You know you already felt it in previous months: Your breasts tugging at your shirt buttons, your newly founded muffin top gushing over your trousers, the extra effort required to button up your jeans or the deep breath you now need to take to pull up your dress zipper. When the cold season arrives and we get comfortable in our slightly more baggy winter clothing and fail to realize the fat creeping up on us. Well, to be honest, we do notice after a while, but not to what extent until the temperature starts rising. I am usually very bad with eating habits. Then around about summer, mummy dearest comes from Australia and automatically I start eating more wholesome, filling meals for dinner that actually consist of real food. As a result, it's buh-bye to late night snacking. So come fall mum goes back to Australia and what do you think happens? I needn't bore you with the details of the thoughtless four-to-five-times-a-day plus one lunch or dinner overloaded in carbs. This happens every year. It's a vicious circle. And knowingly, I fall for it all the time! So, every year, around about now, I start doing what is necessary to get back into shape: I start the great battle... With the bulge. You may have come across a two-part article I wrote in Daily Sabah titled "The fat life: It's not a joke," on Jan. 14, 2015 and "A life changing transformation," on Jan. 15, 2015 where I gave a detailed account of my journey from weighing 149 kilograms to 65 kilograms.So I was big. Well, bigger than just big - I was morbidly obese and for the last four years I am struggling to keep within a normal BMI range. Some people think that after losing such a great amount of weight one would not touch pleasure-giving but calorie-laden foods. This is only because they have never been where people who have always or at some point in their life struggled with weight have. I have experienced firsthand and many times that losing weight is one thing, but keeping it off and maintaining a healthy weight is another. Believe me, it is actually tougher and the battle is a never ending one. Yes, every year I gain some extra weight - about 10 kilograms - around winter, but relentlessly, I get down to business and lose them just in time for the happy season, summer. I decided I would lose the weight a couple months ago, but took the actual step about three weeks ago and I am just starting to see results - even if small, enough to drive me further. As much as others' weight loss experiences and struggles have helped and motivated me through the years and even before the transformation, sharing my own experiences has also helped me stick to my goals. Therefore, in an attempt to inspire and motivate anyone else who may have similar issues and are struggling, I would like to share with you weekly the ups and downs of my current journey. I would love to hear from you too, so please feel free to share your experiences, achievements or troubles in the weight department. I am no dietitian, but we learn through our experiences which may help others too. Together we are strong, together we can succeed.