Leaderboard

Hello folks, I can hardly believe that I am on the home stretch here. I started out at 433 pounds nearly three years ago and have lost 220, make that 215 as my weight has been creeping up a few pounds lately due to stress. Most of that I lost in the first two years, as I have been on a plateau for most of 2011. On the one hand, I am really, really pleased for the weight I have lost. I am literally HALF the woman I used to be! I have gone from being defined by my limitations (energy, size, fitting in chairs - everything) to having essentially no limitations in life. I used to have to buy all my clothes mail order because even Avenue didn't carry big enough clothes (size 36). Now I am right in between shopping in the Misses and Women's departments (size 14-16 on top, size 18 on bottom). Although one of my goals is to be out of Women's sizes completely. My family and I went on a vacation to Mexico and I sunned myself on the beach and slid down the water slides with my kids. When we went to Washington DC I walked all around the Capitol Mall visiting the various Smithsonian museums without getting tired and without my feet or legs getting sore. I even got our friends to babysit so my husband and I could make a special trip out at night, walking from our hotel to the Washington monument, just to see it at night. That's a lot of walking and it was no big deal for me, whereas before I would have never considered walking so far just for the sake of seeing a monument at night. We were travelling with some friends who are quite a bit heavier than I am currently, although not as heavy as I was before my lapband surgery, and they were not able to do the things I was able to do. It reminded me of how far I've come, and I'm really grateful for the progress I've made. (And I was able to be compassionate for their state of energy, since I have been there and worse) On the other hand, I have been stuck at more or less this weight for most of 2011. It's like my body does not want to drop those last 25 pounds to my goal weight. Now I know that by most measures of "success" for bariatric surgery (losing 50-70% of your excess weight) I am already successful. But I want to get down to the one hundreds! Actually, 170 would be an even healthier weight for me, but I'll settle for 199 (I'm tall). So I am frustrated by this long plateau and my seeming inability to get all the way down to my goal weight. Now I know that I have developed some bad habits (liquid calories sneaking back into my diet) and also that I have to get more serious about exercise in order to get to the next step. I am thinking of trying to hire a personal trainer to keep me on track and motivated. Just going out walking as exercise - which worked great when I was first getting going - is not going to be enough anymore. So anyway that's my story. I'm really glad I did the lap band. I honestly never thought I would get my weight this far down ever again. So I am really grateful for that.

I was banded today! Got to the hospital at 5:30 was the first appointment. I was out by 2pm. I took a little longer to wake up because I went to bed at midnight so I just wanted to sleep!!! LOL I'm doing good. I think I went in thinking the pain from gas would be excruciating....it wasn't. My throat hurts more than the gas pains from the breathing tube. But yea. So far so good. I have to try and get a Protein shake down...8 oz but I was told to drink it 2 tbsp at a time to prevent overeating and having it get stuck. Anyone else had to do this??? I'm documenting EVERYTHING that happened to me on my blog right now (www.shrinkingjustine.com) If anybody wants to share tips or has questions about the surgery who has yet to be banded, just ask or let me know! Also if anyone is in GA and wants to exchange info we can be band buddies!

Yes, the fluids for sure. I think they put saline in the iv, going to make you retain fluids. I wouldn't get on the scale everyday if I were you. When I was loosing I weighed in once a week and recorded it. I felt like the natural flucuations would drive me crazy.

Found the link. I think this gives a really good visual. For some people maybe drinking with meals doesn't affect how soon they get hungry afterwards , either that or they have the will power to only eat what they are supposed to and then not eat again till the next meal. But for those of you who are struggling you may want to watch this and then start following this rule. Lack of success may be due to some as simple as not following what for many is a basic rule.

I would remove this post if u don't want to look like a fool , otherwise it is just another FOOLISH POST!

I hate the idea of intentionally gaining weight. I suggest you make your appointment for later in the day when you naturally weigh more, eat before you go, wear heavy clothes and shoes and strap on a couple of ankle weights!

Congrats! Hope it goes great for you! I'll keep an eye out on your blog for sure. Not sure when I'm getting banded. Have 2 more pre-op appointments then it's getting submitted to the insurance company! :crosses fingers: