7 things about me

While writing and whining about this weigh loss I decided to drop in 7 things people don't know about me.



1) I met and married Mr Somebody in exactly 4 months, 1 week and 2 days. We met on the 27th of july 1999 at a wedding and got married on the 18th of december the same year.



2) I experienced 41 hours of labour pains during the delivery of my 1st son. Labour started at 5am on a saturday morning and I delivered my baby at exactly 10:04pm on sunday night. The baby weighed 4.5kg at birth and it was a normal delivery. I did not cry /scream/shout or say any obscene thing which pregnant women are known for. I had placed a bet with my sister-in-law who had already frightened me with her personal stories and stories of other women who act up during labour. She was waiting to see my own version first hand(I can be very stubborn especially when I'm being challenged.) I told her I would not even scream or say a word. She said I was just bluffing. The pain was crazzzzzzzy but I was strong. Even the doctor praised me for being so brave. There was one point when the pain was so bad I thought I was going insane, I tried to wish my-sis-in-law away so I could scream but she refused to leave my side for a second. I remember trying to stiffle the pending sound by biting her very hard on the shoulder. I was happy I bit her even though she warned me not to bite her again. She gave me her hand to squeeze afterwards and boy! did I squeeze it!!!!!!


3) A year after the death of my mum, my dad called all 3 of us for a family meeting. CG,my younger sis and I. After a few speeches, he told me I was born without a .......(how best do I put it?) a reproductive organ? a defined sex ? a private part? a vagina? (ooops!did I just write that?)He said there was nothing there when I was born. He went on to say that I was taken to the village to stay with his grand aunt for some months. During this period, she placed medicinal leaves and herbal concotions between my laps everyday until it gradually created an opening/ partition. Only trouble with this story is that CG says she can't remember dad saying anything like that. My younger sister said he must have said it but she couldn't remember, but I know he said it because I heard him clearly and I believe him because:


(i) I don't have any baby pictures from 0-6months. My sisters have baby pictures and church christening albums except me. I had always wondered why this was so. There was a time I believed I was an adopted child even though everybody kept saying I look like my mother. And anytime I was being scolded I would sit down and wish my real parents would come and take me.


(ii) I used to be a tomboy. Each time I got into trouble ( and I always did), my dad would shout at me, asking why I was not born as a boy. He would wonder how a girl could cause so much trouble. I'm sure he was convinced I should have been a boy.

So these two reasons do add up. I only told one person but he did not beleive me so I don't expect anybody to beleive me. That is why this ranks among the top 7 things nobody knows about me. And by the way, that grand aunt,just passed on last year so there's no one else left to corroborate my story.


4)I love Beans. I can eat beans everyday even though I'm yet to taste ewa aganyin. My friends are like....WHAT?? you live in lagos and you've not yet eaten ewa aganyin. I'm now looking forward to ewa aganyin .


5)When I was a lot younger (nine years old), an older cousin and our driver made us dance in the dinning room. While dancing, I let out a little fart. Everyone (including me) automatically stopped dancing and inquired to know 'who dunnit'? We all denied but I guess they all knew it was me. The driver suggested we all take a test to find out the real culprit behind the act. His method of 'finding out' was so absurd. He brought two brooms and merged the bottom ends firmly together. He then placed it on the floor and asked us to take turns in lying on the brooms and he and my cousin would attempt lifting it up together with the person lying on it. The guilty person he said,would be carried up with the broom. My sisters went first and the brooms slid out underneath them. Then came my turn and I found myself being carried high up in the air as the brooms were still locked together. They all laughed and made fun of the whole show. I had to live with it but not for long as this incident was out-lived by other events of my mischievous childhood years.


6) I love chewing on bones. All kinds of bones, chicken bones, fish bones, biscuit bones.....you name it. When I was still very small, I would eat the left over bones from my dad's plate which was meant for our dog. I would skin it bare and crack it with my teeth. Every member of our household called me 'Eka Caesar'(Caesar's mother). Caesar was the dog and he ate whatever I left for him thereafter. I still love bones and now my 3 year old daughter loves chewing bones as well. I chew my finger nails as well as the skin around it. (Dirty habit I know). I tried to stop by fixing acrylic nails and it worked for a while until I chewed them all off.


7) Calabar Gal is my sister. I guess you all knew that already. I should dedicate a whole post to her someday. She has been one wonderful big sis. A very loving, caring, motherly, kind-hearted sister who has always been there for me. I pray that God will bless her and grant her every single heart's desire, enlarge her coasts and bring her to fulfilment in Jesus' name. Amen. I can never forget how she stayed with me through-out the period I was in labour, sleeping on the hospital room floor which had just one bed until when the baby finally came and I got transferred to a bigger room.

I have a lot more about me that lots of people don't know. I guess I'll save them all for another meme.

Battle of the bulge continues

The past four weeks would have been the most miserable period of my life but for the indomitable spirit within me. Now I have decided to ignore the 'powers of darkness' called Nepa and continue blogging with or without power supply. There were just too many things either trying to distract or discourage me so much that I almost gave up on blogging.


At this point I would like to say a big 'THANK YOU' to everyone who has ever dropped a comment on my blog. Everytime I feel low, depressed and dejected, I think of all the love I get from here and move on feeling better. Comments from here spur me on. Blogsville is the best! Viva la blogsville! Blogsville rocks! God Bless blogsville!

Some weeks ago a lady walked up to me and handed over this flier on how to lose 3-5 kg in 7 days. I checked out the website and it talked about some kind of dietary supplement that is helpful in getting rid of the fat adipose tissues found under the skin by metabolizing them off *yawn*! I checked out the rest of the site and found a Body Mass Index calculator.My BMI index read 36.6939509389. It went further to label me as seriously overweight chick with obesity grade 2. There was also a 'Why you must lose weight' section which outlined the various diseases Related to Obesity and being Overweight. I simply took out time to bring out some excerpts to enlighten my fellow bloggers on the dangers of obesity.


1)Cancer

Research has shown that chances an obese getting cancer are double of the chances of a normal person. Man will have chance is getting colonic cancer, rectal cancer and prostate cancer; while for women, cervical cancer, ovary cancer and breast cancer.


2)Gynecology.
In gynaecology it is very common to see the consequences of obesity such as abnormality in menstrual cycle period, excess menstrual bleeding, longer menstruation period, hormones imbalance, difficulty in conception or infertility on the lower abdomen etc.


3)Dermatisis
Dermatitis will occur in regions such as neck, armpits, genital region, and area near the anus, where folding of skin occur, leading to inflammation and itchiness. Besides that, folding of skin as seen in obese, at areas such as waist and thighs. Because of the enlargement of heart, the blood flow back to the heart is slowed down, leading to blood pulling and dilatation of veins.


4)Joint disease
Because of more weight to withstand, the pressures on the joints are increased. This leads to the injury of the joints, hastens the wear and tear process, and finally leads to degenerative joint disease.


5)Diseases of the respiratory system
Obesity will cause the thickness of the chest and the fatty tissues distribution at the abdomen to increase. This will lead to the reduction in efficiency of the lungs, impairing the ability of the lung to exchange gases. Lack of oxygen and stopping of breathing during sleep are prevalent in this kind of people.


6)Fatty liver
The excessive fat in the body of an obese will be distributed to various organs, especially the liver, forming fatty liver. The scariest part is that it occurs without symptom, and will lead to liver hardening when the condition worsens


7)Formation of gallstone and gallbladder related disease
In order to metabolize the excessive fat in the body, the liver will produce more bile, which leads to the formation of gallstone and gallbladder disease.


8)Abnormality in sex hormones secretion
The function of sex hormones in an obese are easily meddled with, especially in women, for example abnormal menstruation cycle and infertility; as for men, erectile dysfunction is observed.


9)Gout
Obesity will lead to high level of uric acid in the blood stream, causing accumulation of purine, and hence increasing the chances of gout.


10)Stroke and cardiovascular disease
obese usually have very high lever level of lipid in blood, hence predisposing them to occlusion of blood vessels; causing coronary heart disease due to occlusion of coronary arteries, heart attack (Myocardial infarction), high blood pressure ( hypertension ) and stroke.


11)Diabetes
The insulin produced by obese in response to a glucose load is delayed or reduced, which leads to the impairment of normally utilization of glucose after meal, hence leads to high glucose level in the blood stream ( commonly seen in adult onset diabetes mellitus.)



So there is a need to buckle up and keep going on in spite of the many challenges I face daily. Eg. Fruits and vegetables going bad because of lack of adequate power supply for proper preservation and storage. I got tired of throwing away food so much that I started taking them that way instead. The paw-paw, watermelon, grapes,etc I turn into juice, hold my breath and drink.


A few folks have been telling me I look trimmer but according to the BMI calculator, I would only be fit and trim when my BMI falls between 18.5 - 22.9 with an average weight of 72kg. I look forward to the day when I'll dazzle in my size 14 mini-dresses again. Until then, the battle of the bulge continues...............