The Moment That Made Me Realise I Needed to Lose weight

By Abdinasir Mayombwe

What started as slight pain in the left part of the chest soon spread to the entire upper left region of the body, characterized by sharp pains around the heart area. At first, I ignored it, taking pain killers occasionally till I could it no more, since breathing problems had also cropped up.

Off to the Uganda heart institute, I went to have the ECO and ECG tests (whatever they stand for) done on me. Thankfully, the results showed no heart complications as I had worryingly anticipated but the doctor was quick to recommend an immediate exercise regimen. I had painfully forked out my hard earned money for tests that turned out negative, but that was my epiphany. I’ve put on a lot of weight over the past two years, and since it’s a sign of high status for many, I had never thought about the trouble it was just about to get me into.

That was me, but why should you wait for the sharp pains and the pricey medical tests when you can start on a workout plan to save your health? I will not delve into the dietary dos and don’ts since it’s quite hard to tame ones craving for specific weight inducing dishes (I would kill for fries and goats meat) but I’ll l take you through what is a little easier, exercising.

If you have a knack for sports, then you’re good to go. Without signing up to a health club, you can join a group of friends and do sports in your neighborhood every evening after work or school. There’re myriad of sports activities you can engage in.

For those that prefer not to engage in sports, you could fork out a few shillings and sign up to a health club. There is a way, “I’m doing gym” sounds cool, and so you could embark on it just because of that. As for the folks with hydro-phobia, here’s what you are missing; swimming is one way to keep healthy and fit, burning calories without even realizing you are doing so.

After the doctor’s recommendation at the heart institute early this year, I embarked on a swimming plan (I was clueless about the sport) and though the main goal was to keep my raging fats at bay, the thought of getting a six pack crossed my mind. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.

Well, my New Year resolution may have been to get a six pack and even though there’re no visible results, the sharp pains around the heart region are no more thanks to the swimming. It may also not be about losing weight but keeping a healthy body, sound mind and functioning heart. Save that money for something else, not future health problems………………….please exercise.

satisfashionug@gmail.com