"C" is For Cookie...

...but that word isn't in my vocabulary these days, so let's talk about different "C"s.  

The first "C" I'd like to talk about is CARD.  Maybe you remember last week, I mentioned that the waiter at Pizza Inn asked me if I had a card that proved I had had the surgery and was limited to the amount I could eat.  Well, when I went to the doctor, I got one!  It reads: "Restaurant Card.  Due to Bariatric Surgery, the patient has a reduced size stomach.  Please allow to eat from child's menu or smaller portion. Thank you for your cooperation."  The physician assistant who gave me the card told me that there was no guarantee that restaurants would honor it, but that it was worth a try.  I used it today at IHOP, which brings me to my second "C".

CRAVINGS.  If we overdo, cravings will get us in trouble every time!  Since before my surgery, I have been craving French toast.  Don't ask me why--but I have.  So I went to IHOP tonight, used "the card" and got an order of French toast from the kids' menu.  One slice of bread cut into two triangles with two slices of bacon (which I skipped, thank goodness).  I managed to eat one, and I was done.  I fed my craving, didn't get sick, and I won't need to eat it again for a long while.  It was good enough--it just wasn't "all that".  And that's the thing about cravings--sometimes it's just the *idea* of the food--the fantasy of it...and the reality can be rather disappointing.

And I've saved the best "C" for last--CONFIDENCE.  It is amazing how much more confident I feel now that I've lost 32 pounds.  I swear it's only because my confidence has increased that more men are smiling at me and saying hello.  I mean, I'm still obese, but I've always known that confidence is sexy.  I walk easier, with less pain in my knees.  I smile more and make eye contact more.  And yes, men are noticing me.  And I like it.  Will I continue to like it?  We'll "C"!