2/5/09 Lose a Pound, Gain a Wrinkle!

OK, I’m not a particularly vain person. My primary objective in getting the LAP-BAND® is truly for getting healthy. No, I don’t like what I look like fat, but if I had the health and energy that I did when I was thin and I knew it would stay that way, I’m not positive I’d be doing this.

I might catch some flack for this, but after looking at million before and after pictures, I’ve gotten a little scared. I've looked at several WLS sites photos section…most people look great, fabulous even…some you wouldn’t even know them if they were standing next to their former selves, and so many of them have new hairstyles and sexy clothes, you can tell how this has changed them inside as well. But then there is a group of people, all older, yeah, they’re thin, but they look SO MUCH OLDER! OK, I’ve reasoned this out…maybe it took them years to lose the weight and they ARE older now. Or maybe they’re all RnY patients that lost so fast that their hair thinned and losing so fast was hard on their bodies (no offense RnY’rs, this was just my silly mind talking)…see I’d been reasoning out why I won’t look like that because I’ll be losing slowly with the LAP-BAND®. OK, maybe I’m vainer than I thought, otherwise why would I be ‘reasoning out’ any of this.

But then I saw this story on the ‘Today Show’ yesterday. A study on identical twins and factors for aging…and guess what the conclusion was for weight?! If you’re over 40 don’t lose too much weight or you’ll look older, or as they put it ‘Gain a pound, Lose a Wrinkle’ (so the opposite is true as well). No, they don’t want people to gain weight to look younger, it’s just a conclusion of the study that for people over 40, the extra fat fills out our wrinkles. Remember, I'm turning 49 7/8 this year, and I’ve always been told I look younger than my age (OK, maybe that’s something people tell you when you’re fat…like you have a nice smile), but I really don’t have any wrinkles other than a few crows feet when I smile.

So time to get real about how I’m going to look thin again...yes, I already knew I won’t be going back to that 130# blushing bride…get real…that was 26 years ago…so what is my face going to look like deflated…Like an old deflated balloon? Now ontop of all those other LB diet things (like head hunger/emotions) I have to get real about I've now got to get myself prepared for sudden wrinkles! Fabulous.

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In response to 10 Comments suggesting everything from firming creams to plastic surgery, othes sharing tales of their wrinkles from boobs to knees, and yet others saying 'suck it up...you'll either be old and skinny or old and fat and dead'

Thanks...yep thin, healthy, and wrinkly is better than one foot in the grave with plump skin (and a plumper butt). Can you tell I'm also in denial about turning the big one this year (never had a birthday bother me before)...I'm easing into it so by the time April rolls around I'll finally be able to say it (5 - 0), loud and proud. I plan to grow old with style (think about all the new clothes we're going to HAVE to buy!)...now, does that firming cream come in gallon tubs? -BG


In response to someone welcoming me to the "50's" Club (prematurely I might add):

...CLUB?!!! You mean there's a CLUB? I'm IN! ...fif...fif...fift...fift...fifty. Going to have to get better at that (as I'm sure it's the secret password to get in...right?). Does this club have matching pointy shoes and teeny designer purses (if you tell me matching canes, or walkers, I'm out...and that goes for red hats too)? -BG
PS- Do they serve cosmo's at this club?