Lean into It

Betty Balaba

Description

Becca Johnson is a successful marketing manager who has her life stylishly mapped out, until one day her mother is unexpectedly admitted to hospital. Late nights, stress and a rediscovered sweet tooth lead to her once-elegant thin frame transforming into a large cushion of comfort eating and the pounds pile on. Things aren't all bad though, a dishy surgeon and a new career path push Becca out of her comfort zone and force her to re-evaluate her life choices. Becca's life as she knows it is about to come to a screeching halt...

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 28 juin 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528964661
• Langue: English

Extrait

Lean into It
Betty Balaba
Austin Macauley Publishers
2019-06-28
Lean into It About the Author About the Book Dedication Copyright Information Acknowledgement Chapter 1 Hang in There Chapter 2 New Brogues and Near Misses Chapter 3 Late Meals and Tape Measures Chapter 4 Skinny Jeans and Cupcakes Chapter 5 Rips and Tears Chapter 6 From Mouth to Hips Chapter 7 Duncan, James Duncan Chapter 8 Light at the End of the Tunnel Chapter 9 Nice and Nouvelle Cuisine Chapter 10 Burnt Toast Chapter 11 Photos and New Possibilities Chapter 12 Emma’s Offer Chapter 13 Neighbours and Gossip Chapter 14 Hidden Treasures Chapter 15 Truths You Didn’t Want to See Chapter 16 Afternoon Tea Chapter 17 Yo-Yoing the Pounds Chapter 18 Boot Camp Chapter 19 Keeping Momentum Chapter 20 New Beginnings
About the Author
Betty Balaba lives between London and the United States and is currently working on her second novel. She worked in marketing before pursuing her dream of becoming a writer. Lean into It is her first novel, a semi-autobiographical book about Becca Johnson, who undergoes major life changes when her mother is suddenly admitted to the hospital for an extended period of time.
About the Book
Becca Johnson is a successful marketing manager who has her life stylishly mapped out, until one day her mother is unexpectedly admitted to hospital. Late nights, stress and a rediscovered sweet tooth lead to her once-elegant thin frame transforming into a large cushion of comfort eating and the pounds pile on. Things aren’t all bad though, a dishy surgeon and a new career path push Becca out of her comfort zone and force her to re-evaluate her life choices. Becca’s life as she knows it is about to come to a screeching halt…
Dedication
For my mother, who showed me that ‘I am my only limits’; and for my father, who always told me everything was possible and to always ‘take courage’.
Copyright Information
Copyright © Betty Balaba (2019)
The right of Betty Balaba to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528926362 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528926379 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781528964661 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Acknowledgement
This is a story that occupied a number of years of my life and I didn’t know if I would be ready to write about any parts of it. There are many moments of laughter, stress and encouragement. I am very thankful and feel very blessed for all the people who have dipped in and out of my life during this time, because I learnt something from all of you.
I would particularly like to thank my family: my mother, father, Angela, Bryan, Madina, Sarah, Sophia and Samantha for their unending support. To my mother, who said that ‘I had to write’. A special mention to my friend Idiz Boro, who always insisted that I should write – ‘You have many stories to tell. Just start.’
To my friend Joumana – we laughed tears together, who insisted: ‘If the weight went on, then it could come off.’ Thank you to my friends who cheered me on: Mehrnaz, Shahwar, Enrica and Aseel. Thank you to Sophie Milner, whose encouragement made a huge difference.
I would like to thank Austin Macauley Publishers for all their assistance throughout the process, for seeing potential in my book and helping me bring it to a wider audience, making a dream come true. Thank you to everyone I worked with in marketing, we had some great times, giving me cherished memories.
To all the patisseries I visited during this period – sometimes all you really need is a ‘little treat’.

Stressed spelt backwards is desserts…coincidence?
I think not!
Author Unknown
Chapter 1

Hang in There
My breath caught in my throat. You’ve got to be kidding me. I kept my eyes fixed on the bright digital numbers that stared back so unforgivingly. Eventually my head snapped back and I saw myself in the bathroom mirror, grimacing. The previous day, on a whim, I had bought what the Sales Assistant had described as ‘an all-singing, all-dancing scale’. I had nodded enthusiastically when told the scale would measure not only my weight but also my percentage weight, water body percentage and all over body composition. Clearly, I couldn’t do without it.
Well, that was yesterday. Today, something wasn’t right. The figure that stared back so unflinchingly was the same as the one that my old scale had shown! All along, I had thought that the old scale was lying to me. It must have been lying to me! Surely I couldn’t have been the heaviest I’d ever been? I’m only 5’ 6½" and please don’t forget the ½ because it is important to me, in its own way. Well, sometimes I am 5 foot 7 inches depending on what my hair is doing. But surely not tall enough to cause all that weight?
There was no avoiding it now; even the unluckiest person couldn’t be lumped with two broken scales in a row. I was the heaviest I had ever been. Not obese, not out of control by global standards, but a gigantic leap from the weight I was used to.
How had this happened? How had I allowed it to happen? I had always been thin! Not in a vain way, you understand. It was just a fact; like the fact that banging your head against a wall burns 150 calories an hour. Of course, those 150 calories aren’t worth the damage you do to your head. But it’s a fact nonetheless; even if it only takes a minute to decide against that course of action. That’s the thing with weight. It creeps up on you little by little. But when you notice and try to do something about it, you realise that it isn’t going to be as easy to get rid of as it was to gain.
When did this stealth attack start? Exactly one year, two weeks and four days ago. A gradual increase in flesh, of course; a pinch here, an inch there. A breath held while buttoning something up – and before you know it, your once loose top is not only tight but indecently so. Without having even changed my wardrobe, I suddenly found myself a star in my own rap video. I was once one of those annoying people who could eat a dessert every evening. You name it: melt-in-the-middle chocolate pudding, apple crumble, red velvet cake. Never mind the bars of chocolate thrown in for good measure. All previously without putting on an extra ounce – to now suddenly becoming a fat person. Yes, I said it: FAT. My friends always joked that inside me there was a fat person fighting to get out. Well that person in waiting had finally made it; and now the thin person I had once been was stuck insider her.
What caused me to cross the drawbridge? Was it as simple as changing my priorities and not looking after myself enough? Well my bones hadn’t suddenly expanded, and I hadn’t developed a thyroid issue either. I had to admit that the culprits were my good friends, Fork and Spoon. They had found my mouth and taken up residency there. And now I was paying the price.
*
Hospitals are no one’s favourite place. But now I was about to become intimately acquainted with one. The sirens wailed like a life screaming in terror as the ambulance sped on. Yet it was also somehow comforting: at least our situation was being taken seriously, and the world knew it.
I could see my mother’s eyes watering above the oxygen mask, and knew she was scared. She often tried to hide her fear but this was too much. I, at least, needed to stay calm. It was the last thing I felt – but she needed me to.
The inside of the ambulance had a stretcher on one side, where my mother lay. One of the ambulance men was reassuring her while slipping in questions about her health. When she couldn’t answer, he turned to me.
“When did her symptoms start?”
“An hour ago,” I said.
“How was she feeling?”
“She was walking into the kitchen and became breathless.” He glanced at my mother as I continued, “I asked her why a few times, but she didn’t seem to know.”
“Well, we’re giving her oxygen, but to be honest we won’t know more until we have run some tests at the hospital.”
I nodded, knotting my hands whilst perched on a seat by the rear doors of the ambulance. I was scared. People start to feel unwell and then, before you know it, they get worse. And worse…
I smiled at my mother and mouthed, “It will be okay.” Above the mask, her eyes found mine. I started to feel hot. Was it really hot in there or just my reaction? The ambulance seemed to be leading us away to a place that would affect our whole lives. The rush hour was coming to an end and the traffic was beginning to give way. I couldn’t tell you how long the journey took. All I remember is that by the time we got there, the gum I was chewing had lost all its sweetness. That’s a while, right? It certainly felt like a while. I remember wrapping it in a tissue as the ambulance doors flew open, thinking chewing gum didn’t belong in a hospital.
Even though my mother wasn’t in a good way, from the movements behind her mask I could tell she was making a face at me. I had to smile. She was a stickler for manners, and one of the things she least liked me doing was chewing gum. “A horrible habit!” she would say. “It gets everywhere .” Once the offending gum was guiltily wrapped and in my bag, she would visibly relax.
Her hand felt cold as they wheeled her out of the ambulance. “Watch your step!” they said. The warning was useless as I almost tripped and fell. The last thing we needed was both of us in casualty.
They rattled my m