Friday 22 May 2015

The Perfect Fit

Last year while in France I gained 6 kg in 6 months. Mon dieu - OMG - but when I returned to Canada, I embarked upon a previous regime that served me well and while in Canada for five months, I lost it. Now I'm back in France for 9 months this time. I will not do that again. I can not do that again. 

One of the first things we did this time was join a gym. It proved to be a bit of a shock. We paid more for two people for 6 months than both our memberships cost for an entire year in Canada. And the gym in Ste. Foy La Grande is adequate but comparatively speaking, mediocre. It's not open civic holidays or Sundays and closes at two in the afternoon on Saturdays. With North American gyms open from early morning to late at night or 24/7, it took some rethinking on our part to accept these very French hours of operation.

It's not so much that I want to lose any weight at this time but I certainly don't want to gain and I want to eat foie gras, rillettes de canard and creme everything! I want to have apero and enjoy the white wine and the red wine and the rosé. I also want to eat baguette and cheese after I have already had two courses . . . and then there's dessert. But of course, there's pain au chocolate for breakfast; how could I forget? So you see, the gym membership is worth every penny. There's also a scale there and I can weigh myself once a week so that I can keep on top of it. Last year I just kept eating and squeezing into my clothing claiming that if I could get a particular item on, then I was OK. Wrong! I did not account for the stretch factor nor did I pay attention to how tight everything became. I could still zip it up or pull it on, even though I feared that seams would burst while I was shopping for camembert made from lait cru (raw milk).

That's the ticket - the fit. When something fits perfectly, you look good and feel good. Even at 6 kilos later, I was able to zip up my pants, but I did have waistband imprints for the rest of the day after half an hour of wearing them. But you see, I could still zip them up so I rationalized saying, "well of course, a pound or two will do that". No! Ten pounds or so will do that!

Very often I have heard women say that "nothing fits right" when they are out shopping for new clothing. The problem is, of course, that these women are trying on clothing that is simply too small. It probably was the size they last bought, and instead of going into a larger size, they just give up and say that nothing is fitting properly. Forget the numbers is probably the best advice to follow. So if you were a six and now a ten, suck it up (maybe don't suck it up, I tried that) and wear clothing that fits at the size ten that you actually are. In that way you will feel beautiful and comfortable and not like a stuffed sausage. You will look better, feel better and enjoy everything you do rather than looking as if you squeezed yourself into a size or two smaller, are barely able to bend over, and thereby feeling every bit of the excess weight. 

It is quite remarkable how much better you feel and look if your clothing fits properly. In the meantime, I don't plan to go shopping for awhile, instead I will remain in my easy-to-put-on clothing and maintain the comfort of the size in my present closet. 

3 Month Update (August 11, 2015): 
Going to the gym regularly except when we have guests.  
Haven't gained any weight. (Yay!)  
Eating what I want (most of the time). 
Enjoying the south-west of France.


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