Singapore, Singapore - Part V

To Spoon or Not to Spoon

About 8 weeks before my departure date I began thinking about the long 23 hour flight ahead of me; sitting in that small seat, the possibility of dehydration, and to be honest… a scene out of Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married”. As the scene goes, Jill Scott’s character, Sheila, was taking her seat on the plane and realized she was a tad bit larger than her seat. A complaint was made by the passenger she was crowding in the next seat and once all was said and done, she was asked to exit the plane. How devastating would that be? I quickly looked up Singapore Airline’s seat width online and ran to my room to find my measuring tape. Oooooh… not good. This was going to be a tight fit and that just won’t do! I knew I was a big woman (a Plus size as we so nicely put it; we make it sound like it’s a plus to be a “Plus”!) but I still had curves that included a waist. That waist was just a whole lot wider than it once was! And the hips… well they had expanded quite a bit as well. My body hasn’t really appreciated my love for food and lack of exercise over the years but up until about three years ago, I had. But things were changing quickly and I worried about my upcoming flight. It was sure to be a very long and uncomfortable flight, and unless the passenger next to me was expecting to spoon with me the whole way to Singapore, I could even be asked to exit the plane. Just like poor Sheila! So with the help of my aunt, I started a workout schedule for Mon, Wed, and Fri. We started walking first, not too far, just to the corner and back which required some encouraging words. Then we quickly pushed it to 1-2 miles which included a stop at Golden Spoon for a mini frozen yogurt. (Awww, come on, it’s 100 calories!) Then it increased to 4-6 miles with no additional reward. We would swim for 45 minutes on the in between days with Sundays off. I increased my water intake and ate smaller meals, eating every few hours. I did not eliminate but I did cut back on fat and sugar. As a sacrifice and prayer reminder to keep my daughter safe, I had sworn off all carbonated drinks from the day my daughter left so I was already a bit healthier from that. As I pressed on, the exercise came easier and the food choices better. Before I knew it, I had lost 20 pounds and was in pretty good shape by the time of my departure date. But it wasn’t until I pulled out my measuring tape that I was truly satisfied. Hips < Seat width! Hallelujah!