Is that really me?

Have you ever randomly seen a picture of yourself and thought, "Who the hell is that fat ass?" Then when you recognize the outfit as your own and realize that it is a picture of yourself, you think in shock and disbelief, "Holy shit! When did that happen?"

Here's one of my pictures.

I think I look like a fat version of my sister. (I say "my sister" because the clothes I'm wearing in the picture remind me of her - weird).

Here's another picture from the same day, where I personally believe I look a lot better. (Notice how I strategically placed the baby in front of me?)

Obviously, I was more aware that someone was taking my picture here, but those candid pictures definitely reveal more of what you actually look like on a daily basis. It's damn depressing. (On a side note, doesn't the fire look fake? It's not.)

One of my best friends from high school had a similar experience that immediately drove her to a diet: She went in for her annual visit to the gyno (what fun, right?), and when she stepped on the scale, the nurse placed the heavier weight on the 100 lbs mark and slid the smaller weight across all the way to the 50 lbs mark, at which point it became apparent that my friend weighed more than 150 lbs. Then the nurse said, "Oooh, garl! I wun't expectin' thahat!" She then slid the heavier weight to the 150 mark, and started the smaller weight back at zero and moved it forward until the scale balanced out.


So now the mantra that my friend recites everytime she is tempted to reach for a cookie or have a second helping is, "Oooh, Girl! I wasn't expecting that!"