You're FAT, not phat

You're fat, as in having too much lipid, not phat as in pretty hot and tempting.

Last Thursday, I spent the whole day visiting project sites from Putrajaya to Negeri Sembilan to Melaka and back to Putrajaya (yes, I still have to turun padang although I am 27 weeks pregnant). I felt comfortable talking to the man behind the wheel (we took the office's Toyota Fortuner) whom had been assigned to take me to the sites.

Somehow, he probably got too comfortable and started revealing...inappropriate things. He started by complementing how well I maintained my appearance, my body especially, even when I have a kid and am almost 7 month pregnant. He asked me how I did it and I simply replied "Bukan ke majoriti org yg kerja akan cuba jaga." It was actually a statement but he mistook it as a question (I really do have to improve my communication skill).

Then, he started to tell me about his wife, how she doubled in size during her pregnancy and instead of loosing weight after birth, gained even more. I really didn't know how to respond to that so I said that it was probably because she didn't breastfeed or maybe it's in her genes, some very fortunate people simply have high metabolism and some people don't (my metabolism is, at best - moderate...I think I'll be having 'fat issues' too when I hit my 30s).

"Tak de lah. Dia mmg berhias utk org opis je," he said. He told me that he had tried to talk to her, even compared her to himself (he has a well-maintained body. Come to think about it, I didn't notice if he had any flabby tummy) and even reminded her that he could still attract hot chicks!

"Yang penting, masih sayang." It was not a question. It was a statement I made so that it would end there.

I tried to put myself in her shoes. She's probably too busy with work and kids and has very low metabolism and couldn't find the time to take care of her weight. Besides, it's really not easy to stop yourself from eating all those sinfully delicious food. Sometimes I even tell myself that it's better to eat while I still can. There are times that I don't even notice that I've put on weight until someone tells me (coz I rarely step onto the scale).

I'm not trying to make excuses for her or for myself. Overweight is a global issue. It's a battle that I face constantly too and have even considered going to slimming boutiques coz I thought there were shortcuts. However, I would feel really depressed if my spouse found me unattractive even if it's just physically (just?!). I'd be horrified! Mortified! Petrified!

People would say to me that the main reason I should take care of my weight is my health. But I am not really someone who has been blessed with excellent health. I have various health problem to the extent that my spouse thinks me fragile.

I tried to put myself in his shoes. I don't mind if my spouse is quite fat (I'm not saying that he is *wink*wink*) as long as he's healthy. However, excess body fat rarely walks alone without adverse effect on health and I can't bear the thought of living my life without him. I'm concerned more on his health than his looks. Well, I didn't marry him for his looks in the first place ;p.

Unlike me, my spouse is blessed with good health. That's what I think people with overweight spouse should focus on - their health instead of their looks. Attractiveness is a bonus that comes later after all the hard work.

An interesting fact from Wiki: The risk of obesity in dogs is related to whether or not their owners are obese; however, there is no similar correlation between cats and their owners.