I just came back from a holiday seeing family (I love family breaks, it is so great to be engulfed by my beloved ones) and I noticed that only my mum, my sister and I were concerned about our weight gain on the trip whilst our male partners were quite oblivious to the subject, saying “well we are on holiday, stop worrying about it, you look lovely…”. So writing this blog, it made me reflect on the subject.
Generally speaking, women are much more conscientious about their weight than men. Many times unjustifiably. Women are built differently and it seems that we are supposed to be curvy, however, in modern times, being curvy is not fully appreciated (in comparison to earlier centuries in which being plump was something to be proud of).
I think that the golden rule is to have a regime that one can live with in the long term and without losing the small joys of life (for example restricting oneself to eating only low calorie food).
As many other women, I also relate to the subject. I am certainly not fat, but arrived in the UK much thinner, my husband said perhaps too thin. Moving countries and having limited, but improving cooking skills (my husband has helped here, as he loves cooking), but also the abundance of cheap and excellent takeaways in London, especially Indian, which we adore, inevitably and gradually my ‘five a day’ of vegetables and general healthier food declined. So like most people, despite adequate exercise, losing those extra few kilos, has been somewhat frustrating. I can only imagine the difficulty of overweight people in combating their weight.
I wonder though, why women are sometimes so overly concerned about their weight?
In general, men have (in my opinion) a much healthier attitude. For example, when my husband gains weight, he usually acknowledges it, understands that he should be more careful and let it go. He consequently loses the extra pounds and goes back to his original weight. Why does it mainly work for men and not us (women)? Maybe we should take some of the blame, letting it become an out of proportion issue? (Of course for some there is a real issue being over-weight and that is another matter).
So with these thoughts, how could we manage our weight?
Tricky question to which, we all more or less know the answer but find it challenging to follow… I for example, try to make sure that my kitchen is “clean” of any pitfalls (fewer temptations…), use the nice warm days to eat fresh salads and when outside opt for a healthy meal deal option. I also swim regularly and attend Pilates classes and I try to incorporate exercise into my daily routine whenever I can (i.e. when walking, I walk fast, with good posture, similarly when watching TV or working in-front of the computer).
So like most people, despite adequate exercise, losing those extra few kilos, has been somewhat frustrating.
I think that the golden rule is to have a regime that one can live with in the long term and without losing the small joys of life (for example restricting oneself to eating only low calorie food). Eat everything (after all food is one of life’s greatest enjoyment’s!) but in small portions/moderation (saying that, my husband’s friend is a Nutritionist and states eat everything that is colourful, keep off simple Carbs, white rice and bread is pure sugar), eat regularly with a good breakfast and avoid getting too hungry. It is also helpful to have healthy snacks to munch on (veggies or fruit) when feeling a bit peckish between meals and of course drink water, not less than 2 liters a day.
In other words, discipline…
