By Nancy Cherotich
We all need some encouragement once in a while. And when we do, we usually turn to one person, our mums. Cause it doesn’t matter how old we get, we always call mummy. Yes, men too. It has been quite a tough week and I needed to hear her view on my newly chosen way of life.
Me: Mum, nimeamua kulose weight. This time niko serious kabisa.
Mum: Hahahaha! (Really mummy?!? Why the laughing???) What has motivated you? Umeenda gym?
Me: Hizi ugonjwa mingi. I just check what I eat, the portions and I walk a lot. I have stopped eating meat by the way.
Mum: Nani? Wewe ni mtoto wangu najua hiyo ni ngumu, you can kill for meat. Lakini if you get serious, you will really cut that weight. Sasa naona ukipata mzee.
Me: Sasa hiyo imetoka wapi? Was it that bad mum?
Mum: Sindio ni venye singekuambia. Lakini it is good to be healthy hii mambo ya kukua kama roto tank si poa.
Me: Hehehe! Sawa.
I love my mother to death but she is the founder of the ‘Zero Chills Union’. She has no idea how to sugar coat, in fact, I don’t think she even knows the phrase exists. In her world, feelings are not things to be considered. Our mothers are from a different generation. I can’t really fault her for that. So, for her to even consider NOT telling me something, I know that things were thick, literally.
I would DIE before I would admit this to her, but avoiding red meat has been an uphill task. It has taken me a lot of discipline to avoid it; I have had to act like red meat does not exist. Like it contains Ebola or bird flu. That is the only way to overcome. I used to be that person who would get really hysterical every time I was served any food without meat at home asking if my dad had been sacked as I believed he solely went to work to ensure that we never lacked meat. I mean, why else was he working?
Moving on, swiftly or not, I was doing very well on the walking part until I got a little scare last week. (‘Little’ is my way of downplaying the incident….bravery through avoidance)
So, I was walking home at around 7 in the evening, with my earphones on, feeling like a superstar. Just after the globe roundabout heading to Ngara, two men, one of them limping, joined me and started walking besides me. I had bodyguards! Yes, my naiveté was strong that day. But that didn’t stop me from being cautious so I tried to slow down to let them go ahead but alas, they slowed down too. An attempt to quicken my pace was met with the same. Something in my demeanor told them that they had won, so with confidence and a touch of arrogance, one of the men said hi. I thought that they were from the Thirst-is-Real Association, men’s chapter, so I just sneered and gave them the ‘you cannot have this’ look; how wrong was I? The man then asked me to look down, and there it was, a knife held to my waist. He had hidden part of the knife in a sweater so another passerby could not see it. I was stunned and shocked which made me come to an abrupt halt but I was ordered to keep walking and act friendly. Trying to act casual, I asked them what they wanted from me and they replied that all they wanted was cash. With shaky hands, I removed my purse and cleared all the cash I had in there and gave it to them, 3K. They asked for my phone but they quickly decided it wasn’t worth the hassle, because according to them, smart phones can be easily tracked. I think that they looked at the cracked screen and decided it wasn’t worth their time.
They walked away after they accomplished their mission leaving me shaken and distraught. The thought that it could have been worse made me shed a few tears as I walked the rest of the distance home. I am so glad that I was not harmed. My attempt to pick myself up, act like a ninja and walk again has failed miserably. Every time I bolster myself up, I get terrified at the thought of being in town past 6pm.
I am desperately trying to convince myself that it was just one of those days but so far, that hasn’t worked. I have been asked severally why I have not joined a gym so I don’t lose my momentum. But the truth is, I hate monotony, and I find gyms monotonous, so every time I have enrolled, I have quickly found numerous excuses to not go more than a couple of times. The joy I get from walking is I don’t have to face the same walls and routines every day. I get to see different people and discover new things every day. I am a very observant person and walking really helps my brain keep engaged. I can walk for hours without realizing how much time has passed, yet at the gym, I cannot stop looking at the clock and wondering what drugs my teachers were on when they taught me that a minute is equals to sixty seconds.
I know that at this point, I do not have the luxury of being picky, but I also believe that losing weight and living healthy should be fun. There is no point of me doing something I know I will give up on after a few weeks. This can only be equated to falling for anyone simply because everyone around you is in a relationship….makes sense? No? Okay, let us move on. I have already given up meat; I should at least enjoy my walks.
As a last resort, I have resigned myself to walking around the estate (boring), as I gather the courage to walk home from work. I am still not going to the gym, yet. But I will compromise and download the zumba and Leslie Sansone workout routines and make use of my living room.
Since many of you asked, I ignored the little devil on my shoulder and stepped on the scale; I am still Nancy at 80. I am kind of glad that my weight did not go up bearing in mind that it has really been a slow week. I do however feel like I weigh 60 kgs; light as a feather. I should probably go dancing this weekend and see if I can twerk without my knees complaining or my audience confusing my twerking with a chakacha dance attempt. It is also a form of exercise, right?
Until then, the search for that body that attracts wazee continues.
PS: Thank you so much for the love and support which has been overwhelming. The messages I have received from those who have been on this journey before and those willing to join me have been very encouraging to say the least. I really do appreciate it.