I could be a (pretty) pig if I wanted to

Well, not very pretty if I was drunk! Point is...Someone on a Yahoo board expressed how aghast she was at seeing a post-wlser eat a subway sandwich, bag of chips and soda. She didn't see how it was possible. Well, I am over 5 years out and let me tell you... I can do that. But I don't. For long term success, I chose a multi-grain, not whole grain bread, no mayo or condiments, just lots of pepperocinis, jalapenos, tomatoes and lettuce, most times skip the cheese, and nix the soda and the chips. I really can't tell the difference satisfaction wise, but I CAN tell the difference butt wise! I'm getting back on track, but my food after effects pushed me to my top weight of 170. Luckily, since hubby and the kids are going to Singapore and I consequently can't go on my Scuba trip, I'm taking this time to tour Austin. Why not? It's new to me and fabulous. Today it's the post office, art museum, the tourist bureau, the main library, a downtown nice dinner and live theater. Even tho' it's 100 degrees or more, I will try to dress nicely to remind myself to stay on track during the day. I'll bring water and apples in the car and make myself drink a protein smoothie this morning (funny how I've slacked of the smoothies in the AM and am munching in the PM huh? Duh!) I will park at least 2 blocks away from each venue. I will order 2 dinners for the 3 of us (kids and me). The first day is hard, but I KNOW I will start seeing results day 2-3. No longer do I have to panic. I believe if I do what I'm supposed to, the body WILL follow, sooner or later. Faith...that's a new one. Much different from the despair, guilt and hopelessness I felt losing, gaining, failing, giving up. Peace, not panic. So I may be a little on the chubby side (I actually can weigh up to 175 at my weight and have a normal BMI, but I don't dare go there, and you know why) but I'm still in a good place. And I am SOOOO grateful I am not carrying around an extra 200 in this humid, sweltering heat! I heartily encourage people to take the first year or two and change what you eat, not how much. I firmly believe that's the key to long term success. Some lucky people will always have some degree of limited consumption, but a lot of us can't bank on it and find ourselves in a royal mess at 2+ years, eating small amounts of our old types of food, and being hungry and feeling deprived. If it takes eating an orange as opposed to drinking OJ, having 2 eggs w/ only one yolk, loading marinara sauce with tons of veggies, using brown rice, and the end result is being comfortable in my own skin and not have to concentrate on food (except these rare times when I am pushing the envelope and need to reign in) then I am all for it. Yesterday at the woman's luncheon, they served chicken topped with mushrooms and gravy, angel hair pasta tossed in oil, white rolls with butter, a small salad of iceberg lettuce with honey mustard dressing and Tiramisu. Not only did I not enjoy it (and it was expensive to boot!) I felt really yucky afterwards for about an hour, especially laden with greasy, sugary carbs in this heat. And cheated because I only could eat a very little bit. I would have rather pigged out on veges and had a small taste of everything else. Not eating at all is not an option; it will trigger afternoon munchies. I'm going to call the menu organizer, which was supposed to be me but I somehow got stuck with decorations, and make a gentle suggestion. Even those who are us normies are getting long in the tooth and don't want to eat like yesterday. So, no victim here. I'll do like St. Francis says and change the things I can, and accept the things I can't, and hope to be mature enough to tell the difference. Vicki

2 years plus post op and still have daily tolerances. This week nothing tastes good. I have to remember to eat. Other weeks or days I can eat almost "normal". I think I need to work on an eating plan. I just fly by the seat of my pants most of the time. I play catch up. It is not hard to maintain my weight I worry if I am getting the best quality of the things I need. I am not thin. More like average for my age. I do not want plastics so if I ever manage to drop the last 20 # I set out to lose I will be close to being way out of proportion and it might not be pretty. I really do not stress about it much. I guess I am lucky in that I am happy with my weight and can manage it without gaining. For now anyway!!!LOL Laurie