‘What
if…’ Sue said to me, ‘you could take a pill to lose weight instantly. BUT in
order to keep the weight off you’d have to sign a contract to diet for two
months. Yes! Of course it would be easy to keep the weight off if you’re
skinny! It’s like dessert before dinner. Easy peasy!
Well,
I stand corrected. Not easy at all. As someone who has had their stomach
surgically un-enhanced, I take it all back. Not only is it not easy, it’s not
realistic. Especially when a gal is menopausal, taking tamoxifen, and
trying desperately to survive the coldest friggin' February since 1936.
My flat stomach was supposed to be my silver lining. Apart
from a clean bill of health and a low risk of recurrence, it is the ONLY upside
from my bout with breast cancer, and it is the one thing about DIEP
reconstructive surgery that is supposed to be fun. Replace the breast tissue
with tummy fat and voila! A lifetime of fitting into dress pants.
But here’s the kicker. My fat is coming back,
and it’s not going where it’s supposed to. Since my front has be rearranged,
and since I was sliced in half like a like a 'Twist 'n Turn' Barbie Doll, my
weight doesn’t hang out where it once did. Rather than sit in front of me like
a regular beer belly, it collects above my scar like a loaf of
pumpernickel bread.
‘What’s that?’ Jim said, gently patting my
pumpernickel other day. I sucked in my tummy and feigned innocence, ‘What’s
what?’
‘Oh, nothing….’ He said, knowing better than
to probe too deeply.
I must admit I feel a little bit gypped. I
really liked having a flat stomach, and I want it back. It was a big investment
and I was counting on it to maintain itself for a while. And asking for my
money back is out of the question since I paid for it in trade, not
currency.
So it's time to get up off my yoga mat and
kick some ass. I'm going to dust off my trainers and go to Zumba
(whatever the f*ck that is). And in leiu of dress pants, I'm going to squeeze
into linen pants, in in Florida, in a couple of weeks.
And if none of that works, I'll just go back to Tang (or a smoothie) and cigarettes (carrot sticks). I worked hard for my dinner, and I don't want just bread, I want my dessert.
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