I’m 62 pounds lighter since my May 28th LAP-BAND® surgery. In eighteen weeks, there has been such significant weight loss and, more relevantly, so much positive change in my health that I can hardly remember the time when I was medically obese and “lost.”

First, let’s dispense with the formalities. Need to know exactly what LAP-BAND® surgery involves? Click on The LAP-BAND® I : "Entering the zone" | Babyboomers.tv. Want to know how civilians react to news that I’ve elected to have surgery? Click on http://babyboomers.tv/content/LAP-BAND®-zone-ii-dealing-civilian-response. Interested in hearing about my status and what happens next? Read on.

In addition to monthly post-op visits with Dr. Gellman, my bariatric surgeon, -- click on www.northshoresurgical.net -- I’ve lived through 4 months now as a post-operative LAP-BAND® patient. It doesn’t feel that much different than following Weight Watchers, Atkins, and other weight loss programs.

Except …

• I’ve had laparoscopic surgery to help cure my lifelong addiction to food;
  
• There is this device inside of me banding the upper portion of my stomach;
  
• The LAP-BAND® is a “tool” to help me cut down on food consumption;
  
• While my 62-pound weight loss has been sensational, the doctor reminded me this week that the band was inserted for a reason and it’s time to tighten it now.
  

So, this is a different reality for me. The band will be tightened in a few days by injecting saline solution into a port which has been surgically inserted on the inside of my stomach epidermis. The net result is that the band will be tightened and my little stomach pouch (the “stoma”) will feel full with less food. I’ll have to go back on a liquid diet for a few days to allow the stoma to adjust to its new tighter reality.

Aside from my regular visits with Dr. Gellman, I also attend a monthly support group with other post-op patients. These groups are enormously helpful for both the camaraderie of those who have been through my same experience as well as for the practical advice I get from participants.

At the last group, the topic was “How have you changed for the better or worse following surgery?” I believe life is drastically different (and better) since surgery. However, I’m still a LAP-BAND® rookie so I asked the group “do you all tell people that you’ve had LAP-BAND® surgery?” Interesting responses:

• “it’s none of anybody’s business”;
  
• “nobody has to know”;
  
• “they don’t understand”;
  
• and, “I only tell my closest friends and relatives”.
  

I understand. Even though I’ve gone public on this website for the entire world to know my story, there are specific people in my life who don’t know about my decision to go through with LAP-BAND® surgery --- most importantly, my mother and father-in-law. They are in their 80’s and they just wouldn’t understand the surgical procedure (or the need for it). Mind you, they are each thrilled to hear about and see my weight loss progress.

The best advice to come from the support group, however, has been “If anyone asks how you lost the weight, tell them you’re on Weight Watchers.” This echoes a similar sentiment from Dr Gellman, who reports: “so many of the patients in our practice simply default to “Weight Watchers” when asked how they lost the weight.

There is logic here … the final phase of post-operative eating adjustment encompasses a diet that is very much like the Weight Watchers protocol:

• Eat fruits and vegetables liberally;
  
• Follow portion control:
  
  • 1 ounce of meat = size of a matchbox;
    
  • 3 ounces of meat = size of a deck of cards;
    
  • 3 ounces of fish = size of a checkbook;
    
  • Medium apple = size of a tennis ball.
    

  [*]Use little, if any, sugar;

  [*]Choose lower fat foods;

  [*]Avoid fried foods;

  [*]Eat 3 meals a day;

  [*]Exercise regularly, preferably 3 or 5 or 7 times per week (I walk 4 miles every day;)

Who, among us, has not seen this movie before? And yet it really is unlike the thousands of diets I’ve previously been on. I think it has a lot to do with my commitment to a new way of life once I agreed to the surgery. And, I strongly believe in my ability to do this.

Also, there is the reality that the little stomach pouch won’t hold the huge quantities of food I had become accustomed to eating. But, if we’re honest, I believe it’s that I don’t want to betray the promise I made to myself: this time, it’s for good and will be different than before. At our tender age when death and illnesses are dodging us, who is gonna argue?

I’ve learned from my support group that the post-op fellowship strongly resembles Alcoholics Anonymous: it’s critical to keep sharing your feelings and to report any incident(s) of falling off the wagon. Fine with me, so far. But then, I’ve never really had a problem losing weight --- it’s maintaining my goal weight that has always done me in.

For now, I take it one day at a time. The weight loss has been thrilling and I’m extremely grateful for my newfound health and mobility. I’m off blood pressure medicine, I don’t need the sleep apnea machine and my knees have magically stopped hurting during my 3-4 mile daily walks.

As for the outside world and how to respond to the queries about “how did you do it?” … I smile like a Cheshire cat and reply that my answer lies in a renewed commitment to exercise and a diet of fruits, vegetables and healthy proteins. I guess my real shorthand answer can be “I’m going to Weight Watchers.”

Great blog, I honestly have told everyone who wants to really know. It helps to keep me in check because I know they are watching. I consider this the smart way of losing the weight not an easy way. It is not easy as I am sure 100% of you will agree.