Getting the hang of it.....

...this 50 thing....

just like riding a bike....

But, the truth of the matter is....you have to be wearing the right shoes. You can't ride a bike in stihlettos! Well, I guess you could. But, I wouldn't suggest it...

Just like most things in life, you really do have to be prepared. Shoes are only part of the equasion.

Being prepared is what I think got me this far....all the way to my 5th day of being 50. You see, I don't think I could have done it 90 pounds ago. When I decided to have Lapband surgery--I really wasn't thinking about today. Honestly. Trust me, I am not that planful of a person. I did not get my Lapband so that I could turn 50 being 90 pounds lighter. I did it for many reasons....but today wasn't one of them. It just worked out that way. Being 50 and well under 200 pounds is definitely a gift....an unexpected, wonderful one at that.

My sister Denise found it pretty funny when I told her what I really wanted to do for my birthday, the plans I had. But, I think my list sums me up just perfectly. Or, to be more exact--it sums the real ME up perfectly. The ME I dare to be.
Here they are.....
*get my teeth whitened
*smoke a joint
*go to a bread baking class at Enrico Biscotti
I did one of them and the other two are in the works.
What would I have wanted 90 pounds ago? I'm pretty sure I know....
*smoke a joint
*lose 100 pounds
I would have never thought about my teeth and I would have never even considered a bread baking class---too many calories and too many people who would look at me thinking "that fat girl doesn't need to learn how to bake bread". But, I'll be honest, I always wanted to smoke a joint....on my 50th birthday.

I keep trying to think what this time in my life would have been like if I didn't get my Lapband and lose this weight. It's not a pretty picture I'm conjuring up in my head. Oh, I'm sure I would have embarked on a diet sometime before I turned 50. But, just like most of the diets I put myself on for so many years--I would have spent a lot of cash and maybe lost a few pounds. And, I probably would have put myself on an exercise regimen. But, just like the rest of my good exercise intentions--I would have ended up with some really cute 3X work out wear and an expensive gym membership.

Yes, arriving at 50 as unhappy as I was about my weight would not have been a good thing. Not at all. Would I ever have got the hang of 50....90 pounds ago?
It would have been like riding a bike in stihlettos. With teeth that needed whitening and a craving for bread and the munchies....