New attitude, new look, new job

I have just finished a swimming session at the gym. It was cool getting into water again more than anything I enjoyed feeling how loose my costume is. The last time I wore it it was overflowing with all of me but now its just loose.

The physiotherapist reckons its good exercise for the ankle to do some water exercises and even though the exercises I did today were not from her, I'm sure they are good for me. See I am taking this advice of doing what I love for exercise to heart. This advice is from the Science of being well which I have been going on (for a while now) to anyone who will listen. How one must chew properly and enjoy food, that way you feel fuller for longer. So now I have started adding swimming and in time I will add walking in the mornings which helps me clear my head.

My weight is constant at 115kg, and I know why it is so. I have been drinking a lot of alcohol, the whole of last week and during the weekend. Anyone who has tried to loose weight I'm sure knows that is like drinking cooking oil with all the calories. So what I want to adjust from next week is the drinking. I want to learn that it is okay to sip my wine and also getting intoxicated is not the end all and be all.

Driving home from my saturday outing I realised that now that I do not have food as a "buddy" I might fall into the trap of substituting it with alcohol. As I sat there, at the party, chips galore, sweets, all I kept going for is merlot, which was not so nice by the way. But I wanted something to do, with my hands and with my mouth. Maybe I should try gum.



On a very positive note, I got the job I have been writing about here, this is my notice month and in no time I will be in Cape Town, doing the laid back thing.

Meeting new people growing, paramount ofcourse is image. I have been polling my friends on what hairstyle suits me best. See I want to impress, I want my brand to shine through in this job.

That is:

• Professional


• Smart-working


• Thirst for knowledge


• Brilliant delivery


• Committed


• Team-player

We shall see, I am looking forward definately

There's so much more to me than Weight issues

You know what, this blog started out being about weightloss and keeping track of my scale reading. But lately I have been feeling there is so much more to me than my body and what size I am. Not only have I accepted that I am a big woman, I have also started to embrace me entirely.

By accepting I am a big girl I don’t mean I will munch muffins like they are running out of fashion or disregard all the good nutritional lessons I have learnt over the past few years. I mean, I am loving myself perfectly the way I am. I will love myself perfectly when I get to be a smaller size. In fact I don’t even know what size that will be. My body will tell me. I will still walk (as soon as I can without limping-cause after taking off the cast, my foot is not back to top condition like I thought it would be), I will still go to gym. I have made a promise to myself to find ways of moving that I enjoy so I will start swimming lessons again, so that I can swim at an aerobic pace. I will see what else to add.
It could be fracturing my fibula, it could be reading positive books like the Science of being well and four commitments that made me really want to embrace other areas of my life in this way.
Financial health- getting out of debt and staying out of debt
Further education- I was learning Shangaan, I’m not perfect but I want to continue learning. Community development, what works best etc
Leadership career- Running my own company even or NGO
Parenting- doing single parenting the best way I know how. My parents are looking after my daughter till I get settled but I want to do the best I can to provide the type of education I want her to have, just to make conscious decisions regarding her life.
I think it was a personal branding site that prompted me to ask myself what is my definition of success and it definately is not fitting into a certain size. It is rather:

1. Doing what I want for a living-lately my mind has been occupied by rural development. Seeing when I went back to my home town how different a rural child's life is to everyone else's. I dont mean materially but education, libraries etc. The growth of Africa, resolution of conflict.
2. Providing the best for my child-that is love, care, education, shelter and food. What we assume as basics but i see so many children going without.
3. Seeing the world- My goodness I am surrounded by beauty. My own country, Zimbabwe(was breathtaking), Mozambique I hear is heavenly. I would love to see more of Europe,be in the buzz of India and flipping see these "9 million bicycles in beijing".
4. Writing-blogging(believe it or not is important to me), motivational stories and even that novel I have been writing for years(on and off that is)

That was a mouthful. Now let me go and have my health bread with tuna....yum.

Lose weight your job in danger!

When employers speak of medical exam and background check, I never thought that I had to worry about the former. What I worry myself with is my credit record as I have disgruntled some creditors(read bank credit cards). I never worried about the medical exam cause even though I am classified obese, I have always met blood pressure requirements, was never diabetic, although once a doctor did say I need to bring my (bad) cholesterol down. When I went for my last check I was told blood pressure slightly up but I figured I have not been exercising because I broke my leg but nothing to loose sleep over.
So imagine the surprise when I get a call and the advice is lower your blood pressure and reduce your weight. It did not sound like my prospects of securing employment were diminished but that could be me being optimistic. But imagine if my blood-pressure was a big problem!
It seems there is a consensus amongst employers that one must be in good health to carry on a 'certain' job. I guess that diminishes your chances of taking sick leave etc. BUT its a bit sad that a fat person has the stakes against her, cause almost all lifestyle illnesses are linked to weight. Do they ever check the liver really to see if they're not hiring an alcoholic.
This is two-sided for me, there is your 'health is at risk'(I can't employ you) and looking fat/obese(I don't want to employ you).
I know there are professions that weight is really important, recently in South Africa, there have been public complaints that police officers are fat (not unfit), they will never keep up with criminals. But I know lots of people who are classified fat but are so fit, they can chase anybody. Just like there are thin folks that could not run to save their lives.
I have recently read as well that an indian airline has dismissed overweight stewardesses- I guess it can be hard for big people to move along air plane aisles, could that be it? What puzzled me with the airline is the fact that they say the managers want to keep up with competitors by employing fit stewards. Does this mean they just don't look the norm?
When Penelope Trunk wrote about one needs to be attractive to move up the corporate ladder, I was like whatever. I mean I am bright, I love my job, so what if I am fat(leave the fact that I am trying to loose weight, that is besides the point). Is it really possible that people are biased towards fat people.
Just the search "fired for being fat" shows a fireman who was dismissed but reinstated (with conditions) after some protest and a football player who was warned to lose weight, he didn't and he was fired.
In trying to climb the corporate ladder are my chances that diminished because I do not look like I can climb the ladder?