So recently on a different blog that I run (which can be found here, but warning: it is slightly not safe for work and also not WLS-specific) I was asked this question by one of my followers:
"
Hey sorry I disappeared! I ended up passing out last night and was busy today. (re: lap band). It's something I've been thinking about getting one myself. Are you happy you had it done? Has it made a big difference in your life? Were you scared of getting it? Lol sorry I'm bombarding you with questions."
I thought that my answer might be beneficial for this blog, as well, so here was my response!
For those of you just joining us, this ask is about the Lap Band procedure that I had in June. All opinions and information expressed here is my own personal experience, and anyone that has experienced differently (or similarly!) I’d love to hear from you
1) Am I happy that I had it done?
Absolutely.
2) Has it made a big difference in my life?
I cannot tell you how much this has improved my self-worth and my self-esteem, and how my overall sense of self has skyrocketed. I’ve started wearing dresses again and showing off my legs (which is the area where most of my insecurities are focused - I hate my thighs more than any other part of my body). This has impacted my life so positively that I can’t even begin to tell you.
3) Was I scared of getting it?
Honestly- not so much. I’ve never been afraid of medical procedures, though. More than anything, I was excited about how I knew my life would improve once I’d had the procedure, and how much happier I would be with myself once I’d seen steady progress.
I have spoken to several people since who have expressed interest in getting it, and to be honest, while I would love to immediately answer ‘YES DO IT’ to everyone, there are a lot of things to keep in mind:
It’s incredibly expensive. The surgery was $16,000 (this included pre- and post-operative care and post-operative check-ups and band fills).
However, you may be eligible to have it covered (at least partially) by insurance.
My insurance, however, did not cover it for a variety of reasons. Firstly (and most importantly), my insurance specifically excluded bariatric procedures of any kind. Second, I did not have any co-morbidities. I was ‘morbidly obese,’ but my health showed otherwise. I don’t have high blood pressure, no cholesterol issues, no heart problems, etc.. Medically, aside from being overweight, there was nothing wrong with me.
Once the band is fully inflated to your comfort point, you can only eat about 4 ounces at a time
. This can be incredibly awkward at dinner parties, or going out to eat with clients, or with friends who don’t know what you've done (I didn’t want to tell EVERYONE that I know). It severely limits your food intake, as well as the types of foods that you can eat, and this is not something that’s easy to handle. I had resigned myself to that fact a long time before I actually had the surgery, and I have been pretty accepting of this fact, and sometimes I’ll be pretty upset that I can’t eat certain things, but I keep reminding myself that it’s worth it, and that eases the longing (a tiny bit).
Certain foods that you love now will make you sick once you have a lap band
. I can’t eat bread, I can’t eat anything too heavy or that has a breadlike consistency (cakes, pancakes, etc). I can’t eat pork now. I can’t reheat meats (they become too dry and get stuck).
There is a device inside your body
. When I lay a certain way, it pulls on my stomach and my muscles and it hurts. When I stretch my body a certain way, I can feel it. When I lay on my back, I can feel the port and when something pushes on your stomach, it hurts. You will always feel it there.
It becomes a permanent part of you
— they don’t remove it unless you have a second surgery. This isn’t a decision to take lightly— I got the lap band because I know myself, and I know that I cannot regulate myself when it comes to eating, and I needed that constant medical intervention.
You will have scars
. This isn’t an issue for me, but some people are more sensitive about scars on their body. Personally, because of my body type and the way that I carried my weight (mostly in my butt and thighs) I was eligible for a ‘Spider’ type of procedure, where they make only 2 incisions (One inside your bellybutton and a tiny one under the breast to inflate the stomach cavity). The incision inside my bellybutton is pretty obvious, but the tiny one is pretty much gone (I’m happy to show you a picture of what my bellybutton looks like now, but keep in mind that I just scar very badly. Like— I just do not heal well, so my results are atypical). If the spider procedure is not an option, then the laproscopic procedure will leave (I believe) between 4 and 7 incisions over your stomach (please do not quote me on this— I do not know the specifics and from what I could find online, it looks like there are anywhere between 4 and 7 incisions made). If your stomach shows, people will ask you about the scars because people are shits.
You need to commit to exercise.
This is something that I put off as long as possible (mostly because my weight made it so that when I exercised I felt like absolute **** and my joints hurt and it was just an all around bad decision to try and exercise when I was heavier. But as soon as I started exercising… the weight just started falling off. Seriously— I went from losing an average of 7 lbs every 4-6 weeks to losing 15 lbs in 6 weeks. It was a great feeling, and the fact that I could exercise and NOT feel awful about myself afterward was pretty fantastic. You may be able to get by without exercising for a while, but you will plateau and the only way to get past it is to exercise!
It will be the most difficult decision, but can be absolutely the best decision of your life.
As I mentioned earlier, I can’t even tell you how much it has meant to me to feel like I have my life back and to have confidence again. I’ve lost 2 pants sizes and 3 dress sizes, and I get excited now to exercise and to go out and dress up. It really just puts a whole new spin on life. For me— I’ve always been heavy, so other people may have different experiences, and for others it might be that they’re getting back to how they once were. Either way- I’m the healthiest I have been in years, and I’m smaller than I have been in years, and I have more energy than I have in years.
If you have any other questions, please PLEASE feel free to
shoot me a message
! I’m pretty much an open book when it comes to this kind of stuff. I would love to be able to help other people who are going through what I used to go through.
So the further I get into my banded life, the more I realize that it's really important to find foods that are not only band friendly, but also healthy and DELICIOUS! I've always been a huge foodie, and I knew that wouldn't go away, so experimenting with food is something I've been having a lot of fun with.
Now that I have this blog here, I am sure that there are other people who could benefit from some band-friendly recipes, and the reviews that I have to go along with them~
I'm going to kick this off with a recipe which has quickly become one of my new favorites: Fried "Rice" (Hint: the "Rice" is cauliflower!). I adopted the recipe from here and made it my own.
My modified recipe:
Fried 'Rice'
Ingredients:
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 2 Tbsp. + 2 more Tbsp. lard/bacon fat or tallow
- 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 Tbsp. garlic, chopped
- 1 cup green peas
- 4 eggs, whisked
(I occasionally add 2 more eggs because I really like eggs)
- 5 Tbsp butter (I use Earth Balance butter because of dairy restrictions)
Olive Oil can be substituted for Butter
- One container of shitake mushrooms
- 6 Tbsp.
coconut aminos
- 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp. fish sauce
- Soy Sauce to taste
- Sea salt and ground pepper to taste
Equipment:
- Kitchen knife
- Cutting board
- Vegetable peeler
- Cheese grater or food processor
- Paper towels (optional)
- Large skillet or large Wok
- Large bowl
- Measuring spoons
- Stirring spoon
Directions:
1. Prepare your vegetables and whisk eggs. Grate the cauliflower on the larger side of a cheese grater, or pulse pieces in a food processor until they are rice sized. I like to wrap the riced cauliflower in a couple paper towels and squeeze it to remove any excess moisture, which helps make sure you get the crispier texture you are looking for.
2. Heat your skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add 3 Tbsp butter (Or olive oil) and 2 tbsp of soy sauce to the pan and allow it to melt. Add your mushrooms, onions, garlic and carrots and cook for about 2-3 minutes. If using peas, add them and cook 1 additional minute. Remove from pan and set aside in a large bowl.
3. Next add your whisked eggs to the pan and scramble them until they are lightly browned. Add a little sea salt and pepper, remove from pan and add them to the large bowl with the vegetables.
4. Next add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of butter (Or OO) to the pan and allow it to get very hot. Add the riced cauliflower to the pan and toss it in the oil. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, only stirring every couple minutes so that it allows some pieces on the bottom to fry and get brown and crispy.
5. Add the vegetable and rice mixture back to the pan and stir to combine. Add the (sesame oil, coconut aminos, fish sauce) soy sauce and some additional sea salt and pepper to taste.
6. Scarf this down and smile.
I LOVE this recipe. Of course, I do really like cauliflower, and that's important for this recipe because you can definitely taste it in the recipe.
As a side note- this is not an exact recipe. I'm the type of person that when I cook, I add a little of this, a little of that, until it's just right. I estimated a few things in here, but you can add more or less to your tastes!
Again- Recipe credit to Paleo Cupboard, minor changes by me!
