The woman negotiating with her body

I spend plenty of my time juggling work, family, travel and all the other things that make adult life so wonderfully exhausting. Somewhere along the way, a promise I made to myself kept slipping down the priority list.

On 18 July 2026, I turned 49—and decided it was time to stop postponing it.

The promise? To arrive at fifty healthier, fitter and lighter.

The ambitious part? Giving myself one year to lose fifty pounds—and telling everyone about it.

Apparently, private accountability was not enough. I needed witnesses.

Why "Fit-ish"?

Fitness and I have history.

I played sports at school, danced in college and have appeared—sometimes consistently, sometimes sporadically—at aerobics classes, swimming pools, Zumba sessions and gyms.

I genuinely enjoy moving.

I also genuinely enjoy food.

Nyama choma, chevda, good bread, wine, cheese, cake and something delicious shared with family and friends? Yes, please.

So this is not a story about suddenly becoming a completely different person. It is about making more room for my health without losing the joy, humour and flavour of the life I already love.

Why letters to my body?

Because we clearly need to communicate.

My brain makes ambitious plans. My appetite requests amendments. My knees would like advance notice.

Writing "Dear Body" gives me somewhere to have those conversations—and laugh at myself while figuring things out.

You'll find honest weekly accounts of movement, food, small victories, questionable excuses and a scale that does not always appreciate my efforts.

You'll also encounter Kenyan expressions, a little Colombian Spanish and occasional gym terminology I have only just learnt myself. The Fit-ish Global Decoder is there to help.

What am I working towards?

The number on the scale is part of the story, but it is not the whole story.

My goal is to lose fifty pounds before I turn fifty. Success also means moving my body at least four times a week, working towards 10,000 steps a day, eating better, swimming two kilometres comfortably and writing consistently enough to complete this journey—and perhaps a book.

Writing is another thing I enjoy but rarely make time for. So I guess this journey is killing two—maybe three—birds with one blog.

Most importantly, I want to find out whether an ordinary, imperfect person can make a meaningful change without becoming miserable, obsessive or one of those mysterious people who claim to enjoy burpees.

I'm not a fitness professional, and this blog is not medical or nutritional advice. I'm sharing my own experience as it unfolds—not a formula everyone else should follow.

I don't have an impressive transformation photo to show you yet.

For now, I have a starting point, a gym membership and muscles drafting formal complaints.

I don't know how this story ends yet. That is what makes it worth documenting.

Come along for the journey

So, welcome to Fit-ish by Fifty.

Cheer for me, laugh with me and, if you have also been postponing a promise to yourself, perhaps this is your invitation to begin your own imperfect journey.

We don't have to be perfectly fit to begin.

Fit-ish will do.

Dear Body, we need to talk.

Apparently, we have quite a lot to discuss.

Love, Jay

Penned during Week Nine of the journey.