Shoot the moon

Today I was told that I "look like someone who eats rolled oats for breakfast or grit". This amused me greatly.

I have never been known as a person who ate healthily, and whilst I'm not proud of this, I can't say I'm ashamed of it either. I love my food and perhaps sometimes I love it a little too much.

Here are some facts about my eating habits....

• I will keep picking at food if it is left on the table in front of me, even if I've had enough
• If there's chilli padi nearby, I will find anything on the table I can eat it with, and I will not stop till all the chilli is gone
• I eat the same amounts as my husband, which is sometimes disturbing
• I have a penchant for olives - anytime, anywhere, anyday
• I have a very weak spot for candy, especially sour candy. I also eat sticks of fruit gums whole, like my Mum
• Candy Empire is one of my favourite stores
• I will always order a cheese platter over ice-cream or sweet desserts after dinner
• I do love cake though. And not fancy cake, just cheap neighbourhood butter cream cake makes me very, very happy. Andrew sometimes buys some home out of the blue to surprise me.
• I have a tendency to overeat and then say "I feel sick". Hubba tsks at me when this happens. As such, I mostly try not to overeat.

Silly facts aside, I'm not naturally little - Short, yes. But I have never been skinny or slight. Okay so I might not be a big girl but I spent a lot of my former years struggling with my waistline (read: faceline). I had the most unhealthy diet in the world, I drank too much and I just felt like the ugly Chinese girl amidst a bunch of blonde bombshells most of the time. During the school days when everybody started 'liking' everybody else, I often watched from the sidelines, fancying myself a misfit of sorts and playing pool with older fogies to pass the time.

My face was as round as the moon and my housemates could tell whenever I'd had a big meal from how inflated it looked.

One summer when I came back to Singapore, my sweet mother actually presented me with a box of The Cambridge Diet, pleading with me to do something about my weight. I was belligerent about the whole thing, but finally conceded to giving it a go. Thanks to her, I managed to reduce my very unnatural booze-bottom by about 7 kilograms.

That's when I met Hubba.

At one of my first few bike races as a spectator in 2002

He always used to tell me how pretty I was. It didn't matter to him that I wasn't at my best - Or maybe we both didn't know what my best was.When he presented me with my first mountain bike, I don't think he ever meant for me to get as into the sport as I eventually did. He just knew from my tales of my childhood that I had loved cycling, and that I hadn't owned a bike since I was 12, so he wanted me to have one.

Slowly, I got sucked into the world of activity. And you know what, I really love it. I love loving every moment of doing something I love. The adrenalin takes me to a different place altogether and I always feel so very free.

And of course the best part after a workout is the eating and enjoying every bit of it coz you know you did some work too.

But here's the kicker.

I am so afraid that one day I'm going to be inactive again.

Who knows why this may be, there are just so many reasons why this may happen. It's so easy to get lazy and not have enough time - we've all been there, no?

Nevertheless, until the full moon comes back, I'm just gonna have my laksas and mee siams and economy bee hoon with one piece of fish cake and one piece of luncheon meat with sambal belachan for my breakfasts everyday.

I'll be having none of that 'rolled oats' and 'grit', thanks!