The L&M is at it again — constant queries about his loss of weight and appearance. Yes. He is on a dieting spree. This has become a sort of annual event for him. They call it yo-yo dieting in fitness circles. He will lose a couple of kgs and then promptly gain back all of it and some. So over the years it has been more of gain than loss.
I must tell you about his diets. Why, he is perpetually on one. No, not the kind where you eat smaller portions of your food or avoid eating fried and salty food. Such mundane diets are for the uninitiated. For the likes of the L&M, it has to be something exotic; it is called mono dieting. He goes on an all-fruit diet, an all-milk diet and even an all-nuts diet. When he had been on the last mentioned, I almost went crazy enduring the crunch-crunch of the L&M munching his way through bowlsful of nuts through the day.
Needless to say, he would have gained, rather than lost a few pounds at the end of the particular diet. You see, no one had told him that the special diet is in lieu of the three regular meals he has in the day! Perhaps he misunderstood mono-dieting for mono-snacking! đ
Food is not the only thing in his scheme of dieting. He doesnât believe in doing things by half. No sir, not my L&M. So, he fills our already cramped flat with fitness paraphernalia â exercise bike, dumb-bells, an assortment of weights, a treadmill, not to speak of half-a-dozen pairs of shoes. I have lost count of the number of this equipment. Suffice to say that I have to sit on the treadmill while cutting vegetables, dry the clothes on the bike when it rains and use the weights to grind my masala. One day I almost broke my neck when I accidentally switched on the treadmill while getting off it and had to scramble for safety. I have a perpetual crick in my neck trying to duck under assorted fitness machines and an everlasting wound on my toe where I have stubbed it a million times on one of them. Any protest against them are greeted by a full-blown quarrel and accusations about an uncooperative spouse. So I have resigned myself to their presence and have decided that it would be much easier to endure them than fight them.
This regular gaining and losing of weight has made it necessary for him to keep clothes in several sizes. His wardrobe contains shirts and trousers from sizes 38-44. The number of vests and briefs run into several dozens. I have had to develop a special classification code akin to the library classification coding to identify them. I know that he has gained a few kilos if he surreptitiously starts hunting for his bigger sized clothes. I also become suspicious when he offers to wash the clothes, lest I get to see the larger size tags.
There are variations to this:
âWhere did you buy these vests?â
âWhy, what happened?â
âThey have shrunk! Wonder if even VIP is getting its wares from China!â he would guffaw to put me off-track. Not me sirree!
âThey donât have a size bigger than 110cms! I have to place a special order for the larger size,â â grumpy me.
âWho said anything about a bigger size?â and he would valiantly struggle into the smaller sized vest and try to breathe normally without bursting a seam.
When he is on one of his dieting expeditions, he is completely obsessed with his weight. The someone steps in through the door, he begins grilling them, âHow do I look? Slimmer than the last time you saw me?â
Now, the person who has been targeted thus by L&M is in a spot, and a tight one at that: answer in the affirmative or negative, is the dilemma.
If the person so cornered were to answer that he had indeed slimmed a bit, he/she would have to face a further barrage of questions:
âWhere exactly have I reduced? Around my waist? Arms?â the questions would continue ad nauseum.
If, to avoid these questions they were to answer that he had not reduced, he would go into a sulk for the rest of their visit, making them wish they had never come. Childish? You bet!
My brother has found a way to get over this grilling. As soon as he sees L&M, he says, âHi there! You have reduced quite a bit around your tummy. I should think about an inch and a half. Your neck looks slimmer too. And man! What have you done to your arms and chest? They are rippling with muscles!â All said in one breath, without letting L&M to get in a word edgeways. Does this please the L&M? Yes and no. He is contrarily upset much like the child whose toy has been snatched away, because he has been forestalled in his questions. But of course, he couldnât complain, could he, now that all his possible questions had been answered?
But L&M is not one to be cowed down for long. Soon he would launch on a critique on the wonderful diet that had enabled him to achieve the goal. My brother would groan (inaudibly, of course). The poor man!
I must admit that he comes up with ingenuous ways to stop dieting.
âFancy a drive? The weather is perfect for a long drive,â he would suggest. The sucker that I am, I would think he was in a romantic mood and agree to it. Some kilometres into the drive he would imperceptibly begin slowing down. I would then notice the cause â far in the distance the Haldiramâs would be beckoning dieters with a weak will, much like my L&M.
âHey look, Haldirams! The last time I had goofed up with your order for aloo tikki, remember? Shall I get you one?â
âNo, I donât want to eat anything.â
âI know, you are afraid I would eat something. I promise not to touch anything,â he would say with such a pathetic face, that I would relent and we would pull over.
He would just order an aloo tikki as promised and a bottle of water for himself, the regular martyr! But the way he would keep looking at every bite I took, I would be freaked out and beg him to have a piece. He would demur and when I kept insisting, he would âreluctantlyâ agree to get himself a plate of pani puris (âthey donât have so many caloriesâ). And from there it would be downhill all the way.
âI shouldnât have done that,â he would keep saying and looking at me accusingly as if I had been the cause of his sliding back in his dieting. No response from me.
âWe should not have come this way and avoided the temptation.â
Still no response from me.
After a sidelong glance at me, he would sigh and say, âFrom tomorrow I will not touch any rice for a month. That should do the trick, what do you think?â
……….
âHey, what did I say? Why are you crying?â
The Cybernag 
I did.. I will send it to you for proof reading…:)
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Oh big mommy, i laughed to death on this one. My project is abt to end and somehow all my meetings are cancelled and i go exploring your blog. You donno how you are tempting me to wtite about S. Sad thing is, though there are equally funny stuff, i cant punch humor like you…:( i cudnt comment at work
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Good, laughter is the best medicine and all that. Do write about S too. You never know if you are good at something till you try.
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Hahaha! This is one ultimate story:P Poor you! You had me in splits on the Haldiram episode. Lucky L&M, he has an understanding spouse like you! Glad i checked on the link you sent me:P
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Glad to know you enjoyed the story. It is a perennial battle, a losing one for him and like you rightly pointed out, I suffer!
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LOL,L&M sounds so cute!…I was literally visualizing through your words đ
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Oh, he is, is he? LOL He would be mighty kicked up about another fan!
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that battle is often a losing battle if one loves to eat đ
having said, guys do love their gadgets. i’m as happy as i could be today coz, i got the zoom lens i ordered today for my camera. can’t wait for the weekend to arrive now đ
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Oh yes, it always is, isn’t it? Have fun with your camera, taking wonderful shots. how about posting some on my blog?
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Same story as mine! but gladly, I did reduce a lot and still in the process. đ But seriously, even I end up having cheat meals from time to time. The temptations are too strong but eating healthy and normal is a necessity.
Plus, for your own safety, I think you should throw away the machines from your house đ and the best way, is to eat normal and to sweat it out as much as possible.
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Poor guy, let him do what he wants đ
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Of ccourse, the L&M does what he wants to do! As for ‘poor’, well….. đ
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As always a great read..come join us on twitter too
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Thank you Neerja! You are a persistent one, aren’t you? Well let me see….
đ
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Is it possible to lose weight around the neck? Must add your brother is one smart chap đ
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Welcome here Purba! When one is overweight all round, losing some weight has a bearing on all the parts, neck being one of them! Double chins are part of the neck too! đ
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Wow often heard and grilled women for their obsession with slim waists but a guy trying to tone down a bit is a first…..and in the way u describe this gentleman i must say he sure has got some charisma đ
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The L&M will be pleased with your compliment! oh, yes, men are very much into slimming and losing the paunch and whatever not. But like many other things, dieting has also become a gender stereotyped one! đ
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Great words on dieting đ
I decided years ago to change my eating habits. Eat the same food but over 5 small meals, never allowing myself to get full, and never hungry. It worked wonders for my health and weight, and I do it still.
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Your diet sounds like the most sensible one to follow. maybe I will start that one, unless the L&M finds some variation of the same! đ
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hehe..this is so hilarious đ
L&M sounds like fun…and so very cute….
My hubby’s weight also keeps yo-yoing..wonder how they can lose weight just like that.
I am huffing and puffing everyday on my walk and the needle on the scale refuses to budge đ
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Reducing is easy, keeping it that way is what beats these guys! I most certainly don’t find the L&M cute when he is in one of those phases, but I do feel sorry at times đ
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My favourite ‘The L&M series’ post is back ! As always a fun read ! Loved it !
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Thanks Chits! I have missed you here! Glad you liked it đ
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haha..reminds me of Me! I go on a diet every third day. When I ‘avoid’ sweets, I eat all the fried stuff and viceversa. Everytime there is a ‘fast’ day, I feast on Sabudana Khichdi, everything fried in Aalu, even Aalu ka halwa in pure ghee! and then I eat more the next day, claiming I was on fast earlier.Nice one.
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the L&M would be pleased to read your comment and find a kindred soul there I’m sure! your ‘diets’ are even more ‘deadly’! imagine eating all the fried aloos and then more the next day! LOL
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Hahaha! So cute CN…u are both such an adorable couple!
And what’s it with men and equipment..just had a quarrel with my husband who wanted a printer in the house – Just to print tickets after web checkin…the space occupied and the multiple wires are not his concern….Hmmmmphhhhh!
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Adorable? đ It is more like me saying no and no to everything and he going munch munch with everything! The exercise equipment are all largely unused.
You should thank your stars it is just a printer. but don’t let on, otherwise the next thing might be bigger and more troublesome! đ
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