yoga mat and weights and put in a few lunges and lift weights. I carry my swimming costume and where I find a pool I will dive right in.

3. Be realistic. Better to eat healthy long term than to follow some restrictive diet (no carbs, no meat, no dairy, etc) and then give up and gain back all your weight.

I am enjoying the new me and everything it entails. And, hopefully, the next time a friend congratulates me on “my baby” it will be for real this time and not my love handles getting in the way!

Written by Martha Songa