In Which I Get Busted

Okay, so you're lying if you say that you do not suck your gut in when you are in public. (That is, unless you have a flat stomach, in which case I'm very jealous!) With no clothes on (and no one looking) I look fine; a great butt, fairly nice legs, but then there's that pesky 4-months-pregnant-looking-belly part. Soooo, I suck my gut in most of the time when I'm in public.

Thankfully, I carry my weight in my middle, so it's a fairly easy place to hide it. I normally wear loose shirts that don't draw attention to my waist. Sometimes, though, I feel like wearing a t-shirt that isn't baggy and un-stylish. Today was one of those days; I wore my cute American Apparel t-shirt, which is just plain and very comfy. Unfortunately, it is not very forgiving, and before I left the house, I made a mental note to suck my gut in when I got to the store.

I was a shopping maniac this afternoon; Office Max, Post Office, Target, Walmart, Gas Station, and Festival Foods. (And it's just now occurring to me that you might be worried that I'm about to share a story like this one. Never fear; this one isn't nearly as bad as that.) Anyway, I'm standing next to my cart in Walmart, contemplating paper toweling, when a woman walks slowly up the aisle.

She recognizes me before I realize that I know her (she is wearing no makeup and is a neighbor I don't know all that well), so she has a couple of seconds before I recognize her. In those two seconds, I notice her eyes are drawn to my stomach and then politely away, but not fast enough. DAMMIT; I had gotten lost in the moment and let it all go; too late to suck it in! I can see from her eyes that she is surprised to see that I have a gut. She recovers quickly, but I see the question in her eyes, "Is she pregnant?" We chat for a moment and move on, but I knew I'd been busted.

This experience was a first for me (as far as I know!); and being outed like that was good for me. Good thing I bought a scale today (before I even got to Walmart), and I worked out this morning for the first time in weeks.

By the time the neighborhood block party takes place in September, I'm hoping to dispel any possible pregnancy rumors...Wish me luck!