Going for a walk in the swimming pool

 I have started going for a walk in the swimming pool as a part of my effort to reduce my tummy.

 Before I acquired a bulging tummy also known as a `paunch`, I was a thin guy. My waist was so slim that even a baby belt would not hold my pants in position. I used to wrap a piece of cloth around my waist and then pull up my pants to ensure that it did not slip down.

 All that changed during my stay at Murugan Lodge in Calcutta. I had spent three months in Calcutta during April-June,1964, undergoing training in advertising at the second largest advertising agency. During my stay as a trainee, I was also introduced to drinking beer. I was told that as an adman I would have to do a lot of entertaining and drinking alcohol was a prerequisite for a successful adman. My tryst with the bulging `Madhya Pradesh` started in Calcutta which eventually became an integral part of my body. In the early years, girls in my office used to call me `roly-poly`. My efforts to reduce the tummy over the years were not successful because of my inability to control my eating and drinking habits.

 Now that I am settled in a senior citizen home and living a more disciplined life without junk food, going for regular walks, and practicing Chair Yoga, I thought my tummy would start shrinking. No luck so far.

 A couple of months ago I attended a meeting where a Sports Physiotherapist was giving a talk on ` Ideal exercises for senior citizens`. When I asked for tips to reduce the tummy, he advised me to have only vegetable soup every evening with no other solid food for 45 days. He guaranteed me that at the end of the said period, though my weight may not be reduced,  all my pants would become loose, signifying a shrunken tummy that I would have to alter my pants. I always listen to good advice and practiced what the Physio preached. At the end of three months, I find that there is no sign of the tummy shrinking and I still find it difficult to pick up things from the floor.

 While I was feeling dejected another friend suggested that I try walking in the swimming pool and perform specific `aquatic exercises` which would not only relieve me of several age-related pains I suffer below the waist, but  also help me in reducing my tummy. Since a mini swimming pool is a part of the facility available in the senior citizen home where I am staying, I have started going for a walk in  the swimming pool every morning. And practicing the exercises that my friend has taught me. It has been 10 days since I started this routine. I am enjoying the experience. This time will I win my battle with the `Bulge`. Only time can tell.