After 5 months and 2 weeks of this journey towards my set weight goal, I have finally decided that I have no option but to get a completely new wardrobe. All my clothes are over-sized and unmanageably so. Initially, I was happy to have them loose fitting because it reinforced the positive feeling of knowing that my efforts at weight loss paid off, but these days, I am starting to look like a masquerade in some of my clothes, and I think it is time to do something about them.

Last weekend, I realized that I had no trouser pants to wear anymore, and of all  my skirts, there is only one that I can still wear without it falling off my waist and hips. So I called the tailor to come in to pick up some of the pants for adjustment. Of course, he had to take my measurements to inform the adjustment and I was blown away by how much I had shrunk in size. It’s so amazing. My stats have changed from Bust:44, Waist:39, Hips:49/50 to Bust:40, Waist:34 and Hips:44. Unbelievable! Actually, I had not tracked my size in inches  before as I have only monitored my weight measurement using the scale since the beginning of my program, but it is absolutely impressive to me when I think of the number of inches I have dropped. I suspect I may actually have dropped even more inches on my waistline because I remember being over 40inches in that region sometime back. My work colleagues had told me a while back that loss of inches was a better indicator of progress during weight loss but I didn’t pay that much attention.

Considering that I am still not at my 75kgs target weight (though I am pretty close now, I hit 76.6 last weekend), it is reassuring to know that you can lose inches but not weight over time.  Apparently, as you progress with your exercising and workouts, you build more muscle and lose body fat, but because your muscle comes with its own added weight, you may slim down but not necessarily weigh less. Your body weight is made up of muscles, fat, bones, organs, water composition, and food, basically everything that makes up your body including skin. In terms of space, fat takes up more space than muscle. So while you may be losing fat and building lean muscle, your weight may not change. However, do not fret if you are working out intensively and it feels like nothing is changing on the scale. Pay attention to what your clothes tell you. The more loose-fitting they become, the leaner you are getting, more toned your muscles are becoming and definitely less body fat. This is a good sign.

To be honest, I have been a little upset and worried in the past few weeks about how much time it is taking me to get to my 75kg target weight. Goodness knows how hard I have worked and pushed myself. Remember my stairs climbing? I did 20 rounds last Saturday, and plan on taking it to 32 this Saturday. *Heavy Sigh*. What of running? I try to push myself each time, run at least 2km anytime I run, get the heart pumping, and the sweat pouring out of my body, muscles aching. I have even added some floor exercises to the routine, press ups are now routine for me, and some of the abs building/toning exercises. I have managed to keep the food intake steady despite all the intense workouts, and yet little or no change in my weight these past weeks. So you start to wonder what else you need to do to push the needle further. At least now I know that the efforts are paying off, albeit slowly and in a different and more fulfilling way than the figures on a weighing scale. Two areas I am most particular about toning are my thighs and tummy. I love my thighs because they are big, but they were fat! They were what you would call “Turkey laps”. My tummy is story for another day! It was pathetically big to the extent that on two occasions I was asked if I’d just had a baby by a friend’s mum, and if I was pregnant by a close relative. I could tell physically by looking at my body, and with the better fit of my clothes, that my tummy was becoming flatter, but this new discovery of the number of inches I’ve lost in the region has just elevated my joy to a new high. The thighs are also much firmer now, I can tell, the stretch marks have practically disappeared, and the cellulite is no longer visible, at least not to me. Hehehe!

What this means is that as you progress on the weight loss journey or as you rev up your fitness level, whether it is through cardio or strength training, using the weighing scale may not be the only way to monitor progress. In fact, it is probably not the most effective method by the stage where you have shed a significant quantity of the excess weight and are moving into maintenance mode. Losing inches is a good indicator of body fat percentage, which is actually a better health indicator than weight is. Also, by increasing muscle mass and replacing fat with muscle, it aids the body’s metabolism and can help keep the calorie-burning ongoing and keep the weight off. According to the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, waist measurement is as good as weight measurement in determining health status. If you are insistent on dropping more weight, then you have to watch your intake and further reduce the caloric intake. It is however recommended by the American College of Sports that men should not eat less than 1,800 calories a day, and women not less than 1,200 calories. Too few calories can also slow down metabolism which may have a negative effect on the weight loss and stall the process. Besides, if you are going to maintain the level of intensity you started off with, and the intensity required to keep the weight off, you might need to eat quite well to ensure sufficient energy for the muscles. Too drastic reduction in caloric intake could lead to not just loss of fat but also loss of muscle, so it’s key to find the right balance. Fortunately, I have a weighing scale that also measures body fat percentage, though I don’t know how exactly it does that, and the last time I checked, my body fat percentage was 31.4%, down 10% from when I started out in January. That is a 25% reduction in body fat percentage!

At this point, I remain undeterred in my quest for gold! It is still work in progress to getting that body I want for my sweet young age. Toned, tight, lean, bright and beautiful. I will keep running, playing my tennis, working out, and eating right. For the time being, this wardrobe matter has become very critical, and it is now time for me to overhaul my wardrobe. You can guess the first store I would be checking out once I get the opportunity to go shopping for new clothes – True Religion! Lol! Those guys tormented me for 5 years when I could never find my size in dem jeans. So I am going to strut into their store at Union Square like a boss, take my time to try on all the jeans in my size, and decide on buying one or none at all. Lol! Thank God, no be Naija shop where dem go take broom sweep you commot. Let’s get started on this wardrobe business folks….