28 going on 29
Hi there, if you are reading this, I would assume you are also 28 right now. Or you just passed your 28th birthday and wanted to know how someone else is going through it. Or in three years you would be turning 28.
I wanted to begin writing on how Covid-19 had changed my life. But I thought it more appropriate (?) if I was a lot more general and decided to stretch the length of time. Here are three things that are coming up as the biggest highlights during this transition.
I cared less about my weight.
Not in a I use to count calories and now I don’t kind of care. I used to weigh somewhere at 51–53 kg, and almost never made it passed 55. But my weight has gradually made its way to 60 kg, first climbing past 55 kg and one by one the kg came onto the scales. Today I weigh at 61 going to 62. Even as my weight climbed to 60, I didn’t really care less. It was because at that time, I had been consciously trying to eat better (think nuts, beans and fish). Therefore when I put on the pounds, I didn’t feel too bad. In addition, at that time I was also buying a new workout programme. I could feel my core getting stronger so I thought it was muscle mass. Until recently, as I looked myself in the mirror in all my naked glory, I see love handles and a thigh that looked really flabby. Just like that, I recalled the times I had ate a whole crepe cake slice on my own right before dinner, the times when I would buy a donut just because, and the times I ate my own baked goods late in the night.
As these memories came running back into my mind, I now knew that my weight was not entirely made of a healthy weight gain. It was also due to a few bad habits I let slip into my life, even when I was supposedly transitioning to a healthier version of me. I realised now that binging on food late into the night is a big no-no. So is lying down right after a meal, even if I felt like I deserved a nap. I also realised how failing to drink enough water during the day had also made my urine more yellow which also translates to my body not getting the hydration it needs to keep those muscles happy and working.
I had to hit a new low to climb back up stronger.
I had a serious wake up call that night as I laid on my bed recalling how and what had led to the body I had today. I knew I had to do something. Even as the uneasiness flooded my brain, my body somehow allowed me to sleep. The next day, I was ready to read and know all I had to know about being fit again. I made a vow to lead a more active lifestyle. I also made sure to load up on water and made myself remember never to forget the importance of it. I learnt a part of my buttocks that I had to work on, a.k.a glutes. I listened to how I can strengthen my mind-body connection so that my work-outs would actually be more effective.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
This phrase stuck on hard on my brain after I came across it in a poster hanging on the wall of a director’s room. I remembered the importance of action. THERE IS NO WAY TO BEGIN A JOURNEY BASED PURELY ON IMAGINATION. However one thing I seemed to have forgotten is that the journey consists of a thousand miles. I had begun my fitness and health journey by eating right, however I never in my life thought that I had to continually face new and old challenges creeping in. I found that there is never a fool-proof action that doesn’t come with its own set of considerations. The journey began because something was brought to my awareness. But to a certain extent, it also had to be continued by being aware of the bad habits that creep in and taking steps to counter it. Ultimately, the journey is still worth the walk, however how we go on it still matters.
