If I could stop time...

If I could stop time, I would have stopped it in my early twenties. This was the age at which I was foot loose and fancy free and the word ‘Responsibility’ didn’t feature in my dictionary. But above all else, this was the age at which I could put anything through my lips and not live in mortal fear of seeing the consequences of my unhealthy choices reflected back at me in the mirror the next day.

Let’s just say my body has changed since then. For one thing it has gradually become very unforgiving when I make bad lifestyle choices (too much butter and I have spots the next day, too little sleep and I can’t function past 12 noon) and for another, its metabolic rate is just not what it used to be. Now the thing is, my head grasps this little fact but my mind refuses to acknowledge it which leaves me in a very precarious position as most of the time I tend to listen to my mind.

You see, my mind still believes that a slice of cheese cake or a hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream will soon work its way out of my system. And when my head tries to butt in, my mind tells me Nah! Don’t worry; go ahead you’ll be fine. And I actually listen to it!

My body has rebelled you see. The only place the consumption of such treats (alas, at this stage of my life they have become treats, in my twenties they were called Staple Diet) work their way to is my hips, bum and thighs. I used to be a svelte size 8 (US 4) but now I’m a … well, lets just say I have moved a few notches up into double figures and whenever my husband dares to comment on my now curvy figure I quickly remind him that this body has carried a baby for nine months, gone through 10 hours of labour and has breast fed for 3 months so I can be excused if it’s looking a little worse for wear.

But the good news it that although I do miss my slimmer days sometimes, I don’t obsess about it. I love what I’ve got and I’m learning to live with it. So there!!

And the super power I would grab out of the bag? WILL POWER.