I wish someone had told me how much work it is to gain weight

“I wish someone had told me” is a series of posts that feed into our inquisitive nature at CN&CO. Each week we hear from someone in our network about something interesting or surprising that’s recently happened or occurred to them – or lessons they learnt. These blogs are a way to pay it forward and form part of CN&CO’s belief that the world can be a better place – and we all have a responsibility to make it so. This week’s post is by Lorraine Lamola. 

              Me in 2010

How goes that saying again? Dynamite comes in small packages! 

I have always been petite. I didn’t really think much of it when I was younger as I thought adolescence would hit and I’d fill out like the rest of my peers. Fast forward a decade and some change later, little has changed; I have been roughly the same size since I was 15 and every year, the resolution is to put on weight. 

I remember when I got to college, I would stuff my face with oversized pizza and greasy American burgers in the hopes that I would gain weight; but the way my metabolism is set up…it never quite happened. If anything, the gluttony brought about problems I never had and did not want, like constant fatigue, oily skin and  CookOut (a VERY cheap American fast food restaurant found mainly in the South) cravings. 

The biggest brain scam was when I realized I actually have to exercise to achieve my goal because what I actually wanted was to be bigger but still in shape. Much like binge eating $5 Cook Out trays, my new found realization brought about new challenges as well. I am not an exercise fanatic; the THOUGHT alone of running on a treadmill or lifting weights is enough to derail me before I even begin.

        Me in 2017- Spot the difference?

I am turning TWENTY SEVEN next Friday-02 February, I think it’s about time I start looking my age no?

As such, please take this as a public appeal!

If any of you know of any EFFECTIVE workout routines that do not seem like exercise, and/or diets whose ingredients do not cost an arm and a leg, PLEASE send links and recipes to lorraine@cnandco.com with the subject #HelpLoloLook27 

Imagine with just a link, YOU can help an African child put on weight.