Friday 13 September 2013

In the 'Theek' of Health


Once upon a pretty time, I wrote about colour on my face here

Rant alert, again, but no face attached this time. Just a few size tags. Why?


People are obsessed with weight. But why they remain more obsessed with another’s weight, especially if the other scores lower on the weighing machine, continues a mystery. To some, you have to be in that perfect theek of health - which means a certain circumference of arms, legs, waistline and ahem, which suits the diameter of their heads. If not, then according to their expert fatty acids you are too thin, too weak, too skinny and too irresponsibly used anorexic. My dimensions get me a lot of attention from some women folk around (Mister says he’s certain men folk too are attentive but he does not like to think about it). Now, getting attention is good, and must be enjoyed at all costs, all 360 degrees and 50 shades of it. Here is my way of doing just that.

From school to marriage, I was petite. On the rajgaddi of the wedding day, some joked I would fly away with the hail storm that graced the occasion. Others wondered if I was 18 yet. And a few worried that I will starve the head-geared boy sitting next to me, consuming him with my passion for “dieting” habits - habits which my sweet tooth had not the courage to acquire, or the need to form! Never understood the ‘Oh! Figure conscious?’ thrown at me every time I refused a second helping of what tasted like burnt onions, by belles who seem happily full – with food and snide remarks, both. 

Then, 3 trimesters later, I heard ‘You are not putting on enough weight. You only have a belly. Your child will be too weak’, even as I ate right, exercised right, felt sexy and enjoyed my baby bump thoroughly. Out came the baby and in went the mummy tummy – both jacha bacha weighing fit-and-fine. But who could stop them? 'Girls these days' and 'At least think of the suckling baby' snugly fit in one very long sentence said in ear shot every time I refused to drink a glass of ghee (I liked the ‘girls’ bit). 

Most recently I heard, with eyes stuck on my thighs – ‘You had become theek in the middle, but now …’ and I had a hearty laugh before I let her complete. I had got my affirmation from a different shape that I had finally reached the exact shape that I wanted to enjoy for all times to come. Perhaps, my college time skinny jeans, which welcomed my legs with full arms, were spreading indigestion in her tummy? Or maybe, it was just the burnt onions.

But do I care, especially when I make no remarks about other’s girth, not even in times of drunken mirth? 

I am a size somewhere between 8 and 10. It suits me and those I love. If you are not my size, that suits me too, because your waist-line is none of my business, just like my hip size isn’t yours. Of course, the size of the brain is independent of it all, with a proclivity for wardrobe malfunction when rudely picking on other people’s sizes. Thanks to my political connections with Mendel – the Father of genetics, along with a little discipline thrown in, I plan to remain a size 8. But would the Mothers of Jean-etics understand? Maybe, if they stop eating the grapes which the fox could not reach. The last I heard they were sour enough to be very unhealthy - both for the body and the mind.

Remember the word GIGO from school-time computers? Garbage in Garbage out! Thank God for 2 ears, and a pen to write it all down.


57 comments:

  1. hahaha....
    I too have had the same remarks since years as i too belong to the size 8 and still fit in the jeans from my junior college.... I just love it...

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    1. I love it too, and greatly enjoy those moments. Although, I do wish women were nicer to their own kind at least. :) Thanks for reading, Ajiteja.

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  2. Sizing put to size! Nice post. :)

    Arvind Passey
    www.passey.info

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    1. Nice way of putting it, Arvind sir. Thanks! :)

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  3. Nice, loved the last sentence, GIGO it is when it comes to weight and girth watching with me too :D

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    1. Hahaha, good for us then! Thanks for reading, Jairam. :)

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  4. Great reading as usual, Sakshi! Now tell me, my baby bump is not going to go down with no baby in there to come out, so doI make a wax figurine of Mendel and push pins into it? :)

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    1. No. Voodoo doesn't work. Try less of that lazying around you spoke about in your last post. Maybe that helps. ;) But then, I am no expert and riding on Mendel-explained genes. No credit to me, with my eating habits, certainly not! :D

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  5. Size EIGHT???
    *totally goes into judging mode*

    Curious as to what prompted this post. Did you attend a Punjabi wedding last night?

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    1. Well, it is actually 9, but since that is somewhere in between 8-10, I edited the post there. :D

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  6. Hai which idiot rubbed you the wrong way? Inni soni kudi hai, ekdum saxy! Lo batao isme burai kis gadhi ko dikhi. I tell you they are plain jealous. They can't even dream of what you have. Some women can be such nuisance. No point in being nice to them. Just keep some witty repartees ready and walk away with a smile, dear girl!

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    1. Haha, love your comment. Love the 'gadhi'. Don't remember when I heard that word last. Oh, I don't bother. I am usually very bad with giving-it-back so I take it out like this. :P Wittiness I do try. :P And walking away and keeping away, MOST certainly! :)

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    2. Sometimes my UP lingo just breaks free ;-)! Earlier I would sulk and suffer, but now I can get nasty when needed. Kya karen, the zamaana is such.

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    3. Oh feel free, Rachna. I can let my Punjabi flow too. What turbulence it will be - of laughter more than anything else. :P Waisey, zamaan aisa hai hee! :)

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  9. Sakshi you are lucky. When I was twice the girth I carry now, doctors would not even listen to my symptoms, they'd take one look at rotund me and promptly tell the nurse, "Blood sugar check karo" and hand me a diet chart! P.S. Even when I went with a sprain. Talk about getting discriminated against by the medical fraternity too!

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    1. That's horrible, actually. But there is much about you that lesser mortals like us can just dream about and go 'Oh, lucky you!' :) Thanks for reading!

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  10. hahha !
    This post is like a punch bag now. Anywayy as much as being thin is commented e even having flab is not spared of course. I wrote a similar post long back about office people who cant digest when others regularly work out.
    Y do u need gy m ? Oh u on a diet ? are very common remarks :P in my life
    but then I jst talk in my mind. I dont know about me but ur ass stuck to that seat defntly deserves a 20 min walk !

    Havng said all that Mendel and genetics and every thing prove that no two persons can be similar. some hav huge arms , some belly , some flat stomach etc etc. jaise bhi hai ache hai . Only brain size matters hai na :)
    good post sakshi ! enjoyed

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    1. Yes, that gym thing does sound familiar now. "jaise bhi hai ache hai" - Lovely thought, Afshan. ONLY brain size matters, so true!

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  11. Oh...ho....I am a foodie and on the heavier size, so no comments on that, loved the comment only brain size matters.

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    1. Arrey, more to hold, more to love, Athena. :) Thanks for dropping by!

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  12. How delightfully witty you are Sakshi! This was a pleasure to read. And though I come from the other end of the spectrum, my feelings about it are exactly the same. Buzz off about my inches, I guard and nurture them jealously!

    Dagny

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    1. A compliment from you means a lot, Dagny. Forget the spectrum, I love the fact that we share the same feelings. That buzz off sentence will be used by me too now. :)

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  13. Enjoyed the post! Of course, the brain size matters...sadly that's the not the consideration for most others!

    Thanks!

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  14. I don't know where people get off with making personal remarks! I connect on FB with someone who I vaguely knew and his opening message to me reads: 'So you've put on more weight!' I wrote back thanking him for his observation since I had neither mirror nor weighing scale! ;) I know I'm overweight, but I don't need anyone to tell me that. How interesting to hear your point of view - and find that you feel as offended!

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    1. My my! What is the world coming to. I too will say I have neither mirror nor weighing scale to confirm what they think of me! Oh, I feel offended, especially since personal remarks are not something I make, so its not even a tit-for-tat happening. Sigh! GOOD to connect with you, finally, Corinne. :)

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  15. I guess the gossip mongers are big "j" of you.Don't pay heed.They cant digest how somebody is so blessed with nice figure & good metabolism...:)

    http://sailorswiferamblings.blogspot.com/2013/09/life-is-beautiful_11.html

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    1. Not about the 'nice figure', Anuymous, I wish it was. :P More about how everyone seems to lack basic decency even after acquiring cupboards upon cupboards full of degrees. :)Thanks for reading!

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  16. I understand this very much... Infact, I hear this a lot from my mother more than anybody else.
    Thoroughly enjoyed the post esp the last paragraph ( jeanetics, sour grapes, GIGO)!

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    1. Haha. Yes, mothers have the tendency to too. That just reminded me of mine! :P Good you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it too. :) Thanks for reading, Vaishnavi. :)

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  17. Oh my God! I can relate myself with your post...don't know why do people bother about me being skinny and they being fatty... :/ I am happy the way I am...but what to do...someone or the other always pokes me "kuch khat ni ho kya" argh...so annoying! Lovely writeup Sakshi...wish I could make everyone read this! ;)

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    1. Nice to know someone else can relate to this "kuch kheeti nahee ho gya" syndrome. Glad you liked it, Priti. Thanks! :)

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  18. hahah!! My MIL also is very unhappy since I don't put on weight easily. After my first pregnancy, she was relieved, thinking I would maintain the postpartum belly otherwise, she told The Husband, that people would think that she was starving me!! LOL! Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything for her good reputation and continued to exercise to a more normal (to me) size!

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    1. Yes, the MIL department is indeed difficult to pleas.e The more the fat the happier they remain, especially if it's all on their well-fed sons as proof that we are not starving THEM. :) We all find our ways around, don't we? ;) Glad you got to your normal size. And thanks for stopping by, Roshni. :)

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  19. You see life is all about opposites. You always want what you don't have and don't want what you have. Very rarely people are satisfied with what they have and don't want anything to change. That is mastering the art of indifference.However our society has a high need for approval syndrome - its not enough that you look beautiful,its that others should say that you look beautiful, is when it really counts!

    First time here, will catch up with some of the older posts as well - nice read!

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    1. "You always want what you don't have and don't want what you have" - Just so true. Also, the approval syndrome. So much so, we have forgotten how to life for ourselves, dress for ourselves and even enjoy our material possessions without comparing ourselves to the neighbours. Thanks for stopping by, gyanban. :)

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  20. You see life is all about opposites. You always want what you don't have and don't want what you have. Very rarely people are satisfied with what they have and don't want anything to change....A nice one..
    http://www.tempsens.com/thermistor.html

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    1. Thanks, Rajdeep. Although, I sit a little confused if the 'nice one' is for my poor post or the nice comment above yours. :D

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  21. Hey Sakshi, a very well written post in a unique style about weight. It's sad that we have nurtured such negative attitudes about weight and you summed it so well. I am glad to be here.
    Cheerz
    Vishal

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  22. Ha ha that reminded me of my mother-in-law calls slim girls...kamzor. If somebody is thin, she would say, she is kamzor :)

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    1. Yes yes, that rings a bell, Reema. A loud and clear bell. :D Thanks for reading! :D

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  23. Ah. How I used to loathe all such teasing. But now that metabolism has suddenly started seeming like a myth, I'm dying to be told I weigh less than the coins I have in my purse ;)

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  24. Haha. Sweet way of putting it. Thanks for reading, T. :)

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  25. Definitely not GIGO, this one. Loved it. :)

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  26. Very well written! get quite a few comments in the kamzor category too, what all I have to do to remain this way sigh!

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  27. Lovely post, and lovely, slender you!

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  28. Sigh!

    We could do with more rant posts, you know! :D

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  29. Err I remember reading and commenting on this post. Where did it go? :/. Chalo koi nahi. As usual a lovely post. And true it doesn't matter on which side of scale you are...it never ends. Have been on both extremes and I think I have heard anything and everything related to weight. Who cares! I know you don't. You rock gurllll!

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    1. I have no idea. Comments typed on the phone get lost sometimes on Blogger. Thanks for taking the trouble again. 'It never ends' are 3 words which can summarise Life's Philosophy for us, aren't they? Yeah, I don't care. And someone has also told me how to say 'I'm Purrrfect' in the most perfect manner, and believe it too. So, yeah, we rock! :D

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