On November 16th, 2009 I celebrated my 50th birthday! Wow! I made it. When I attended the LAP-BAND® seminar in 2008, I knew that my goal was to weigh less on my 50th. I was determined. I was banded on January 26, 2009. (2008)on my birthday I weighed approx 315 lbs. (2009) on my birthday, 187 lbs,(Yes)!!
For sure I'm no expert on lapbanding. However, I have made ME a priority. I've tried to make the best of my partnership with my band thus far. I've tried to do My part(better food choices and exercise). When I got notice of approval in November 2008, I started preparing myself for the road ahead. It is an emotional and physical ride. Giving up french fries(omg), shrimp po-boys & roast beef, ham and swiss po-boys, rice and pasta dishes, crispy fried chicken, chips, candy, nachos, soda, snowballs and beignets was going to be devastating. Especially living here in New Orleans. Whew! On the other hand, escalating blood pressure, fatigue, increasing clothes sizes and my lack of satisfaction with myself wasn't a party either. I know I made the right choice. I don't feel deprived. I'm grateful every day for the opportunity to have been banded!
I've got about 25lbs to go and I know I'll get there ...
When I started this process in October 2008 I weighed 313 lbs. After numerous visits to the doctor that year and a blood pressure that needed medication(just to name a few), I knew it was time for me to do something...for me. Silly as it sounds, I did not want to turn 50 at my then current weight. I felt as if it was "now or never". My mind was finally made up and I had determination to spare.
As I went about the process of meeting the criteria for approval, I couldn't rationalize WHY I let my weight get to this point. The list wasn't that long. In my case, I kept saying I was going to change and did so for a little while but soon reverted to my bad habits. We all have our reasons but the good thing is the point of taking control. Deciding to have bariatric surgery is one of the steps of taking control. I had lapband surgery on January 26th 2009. I'm now down to 248 lbs after 3 months.
I've had 2 fills. My second one didn't go so well so I had to have an unfill of that portion. I'm scheduled for another fill later this month(May). The lapband is the greatest tool. It could probably be called a "power tool". :sad:
If someone had told me than within 3-4 months I would have lost 57 lbs,:thumbup: I would have known they were crazy. But here I am and it's all true. Never give up. Be willing to work hard for what you want. There's hope for all of US. I've got a long way to go but I'm really happy about my progress to date.
