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Yesterday was my 8 month bandiversary! I have to say that I have not had even one moment of regret for having made the decision to have a lap band! Not ONE!! Today I am wearing cute jeans in a size 9 and they are fitting loosely! Today I weigh 106 pounds less than I did at my highest weight just before my surgery. Today I can more than keep up with my grandbabies and match their energy all day long! Today I can share clothes with my best friend! Today I am healthy beyond my wildest imagination! Today I can wear bras that I bought from Victoria Secret (her secret is that if you're bigger than a 38DD you don't get to wear her stuff!!) Today I barely remember how I used to look until I see those photos! Today one of my grandsons 3 year old friends told me "You don't look like a grandma!" Today I know that my goals are completely obtainable, and very well within my reach! Today I know that I need a new driver's license photo and well.. a whole new license because mine says I weigh WAY more than I do! Today I want to tell you that a Lap Band can help you be the you that is hiding inside beneath all those layers of weight. YOU know who you are.. now it's time to show everyone else!! Here's to better health, better self esteem, better shopping, better dating, better sex, better sleep, better choices, better LIFE!! Today I look like this: Today is GOOD!! Cheering you all on from the Nebraska prairie!! Follow me @ http://www.myotherbutt.blogspot.com

So, I have to admit... this pre-op diet has been quite difficult.... I think I slightly underestimated the hold that my FRENEMY food had on my life.. In fact, I should call it my food master!!! I've always been the type to not want anything, it if I couldn't have what I wanted... so, day 1 was SOOOO hard!! I wanted eggs, I wanted rice, I wanted cheez-its!! I had to tell myself, NO, NO, NO!!!!! It worked until 8ish and I was desperate to chew... I got over it!!! I'm learning that there will be lots of times when I will just have to GET OVER IT!!! These few days have taught me some very valuable lessons: I can't expect to just WAKE up and be a healthy person mind, body and soul.. All of it takes working through some difficult things and training myself to gravitate towards a new normal. Some of my journey must be private and/or only shared with a very select group of people. I have no room for constant negativity... the "old" me is constantly looking for an ally.. so, I refuse to give "her" one.. I must be diligent about ensuring that my head and heart are aligned when embarking on this life altering event... (I have, but it's still not a cake walk!)

For so many misinformed years I thought that surgery was the easy way out. How wrong was I? I am working so hard to make sure I am hydrated enough, getting in all of the supplements and getting out for walks. What I have learned is that, it takes a lot of planning and effort to be successful which is certainly not easy. Day 7 post op today. I am feeling pretty good. I also had my gallbladder removed during surgery and the largest incision site is still pretty sore. Mostly due to a couple vomiting episodes and a coughing fit I had . The other ones don't bother me at all I have a total of 8. I have only taken a half dose of the pain medication. My post op diet is a sugar free clear liquid diet, no protein shakes until day 8 and this is until week 4. I was feeling pretty weak so I added regular juice and Gatorade I will stop it once I start protein shakes tomorrow. I can't wait. It blows my mind that I am excited for a protein shake. Thus far, I am not feeling any hunger which I hope sticks around. Pre op I always felt hungry and was constantly thinking about food. My starting weight was 278. My weight the date of surgery was 250. My weight today......drumroll please.........239!!! Looking at 239 on the screen is unreal, I can't remember the last time I weighed that. I love my sleeve!!!!!

Well, I am going to attempt this again. 2 nights ago I sat down and typed our a great story of my journey thus far and somehow clicked on something and the whole thing was gone. Hopefully it works better this time.... I was officially banded on Dec 5th and today is Dec. 14th. As of yesterday, I had lost 30 pounds!! I started my 2 week preop diet and was very strick. I only ate one meal a day, and it consisted of protein and veggies. On the day of my surgery, I had lost 23 pounds in 2 weeks. I honestly don't think that I have ever done that before in my life. What a great way to start this adventure. Since the surgery, I have been eating clear liquids like I was told, and then on Sunday, I could not take it any longer, I had to eat something so I ate some Tomato Basil soup from Panera...and it was maybe the best thing that has ever crossed my lips. Since then, I've been eating soup..after soup...after soup. Carb filled soup!! So today I've actually gained a couple of pounds back and I'm not very pleased. I'm ready to be able to eat meat so that I don't have to eat carbs. Don't get me wrong, if I had it my way, I would be one of those people that could eat mashed potatoes with a side of french fries and a baked potato on this side and still lose weight, but that is not me. I have to stay away from carbs in order to lose weight. I think I am going to try to just eat tuna for the rest of the week. Wish me luck! As far as my journey, I've been curious about weight loss surgery for a few years. It is honestly something that I never thought I would go through with. I figured that it would be way to expensive for the most part. I used that and many other excuses to keep myself from ever looking into it. About 9 months ago, I spoke to one of my junior high teachers that I have remained very close to. She had the procedure done and was very pleased with it. She told me that her insurance covered the cost of it (after a battle). Finally in November, I decided that enough was enough. I was tired of being tired....my knees were starting to hurt...I had to get a CPAP machine because of my sleep apnea and most of all, I just didn't fill comfortable in my own skin (and fat suit) anymore. I strive everyday to be the best I can be at work and in my personal life, but I was missing out on so much because I wasn't being the best I could be to anything by not taking care of my health. I finally got up the nerve to make an appointment and meet with a Patient Advocate. During our meeting, I found out that my insurance would not cover the cost of the surgery, which I expected, but was still a little bummed out by. My Patient Advocate suggested that I get tested for a hiatal hernia, based on some of the symptoms that I had described. So I scheduled myself for a (insert medical terminology here) procedure for 2 weeks later. I ended up having a hiatal hernia, and it actually worked in my favor. My insurance covered the cost of my hiatal hernia repair, so I only had to pay for the portion of the surgery devoted to my lap band. In all it ended up saving me about $4,000. So here I am today, writing my first blog (again), and very excited about my future. I'm already ready for my first fill, and I hope that my doctor is a little agressive with it. I'm ready to drop some pounds! I actually went Christmas shopping on Sunday and decided to buy myself a shirt as well. I went down a shirt size, from a 3xlt, to a 2xlt. I'm 6'2 and have a long torso, so the T is not going anywhere, but was so excited to go down a size. I'm so excited to have a place to get advice and to be able to learn from others. Hopefully, someone will be inspired by my journey as well. Until next time....

Well, I am sitting here smelling the food from the office potluck and it is killer. Everything smells delicious. But, a very good friend of mine told me to remember "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels". I use it as a mantra to get through the holidays. I have attended 3 different Christmas potluck dinners and the food there is always wonderful, but I concentrated on the conversation and sipped coffee (I drank my protein shake prior to attending). I decided my best line of defense would be to tell people what is going on with me and everyone is supportive. No one comes up and says "aw come on, one bite" or anything like that. I also realize that people will always continue to eat and be festive and it is not for me to come in all ashes and sackcloth acting like I am dying because I can't eat from the buffet they have set out. I put on a smile, I dress up and I enjoy talking to my friends and family. Last night, however, about did me in. My kids just had to have Pizza Hut pasta and breadsticks. The pasta wasn't the killer it was the smell of the breadsticks. I wanted to climb the wall seriously. But I deeply inhaled, enjoyed the scent and then got away from it. I wish I had had the will to do all of this ages ago before my weight went out of control. I am learning the subtle differences between hunger and cravings. I crave things all the time, especially when I smell things (like right now I smell turkey and baked ham), but I have not once been hungry on this liquid diet. I keep flavored water next to me all the time, I sip on broth (adding a few flakes of dried onion for flavor) and sugar free hot apple cider to keep me satisfied. I know this is temporary and that after the band is placed I can have things I like, but not in the same way that I did. I will have to slow down and really enjoy each bite. One thing this liquid diet has taught me, it is how to taste things. I never knew beef broth could taste as good as it does. I didn't know apple cider could taste so wonderful. I think I was just scarfing everything down and not truly appreciating the flavors and textures. I will from now on. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. Take care, Jen

I hate diets! And yet it seems like I've dieted for my entire life. My entire 29 years of life! At my heaviest I was 220lbs. I'm only 5'4 so I was quite a butter ball! I went on the prescription Phentermine in 2008 while at my very biggest. I lost 47lbs. in about 6 months taking me down to 173lbs. And then I had to quit taking the prescription, partly because I got the flu and also because it's unrealistic to think after six months the drug will have the same affect it did on day one. It doesn't. Not to mention the awful side effects! Jitters, cotton mouth, extreme irritability, constipation, sleep apnea...just to name a few. But what I loved about that drug was that for the first time in my life, I was losing weight without dieting! I ate whatever I wanted but very small portions. It was so great to be able to eat what everyone else was eating and never feel deprived and never feel the need to rebel! It also gave me a huge amount of energy, so I was working out almost every day. But when I stopped taking the Phentermine, the weight slowly but surely crept back on...like it always does...I mean, did! I had looked into the Lap Band surgery years before Phentermine but never really had the nerve or the pounds to get it done. Years ago you had to be at least 100 pounds over weight. Today you only have to be at least 50 pounds over weight. As the weight started to creep back on, I knew I had to do something! I felt like I needed something like Phentermine but better and that was for life! And that's exactly what Lap Band has been for me...my no dieting weight loss plan! This hasn't been a cake walk, but it has been relatively effortless so far! Notice I said "so far". On my surgery day, 7/8/2011, I was 208lbs.Today, 12/13/2011, I am 177lbs so in 5 months, I'm down 31lbs. So I'm still over weight, but I sure look a lot better! I've had 3 fills in all and I think I will stay with only three. I feel good where it's at. I'm pretty tight, but not too tight. It's been a slow process. And I realize if I worked out it would be quicker but I've actually not worked out for a reason...not that I would recommend it. I also DO NOT diet!!! If I have fast food, I might have a couple chicken fingers or part of a cheeseburger. Sometimes I have a grilled chicken salad. I eat whatever I'm in the mood for, but I eat small portions. Now I realize that I may not be able to keep this up. My goal weight is around 125-135. And fried chicken and burgers probably won't take me to my goal. So when I begin to plateu from just calorie restriction alone, my plan is to start the exercise. Please don't get me wrong, I do eat very decent. And have also found that veggies actually are easier for me to eat than any other foods. But I am by no means on a strict diet plan or ANY diet plan for that matter! The month before my surgery I went crazy eating, as though I would never be able to eat any "bad" food after my surgery and that is not the case at all! I have everything and anything I want. The band had just taken my "want" away. I explained it to my mom and sister like this, "Before the Band, my stomach was a bottomless pit,my appetite was huge! With the Band my stomach is a very shallow pit and my appetite is tiny." So life really is pretty good! I'm finally seeing progress, getting compliments from others, feeling so much more confident in myself and also realizing that success is actually within my reach! I'm actually going to achieve my goals this time! I asked my doctor, "About how much weight can a person like me,who wants to lose 80 pounds, lose with the band?" He said, " The band will give you about 40 pounds, the rest is up to you." That's fair. I can meet my band half way. So far it's given me an easy 31lbs. It's about to be my turn to take myself the rest of the way!