An unplanned weightloss plan

It has come to my attention that I have somehow (completely inadvertently) lost some weight. One might think that the daily, play-by-play aunt n' uncle weight commentary has led me to this conclusion, but such is not the case. The family comments are usually a wash: some claim I'm wasting away while others duly note that my behind--much like our universe--is continually expanding. In either case, I realized that I'd dropped a few pounds while trying on some ill-fitting kurtis purchased back in June. I’m glad to say that seeing myself in these kurtis no longer evokes images of a soufflé bursting over the sides of its pan.

This realization was somewhat shocking considering my sedentary Kolkata lifestyle and the fact that our local grocer pulls out a Cadbury's Fruit n' Nut bar upon the mere sight of me walking into his store. On the metro ride to work this morning, I speculated on the possible causes of this happy development and generated the following list:

1. Kolkata in the summer = giant, smoggy urban sauna in which "sweatin' off a few" is inevitable

2. Evening re-runs of second rate American sitcoms (e.g. "Yes, Dear," "The Drew Carey Show" and "Ed") too distracting for me to remember to eat dinner

3. Rice effectively cut out of diet. According to my mother, "rice is the real killer"

4. Daily work tardiness ensures a brisk jog downstairs and to a taxi each morning

5. Number of stairs at Park Street Metro station gives legs a workout rivaling even Suzanne Sommers's

6. Mishti saturation point amazingly reached

7. Doing interviews in Bengali = mental equivalent of running four miles

8. Ipod dance party in study has summarily replaced reading economic theory articles