Same & Different

Posted by Sherry , Tuesday, August 9, 2011 Tuesday, August 09, 2011


Husband and I spent our honeymoon in Aruba, almost 6 years ago. You'll remember when I posted some pictures from that time in my life, wanting to “get back there” once again – both literally and figuratively.

On my Aruban honeymoon in 2005, I felt better about my body than I ever had (perhaps with the exception of those few months in college where I dabbled in veganism & anorexia and was both painfully thin [for me] and bitchier than a bachelorette without a rose).

In 2005, it wasn't hard work or dieting that got me down to that lovely size 10 – it was some crazy ass pills given to me by one of the first real “bariatric” doctors who Husband and I lovingly referred to as “the Mad Scientist”. Thanks to a bizarre combination of drugs that will remain nameless, I was able to starve myself, somewhat painlessly, down to an acceptable wedding dress size. I spent 5 months eating little more than grapes and fat free English muffins. I also spent five months feeling jittery, dry-mouthed and fearful because I knew that the minute I stopped taking these crazy pills, I'd probably gain back the weight I'd lost, plus more.

I'd been to enough Weight Watchers meetings to know that once one “goes off” of a diet, one is likely to gain back what they have lost, plus more – and also that “nothing tastes as good as thin feels! – unless it is homemade fettuccine Alfredo.

This past June, Husband and I were lucky enough to get back to Aruba, courtesy of my parents. Of course, this particular vacation was just a 'tad' different than the one in 2005. See, this time, we had a toddler. And you know what I say about vacations with a toddler: same shit, different location. It may be Aruba but we still have pee-pee accidents in the middle of lunch, are slaves to nap-time, need menus with chicken nuggets as an option and drink endless amounts of malt liquor.

In 2005 I spent evenings lounging in a luxurious hotel bathrobe, eating chocolate covered strawberries and drinking champagne:

In 2011 I spent evenings reading the The Very Hungry Caterpillar for the 800th time, and donning an old nightgown stained with pizza sauce and fingerpaints.

2005 found us on the beach sipping mixed drinks, listening to the waves:

2011 found us sipping water from sippy cups, listening to fights over sand toys:


2005:
2011:

You get the picture...calm vs. chaos.

The thing is, one thing was the same....MY WEIGHT. Yuppers. I weighed the same in Aruba 2005 that I did in Aruba 2011.

With age and childbirth my hips are a little wider, my hair a little grayer and my drinks are a little stronger.

But what's pretty cool is that all in all, the photos of my from 2005 and the photos of me from 2011 aren't all that different and I'm finally back where I wanna be. Only this time, it is for good.


2005:

2011:



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