My wake up call.

It wasn't after the birth of my baby that my fitness journey begun. It begun much earlier than this, as my teenage years were coming to an end.

I remember him so well, he who slapped me in the face and made me realise that something needed to be done....I remember the exact words.

Dr. Mureithi....I don't think he even realises the impact he had on my life. He was my chest doctor for years, I was asthmatic as a child. During my teenage years, I gained a lot of weight. I loved (and still do) foods high in fat, and indulged when I could. After completing high school and before joining university, during a visit, I had my usual weigh in. My mother was in the room with me....yes, African Mums are over protective, I think I could have handled a doctor's visit on my own by this point.

I remember I was 75 kilos heavy. He looked at me and asked...."Don't you think you are a bit overweight?" My mother cut in and said "She is healthy, she is not overweight." I was quiet, but that was when I made the decision to start doing something about my weight. My father was only 5 kilos heavier than me, and he was taller and he is a man.

My first attempts were met with pithy comments. I stopped having sugar in my tea, I gave up processed foods, no ice cream, no chocolate, no chocolate chip cookies.

When I joined the university, I was in a campus located out of the city and I was a boarder. This worked for me, I would wake up at 5 am and jog. I also joined the basket ball team and finally the athletics team....yes, I became that good.

None of this would have happened if I did not get that initial shock of having my doctor tell me I am overweight, it is all I needed.

Sadly, our society has come to accept a rounded figure as "healthy". I still have a problem defining slightly overweight, overweight, obese and morbidly obese. In my eyes, a slightly overweight person is healthy, an overweight person is chubby, an obese person is just a little overweight....it is how we are brought up, and we should realise it is not good enough before it kills us.

Sometimes, a slap in the face is all we need to get us started...Mine came when I was 18. When did yours come?