Let me start by saying that I am not perfect, and I have absolutely no qualms about it (or so I think). I believe that I am a strong, resilient girl and I love myself (courtesy of “you can’t pour from an empty vessel” and various other self-love quotes).
Keeping all the poor jokes aside, like every human being on the planet, I too am insecure and sometimes even anxious (actually mostly), and that motivates me to take care of myself. However, ever since the lockdown, I came face to face with a part of myself that I had not known was inside of me – the one who just doesn’t care.
The human spirit is indomitable. It wants to fight back, survive, evolve, and sometimes, kill a part of itself that doesn’t serve any purpose in its highest good, and that’s exactly how I bounced back. No, I didn’t get on my feet to take on the world with the snap of a finger. No, snap didn’t work on me, but a little self-pep talk did.
All my life, I have put tremendous pressure on myself to look a certain way and maintain a certain weight, but not this time. I had only one goal in my mind – to be happy. I resented the insinuation of sacrificing everything we love to eat and do to achieve a healthy lifestyle.
Although I made a few lifestyle changes, like working out at least 30 minutes a day, eating well, and try to be as active as possible, I made sure to not shun everything that I love from my life. I only cut down on things that I can easily live without.
For example, I stopped having white sugar, all-purpose flour, and sweets (Not my dark chocolate) and added delicious smoothies made from fruits and oats, pancakes made from oats and eggs (yes, I love oats), and having a glass of warm milk after dinner, in my diet. Believe me, it made a world of a difference as it made me happy and satiated.
I also stopped obsessing over my weight or feeling guilty after finishing a plate of biriyani. Instead, I made sure to enjoy whatever I do.
To be honest, I have not seen a drastic difference in my weight on the weighing scale so far, but nevertheless, I feel fit and healthy. I can see tremendous changes in my body, I can fit into clothes that I thought of donating at one point, and I am more energetic than ever.
If there is one lesson that I learned during the pandemic, it is to not force anything to happen and let them align with my life when the time is right, and sometimes, leave certain things to the universe. Because, if you run after something, it was never meant to be caught.
Smita in words 