Don’t Laugh OK 😉
Long long ago, I was a scarily skinny girl, with hip length hair, whose mom was at wits end trying to make her daughter plump and chubby. The first time my weight increased from 37 to 40 kg, every one in the family rejoiced with copious amount of cream and cheese. That was in 2007, just after finishing my Engineering degree. The first time I felt that the wind didn’t threaten to blow me away, or that probably there was still some hope for my alien skeletonial face to show some resemblance of Earthly features.
Believe me, with my skeleton body and long frizzy hair, I had managed to scare many a girl while walking along the hostel corridor at midnight. At one point, one of the seniors even begged me to tie my hair before stepping out of my room.
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| Can you recognise me? The last working day in college, and this is how we thought of saying goodbye, by covering each other with ink and writing wishes on each other’s clothes |
I was so thin that if someone challenged me to slip between the cracks of my hostel room, I could easily do that, and probably even emerge from the other end. The umbrellas acted like parachutes and people often wondered if my long thick hair was actually a paperweight holding me to the ground.
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| Back in 2008-09, When I hardly weighed 40 kgs. |
Well, I actually was like a paper, plain and plain, no curves, no weight, just a wild dandelion floating along with the breeze. And if you think only overweight people are body shamed, let me tell you, people can be just as innovative when it comes to teasing bamboo-stick thin girls who are late bloomers.
Well, sometimes when I look at my old photographs, I do have a really good laugh with my sister and husband. Like seriously, how could I look so starved? I would tease my mom that probably she fed our dog more than me. I could have easily applied for a Dementors job at Askaban, and with my meter long thick hair, I could bring some great novel ideas in scaring the living daylights out of people.
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| That’s me, on the shores of Mahaballipuram All the action heroes must have stolen my pose 😛 |
The current times though paints a whole different picture. Earlier I could eat a whole double layer cheese pizza for dinner and still fit in my skinny jeans the next morn. Now if I even bite into non-cheese non-fat non-fun slice, my tummy sticks out of my Tee and to my horror doesn’t go away the next day… and the next day… and the next … until I do some crunches and leg drops and candle dips and Burpees and mountain climbers… you get the drift.
Slow metabolism – nature’s way of telling you that you are getting old.
So why am I writing this post … Because (and I am going to sound preachy here) Weight is just a number. Curves are just outlines. Complexion is just a shade. Beauty is a fad. Strange as it may sound to many but Love doesn’t really check your weighing scale nor can hardwork be replaced by complexion.
Stay healthy! stay humble 🙂
This is my past and present – no matter how much I eat, no weight gain, though I am getting a bit fat around my tummy – was excited when that happened much to the shock of my colleagues who were trying to reduce their fat 😀 Loved your last few lines – that's how I am.
Hey, we share the same past, Raj! I, too, was skinny, with thick long hair! In fact, on the suggestion of some well-wishers, my mom chopped off my hair hoping that now the food I ate would nourish my body and not my hair! I just wouldn't gain an ounce! After marriage I lost more weight and became extra skinny. It's just some time back that I began revelling in the knowledge that I was not skinny, but slim'n'trim! Let people talk all they want. Who cares?! They will talk even if I gain weight! So what if I now weigh as much as I weighed when I was 16? I am BLESSED! WIth the help of yoga i have worked on myself and begun feeling all the more better. And, so should you, my dear! <3
Having been on the "chubby" end of the scale all of my life, it's enlightening to see the other side. I'm over 60 now and that whole slow metabolism thing is annoying, that's for sure! To make things worse, most of our social life revolves around food. I threw my scale out years ago and just go by how the clothes fit. Less stressful! Great message, Raj.
Beautiful post, Raj and I must take your lovely message and apply it on myself. Talk of slow metabolism…and I know all of it by now. I too used to look like a stick in school and college…those days I was trying to gain weight and nothing worked. And, look at me now, struggling to shed all that weight! But I do agree, weight, like age, is just a number. The important thing is to be healthy, which is something I'm trying to focus on, nowadays.
OMG…. loved this.. you know i have an eight year old daghter.. well who just doesnt seem to be crossing to 20kg mark on the weighing scale. Well, and you get it, the entire family is trying their level best to push up that weight. But maybe I should take it easy. isnt weight just a number? My child is happy and active.. what more do I need…. CHeers to that
Okay. Let me start with this : OH MY! You look like a little girl!
That aside, weight is just a number. The key is to be healthy isn't it? That's what we should all aim for.
I had been there too. In 2006, I was hardly 39 kgs and after completing graduation- I was 42. People used to make mockery saying- You must get the clothes from Lilliput. Nothing much has changed and even now being a Mother of a 2-year old, my weight just moves to and fro between 48 and 50. Nice post- You reminded me of the past.
Ha ha! your post left me giggling. 🙂 I loved how you summed the post. So well said.
My childhood was a fatty child. The last message of your blog speaks million of words. The post Rocks!
Roflmao😂😂😂
I don't remember seeing you this thin. Enjoyed reading this totally and totally agree on body shaming. Been there😑
Recognized you in all the pictures. And man you were skinny! So was I! Like a wild dandelion! And now, the fat is just not ready to shed! Enjoyed your post as always Raj!
Cheers
Geets
I love how you write even the simplest of ideas in a humourous way. So relatabe, you know. I love the current you <3
Health matters more than anything else. And sssh, I was a stick figure too, eons ago, so I know exactly how you feel. Had a good laugh at the skeleton and ghost references. You should write more humorous pieces 😀
I just loved how you summed up the post. If we realize how trivial these things are we will be happier. And yes, I was a stick too all through my school years, just bones. I graduated to slim right through college. It was just so hard to gain weight. The first real time I gained weight was with my first pregnancy but luckily both times I could shed that weight. Of course, the metabolism is not what it used to be but the fitness now is way better than what it was in my teens and early 20s.
I was also very thin during school days and got teased by everyone because of that! You said it Raj, stay healthy, stay humble, nothing else matters! 🙂
Ha well I was like you. The bone on my elbow were just short of exposing themselves. And how we change! As we get older; even looking and smelling at a pizza gets fat around our waist :-P. What matters is accepting one's self 🙂
I have always been the fat, chubby girl. I live away from my parents, but every time I come home, I wish they could let me enjoy my stay without pointing out how I need to sincerely think about losing weight.
We all deal with weight issues – those who are super skinny want curves. Those who are overweight wish they could donate some fat to the ones who want it.
For a long time, I actually believed that I would never find love because no one loves fat people. My weight has often laid a severe blow to my confidence levels. I wish there were more people like you who ensured everyone around them believed that weight was just a number – as long as you're healthy, it is no matter.
Ahhh… Well, I have the tummy and I don't even get bothered by it. It's all about hiding 😉 I used to be a stick too, clothes on a hanger they used to call me, my parents still think I'm thin and frail but I never quite believed any of it. Tummy or not, fair or not, good hair or not, I'm me..your last paragraph summarised it beautifully
Being chubby is beautiful. Mona Lisa is chubby.
You reminded me of my teenage years. I was super skinny for most of my life – till actually I ended up in Bangalore for post graduation. My mom, used to think I'll always remain 40kgs. Probably it ws because i was into swimming and dance. Once I left home, all that stopped and so was home food. Eating out almost everyday and junk food took me to a very shocking state and the first time my mom saw me after 1 yr being in Bangalore, she literally asked me at the airport "What happened to you?" It was embarrassing. But now after a kid I am happy I am not some 70-80kgs!!!
Tina
Hear hear! Perfect conclusion. none of the looks matter, character does. And wow…you really were very thin! Grass is greener on the other side. I so wish I could eat so much and still not gain weight! Oh how i envy the people who can!
So many in the United States battle obesity that people don't realize that being thin can be an issue, too. Why are we all obsessed about weight? It isn't healthy.
True…weight is just a number and yet those who keep gaining on the weighing scale are traumatized by that number….:)….You indeed look very thin….However, as long as one is healthy, it shouldn't matter….:)