My mother was fat.
My mother’s mother was fat.
My mother’s aunts were fat.
Ergo, I will also get fat.
It’s in the genes.

Before I gave birth when I was in my early twenties, I had a figure to die for. No joke.
The curves were all in the proper places, I had a long wavy hair to complement my figure.
After giving birth, I was a new person.
I became stronger and BIGGER, literally and figuratively.
In the years to come, I would engage in yo-yo dieting and fluctuating weights and measurements.
It was not easy to become the butt of jokes because of my size.
I was no longer an eye candy. Instead, I was likened to a candy: round and fat.

The worst part of weight gain is not having the courage to look at the figures like measurement and weight.
I was anxious at every annual physical exam because I did not want to know how heavy I was.
Ironically, I decided to lose weight weeks before I realized that I was pregnant with Rubio.
The pregnancy was unplanned and one of my initial reactions when I found it out was my concern about my dieting.
I could not stop from my wildly important goal (WIG) and that was to lose those unwanted pounds.
After giving birth to Rubio, I committed myself to eating healthy foods in small amounts.
I also became engaged in slight physical activities while recuperating from my caesarean operation.

Last Saturday, I was looking at our pictures and I was able to validate my claim that I really lost a
substantial amount of weight in 2012.

Eating a healthy and filling breakfast probably helped to my weight loss. Last year, I was only eating
2 pieces of pandesal and a cup of coffee. This year, I see to it that my breakfast is both filling and fulfilling.
As a result, my metabolism fastens up and my body was able to burn calories properly.

I stopped drinking soda and eating chocolates this year, too. I acknowledged that chocolates and soda are high in calories and adding them to my daily diet would produce a fatter me. Instead, I indulge in a slice of pineapple after lunch.

This year, I move a lot and do a lot of housework. Having a toddler and a baby is a sure way of burning calories but doing the laundry, sweeping the floor, polishing the floor and washing the dishes were like being enrolled in a gym class to me: the effect is just the same; weight loss.

Losing weight is like winning a battle. I feel triumphant everytime I’m able to wear my old clothes that has been stocked in my closet for five years. Good thing, I saved those clothes and believed that someday, I would be able to wear them again.

To begin my story, I have an obnoxious neighbor who I tried to be friendly with.
Neighbors are supposed to love each other, right?
In spite of the not-so-good stories that I’ve heard about her, I gave this woman (who’s in her 50’s)
the benefit of the doubt and tried my best to keep the relationship cordial.

She has a one-year old granddaughter who plays with my toddler occasionally.
My toddler prefers to play with the other neighborhood kids who are of the same gender and capability as him.
Of course, you can’t expect a one-year old girl to be kicking balls or riding on a bike.

Toddlers can be possesive of their things and when Adi saw the one-year old girl took his chair,
he reacted by getting the chair and pushing the little girl gently.
The little girl cried probably because of Adi taking away the chair or Adi pushing her.
The obnoxious grandmother scolded Adi like “Don’t do it, you bad little boy!”
Obviously, the little girl’s grandmother did not notice me because my children’s nanny was blocking me.
I intended to let my neighbor know that I was there and I did not like what she did; that of telling my young son that
he’s a bad little boy.

She can scold my child if he makes a mistake but there’s no way I will agree to call any of my children “a bad little one.”
It leaves a bad taste in the mind of young children.
I am not over-reacting to yesterday’s issue because that is not the first time that this neighbor of mine called Adi “a bad little boy.”
My eldest child often tells me about some neighbors scolding Adi and some calling him names but I just shrugged my shoulder
until I heard it myself.

This neighbor has two young kids from her recent relationship and her 4-year old girl used to frequent our house.
There are times when the 4-yr old girl becomes too playful and naughty and I never said anything bad on her.
I expect her mother to return the kindness and hospitality that I gave to her child.

Aside from “bad little one,” here are the list of words that must not be said to a toddler or any person:

– ugly
– weak
– incompetent
– slow
– fat/thin

Young kids tend to live by the words said upon them. Be careful to what you say to a kid.