Tali's Journey - Day 19

We're having some great weather here in Chicago.  The heat wave has lifted and it's sunny and in the mid 70s -- definitely my kind of weather.

I’m going out to lunch today, taking a girlfriend out for her b-day.  It’s funny, whenever I’m “eating right” my first knee jerk response when someone asks me out for a meal is NO.  Sometimes you feel that eating right means not eating out, and that just isn’t the case at all.  Even if you just go to McDonald’s you can at least get a salad and I’m sure that now they have a few other healthy choices you can get (I rarely go to McDonald’s).  I’m going to a pretty nice restaurant so I know they will have baked or grilled chicken and fish that I can order.  I’ll just ask for two vegetables instead of the usual one veggie and a carb, like potatoes. One of the problems that I’ve had with previous failed weight loss attempts is an all or nothing attitude.  I’ve had this problem with both my eating and my exercise.  Many times I’ve decided that I was never going to eat off plan or I’ve tried to workout for 2 hours a day, 7 days a week.  An all or nothing attitude has done nothing but derail my efforts, so I’m learning from my mistakes and being much more rational and practical this time.  I think it’s perfectly okay to work out for 2 hours a day if you think it’s something you can do for the long haul.  Everyone is different and what we all have to do is find out what works for us.  What will work for me won’t necessarily work for someone else.  And, one of the things that I don’t regret about my previous failed attempts to get healthy is that I’ve learned something about myself from each and every attempt.  I’m going to use that knowledge to achieve my goals this time. On a less serious note, I wore a shell top under a big shirt to work today.  The shell top is a little too snug but I figured I could get away with it because I had the big shirt on top with a few of the buttons buttoned.  Well, I just came back from the bank and when I sat down at my desk I looked down and the shell top was all bunched up above my bra and you could see it because the shirt was only buttoned half way to the top.  Yikes, I won’t be wearing this again for awhile.

Good for you Tali! Being "Practical" is truly what its all about! Oh, and the bra story is TOO much!   

Well, I survived lunch.  I had grilled mahi mahi with a mango salsa.  Instead of the mashed potatoes I had a double serving of the grilled brocolli, it was quite good.  Think next time I'll go with a white fish though, cause the mahi was a little fatty.  I had no bread (thank goodness I'm not a bread lover, because my friends said the bread was delicious).  I drank water and had no dessert.  My friends had pie ala mode for dessert which they say was fantastic and I know it was cuz I've had it before.  But, all in all, I was satisfied, full but not stuffed and I didn't feel deprived. One of my friends at lunch had WLS about a year and a half ago (duodenal switch) and she was talking about how she has gained 12 pounds and needs to star****ching what she eats.  Everytime I turn around I see more evidence that WLS is just a tool and will only work if you work it.

Sounds like you had a great time! I have a relative who had WLS a few years back who (by her own admission) has gained some weight -- a few weeks ago I saw her in public and she called me out on my arms.  Ah well ... I guess the surgery works only on the stomach, not the brain ... or the mouth, LOL. You're right -- I hear on WW boards all the time that to stay at goal, you have to keep doing everything you did to get to goal.

So, how did her arms look?  Usually when you have WLS you lose weight so fast that you don't have the luxury of toning as you go.  Consequently, most of the people I know who have had WLS have a lot of hanging skin.  So, that's why I'm curious as to how her body was looking when she had the nerve to bad mouth you?

(*To be fair here, if your arms are big enough, you're gonna look like %#*@ no matter how fast you lose it or how much exercise you do--- and since those having WLS often start out larger than their dieting contemporaries, of course they end up with hangy baggy armflaps*)

Yeah in all seriousness I do know that there are quite a few variables to consider about how little/how much loose skin there will be once a person has lost a lot of weight.  Age, genetics, race, luck.  I guess all any of us can do is hope for the best.

I don't know since she was wearing sleeves, but they can't be much better.  But best believe, my legs and the rest of my arms are the business!