Want it? Take it! OWN IT~

My new motto in life is “Want It? Take It! Own It.” - well at least until just recently, it’s been my motto only in relation to calories.

For almost two years I’ve logged every calorie consumed - which doesn’t always mean I was good at keeping my calories within my budgeted amount. Often times, unfortunately, I am sad to admit, I was overbudget.

The LapBand doesn’t control what I eat, necessarily, with the exception of really really dry proteins! Ouch! If I chew slowly and I take those smaller bites, I can eat most foods. Actually, the foods that go down the easiest are the foods that are the worst for me. Cookies and chips are my slider foods. I can’t be in the same room with a tortilla chip. And cookies and I - well, we go way back. We’ve been best buds for years. (or not!)

Recently, I had to cancel attending a party because it was going to be held at a Mexican resturant that serves the most amazing, fresh hot tortilla chips. I knew I would have absolutely no strength to withstand that temptation. (it was that time of the month when the hormones scream for the salty enemy)

Not far from my work there is a little place called, “The Cookie Company.” They have these amazing cookies. They taste like granola baked into the form of a cookie. A really big cookie! They make them all day long, they are hot and soft and yummy! Everytime I’m on the freeway and I pass that exit, I have to use all of my power to not exit and drive directly to that little joint.

So why am I posting this? Not to make your mouth water, but to say, we are all human. We all have cravings. We all have certain foods that tempt us beyond belief. I often wondered if thin people had those same cravings. Maybe not for chips and fresh, hot, soft cookies, but for anything. Do they go through life avoiding the foods that drive them nuts? (oh Nuts! I love Nuts too!)

If you looked at their waistlines, you might think they never eat anything besides fruit, veggies and lean proteins. You might just assume they have more strength than Superman or Wonder Woman.

Perhaps, they do. OR perhaps, they don’t make a regular diet of giving into their cravings. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that every thin person is really good at avoiding all the bad foods. I have friends who eat their weight in goodies and never gain a pound. Those people are just extremely fortunate and I secretly hate them! (not really, but I do envy them!)

I readily admit that during my fluffy years (I’m going to refer to my past M.O. life that way now. “the fluffy years”) I often did make bad foods my steady diet. Why? Well, I always had this, “manana” attitude. “I’ll eat today because I’m starting that ultimate diet tomorrow.” Usually, the diet was supposed to commence on Monday. Usually it did not. But often times, I felt I better enjoy my meals because I was sure to be starving as soon as Monday rolled around. Did I? No, most likely I never did reach the starving stage - actually pretty sure I never did - I had a BMI of 65 afterall.

So what has changed in my thinking now that will keep me from gaining all the weight I’ve lost and keep me on the losing track? My new motto - Want It? Take It! but OWN IT! Log it! Write it down! Admit it! AND then make up for it by decreasing your calories later in the day or increasing your workout. If I want a cookie, I eat half of it and I log it! I count my chips if I want to eat chips. I know, I know that sounds obsessive, BUT did you know that a full serving of chips is only 14? 14 chips! Count them! How many of us sit down and eat 14 chips? Not me! But I do now. AND if I decide I want more. I count out another 7 and log in 1.5 servings of chips.

What about the rest of my life? If I see something I want, do I take it? Do I then own the decision, whether good or bad?

I’m going to Mexico for my plastic surgery. Many may think I’m not thinking this one through. Perhaps, they are not right. But after losing the weight I’ve lost, I know I will never have the money to have all of my surgery done in the US. However, I must be quite honest in saying, I did NOT choose Mexico because of the price. I chose Mexico because of the surgeon. I have several friends who have had many procedures done by him and they look amazing. His incisions are straight, they are done in a manner in which they can be hidden by regular clothing and lastly, he is an artist. He takes hours marking a new patient prior to surgery. Hours! It’s important to him that you’re happy with your result. He’s realistic and admits perfection is not possible for someone who has lost a lot of weight and has a lot of excess skin, but improvement is. I also chose him because he specializes in plastic surgery of the WLS patient. We are a different breed. Our skin has been stretched beyond normal and it needs to be handled differently. I made my choice, I saw his work, I wanted it, I took it and now my friends I’m going to own it. Good or bad, I’m hoping and praying for good, I own my decision.

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