skinnyiB

I went to college (in the US) in 2008. I left college 3 years ago, healthy and thin. I know a hard feat after American college.

My first year there, I had put on the freshman 35lbs and I was sick of it. I was determined to get in shape and discovered it was the easiest thing in the world when I realised the counters I passed by daily were of grilled foods and a delightful salad and fruit bar, hoorah! I LOVE salads and cooked veggies, I love meat and I love the burst of tangy fruit...ooooh and cheese of ANY kind. I also love to exercise when I am healthy enough to do so; it feels like I can conquer the world when I finish an hour to 2 of cardio and weight training. Sigh.

Then I came home and everything changed. Not immediately as I was able to maintain my slender frame between 128lbs and 135lbs for a year. I soon came to the realisation that all of the delightful components of my perfect meals were exponentially more expensive than they were stateside. Why you ask? Outside of the -6TT to 1 US- conversion rate, college was covered under school and home scholarships i.e. technically free food. Now, I had to pay for the food and the gym. Both were ridiculously expensive for no good reason and on my salary, lol.

That became a slow roll into substitution of goods to a complete overhaul to whatever was cheapest or quickest. Eventually I got to where I am now roughly 50lbs over my ideal weight bracket and miserable. Miserable, not because I'm larger than I have ever been in my entire life at 182.2lbs but I spent the night clearing out my closet for the first time since I started dressing "heavy". I couldn't believe the clothing I had amassed from my college days to now. Whatâ??s worse, I hadn't realised just how long ago college had been.

My x-small, small and medium tops and size 6, 8 up to 11 dresses, dress pants and jeans had been collecting dust bunnies and age stains. I really like white. After throwing away most of my beautiful tops and some of my delicate pastels, I began the arduous task of bagging and tagging by size. I must have stared at my size 8 black, skinny jeans for 30mins before I caught myself. This was ridiculous! Here I was packing away my "statement" clothing to give away to some other skinny wench (who could probably put them to better use NOW). Lazy I may be stupid I am not.

And thus began my mission. I set out to the grocery and recalibrated my thinking. I had sought the goods to which I had been accustomed in the states...duh, we have lettuce from Trinidad, no its not iceberg but hey. Onions that are white, slightly anorexic and not red... well you get the idea. With a fridge full of goods and the determination to get off my fat and politely kiss it goodbye, HERE I AM.