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So here I am… I’m finally getting around to starting my blog on here after lurking for a few weeks… commenting on a few posts and making a few new friends (virtual ones if nothing else). We all have a story right? How’d we get here? I got here courtesy of an angry failed (I guess you could call it the black sheep of the family) thyroid and a b!tchy thin doctor who told me I just needed to eat less and walk more as I packed on weight (my underactive thyroid was discovered YEARS later by another doctor when I’d finally given up – she was reviewing the old lab results). It’s been almost 7 years since it started failing and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still bitter… I’ve gained somewhere between 80 and 100 pounds since then. I’ve lost as much as 50 of it and gained back nearly all that I’ve lost. About two years ago my doctor told me to have surgery (she had Lap Band in Mexico before it was approved in the US) and I joined Weight Watchers instead… I was convinced I could beat my thyroid if I just worked hard enough… I worked hard for my less than a pound a week losses only to find that when I stopped WW I gained it all back! Last year the same doc told me that at 29 years old, I was prediabetic , prehyperlipidemia, and that pain I was having was degenerative joint disease because of my weight and I had to lose weight immediately… Less than 10 years before that I was in the military! Needless to say I dieted a ton after that and regained everything immediately when I stopped… This past winter I was doing a couch to 5K program (not losing weight though LOL) when I contracted pneumonia which was not a fun mix with my asthma. After the pneumonia was gone my asthma became severe and the steroids to keep me alive caused even more weight gain. As my medicine cabinet became more and more full between the asthma and other conditions I realized I can’t keep going like this and my doc was right two years ago – If I’m going to get to and maintain a healthy weight I need to have surgery and if I’m going to see my daughters become adults, I need to get healthy…. So that said, here I am. I’ve done everything and now I’m waiting on the insurance company and a date. I’m here for support and to be someone’s support. In my life I’m strong for everyone and I always have been and the downfall of that is that for the first time I need people being strong with me and for me and I don’t have that.

Well exactly 14 days ago I changed my life forever. I still haven't had any of the, "what have I done," moments, but I have been in absolutely excruciating pain since Thursday of last week. I can happily report that I am officially down 20 lbs from the start of my pre-op diet on 8/27. After gaining 6 lbs from surgery and feeling as if the bloating wouldn't ever go away I am really excited that I am starting to see results quickly. And yes I know, I do not want to see them too quickly to avoid a plethora of issues. I have started using this handy dandy app called My Fitness Pal, (www.myfitnesspal.com) which allows me to track everything I put in my mouth and also the amount of physical activity I do. It tells me how many calories I have left to consume for the day and also breaks down my nutrition for the day letting me know exactly how much protein, fat, fiber, etc. I've consumed. I've seen similar apps that get to be a pain in the butt with entering what you eat, but this app has a scanner part where you can actually take a pic of the items bar code and it adds it to your list. Very cool and very easy. I know that many different weight loss programs preach writing a food journal to keep track of how much you are consuming and I have found it to be a great tool in making sure you aren't over indulging. I am notoriously not very good at keeping a food journal but so far for the past 7 days I've done it and I can admit I am kind of addicted to it. Right after surgery I jinxed myself by saying I hadn't experienced any of the gas pain that some of the others on LBT (www.lapbandtalk.com) had mentioned. Well guess what has been keeping me company during the wee hours of the morning...gas pain. It started last Wednesday night in the middle of my back between my shoulder blades. Walking, Advil/Tylenol, burping, and Gas-X strips had helped make it possible for me to sleep Wednesday night. I stayed home from work on Thursday and Friday for the same reason. I started on Thursday walking around the park by my help disburse the gas pain. Needless to say by Saturday I was up to 2 miles and was still having gas issues in the evening. Sunday I did not have any pain and thought that perhaps I was finally getting a handle on this issue. NOPE! I woke up this morning at 0300 feeling like I was going to throw up the pain was so bad. After going to work with the heating pad attached to my back, the pain didn't let up and actually was making it difficult to breathe. I contacted my surgeon's office and told them that I was doing everything they had told me to do and the pain was getting worse and unlike before it wasn't letting up this time. My nurse told me that perhaps it was gallstones, since I was also describing those symptoms. Well after a very long visit to the ER and after several rounds of costly tests, I was sent home from the ER with no news. All of my tests came back normal, so I am back to square one with this gas pain. I really am starting to feel like a big baby always whining about this pain, but from what I have been told is pain very similar to a heart attack. And it is also frustrating that I can't manage to make it go away and stay away. My next step is to eat even slower than I already am and see if possibly my food choices are contributing to this issue. Now that I am finally able to eat more real food as my co-workers call it, I sat down last night and wrote out a menu so I could figure out what I was eating at each meal so I didn't just wonder around aimlessly. I've also picked up two lap-band cook books, one is Bandwagon Cookery by Jean McMillan who is the author of the Lap Band Bible, Bandwagon. Her book is very funny reading all the pointers on how to eat well with the band, I am 95 pages in and haven't made it to her recipes yet but from what I've flipped through they seem to be good. The other is Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery by Patt Levine. I actually prefer her recipes so far from what I've read. She also has a nifty guideline on each page that lets you know how much you should consume depending on what stage you are in on your diet. And the other thing I liked is that all of her recipes have been taste tested blended in case you are in the liquid stages. Very helpful information. I attended a birthday party on Saturday and managed to watch what I ate, made sure to not stuff my face with anything awful and put everything that I ate on my food journal. I was proud of myself at being able to control my choices. Thinking about what I would have eaten a few months ago astounds me, I would have gone bonkers and really stuffed my face, then wondered the next day why my pants were even tighter. So that is the low down on the past week. I am hoping that the weight continues to come off, I continue to log my food, and that I continue to exercise on a daily basis. Oh yeah, and the pain STOPS! My one month anniversary from starting the pre-op diet is on Thursday, so I will update you all then on my final weight loss for my 1st month. Until tomorrow, Amanda

I've known my family physician for 20 years and he's the MD of my parents and my brother. He's the one who mentioned WLS, in passing the last time I saw him. Well today I had a follow up with him and I mentioned I was having the Lap Band and he was little annoyed with me. Firstly, before I had stated that I wanted the Lap Band, I told him I was considering WLS which he supported, but he wanted me to have Gastric Bypass. Faster weight lost and it's better for the morbidly obese... Crap, am I morbidly obese? He said the Lap Band are for those individuals who have under 100 pounds to lose... Really?.....So I brought out my research;)... His response: I've forgotten that you love to read.... After, he heard my arguments and my points, he then proceeded to tell me that I can have it done free in Quebec since our provincial insurance pays for it.... I found out this lately but there's a waiting list of 2-3 years...not interested..... He's upset with me because he does not know the MD, so I provided him the name and the phone number to call him, which I know he will never do, he's too busy.... However, he seemed a little irked with me, but, stated he hope I do well, but the failure rate is high... Sigh...I literally had to remind him with any WLS, failure is an option if you do not change your lifestyle, which he agreed, we then ended with if I'm planning to have kids and I realized that this man has been part of my family for too long, my mother is rubbing off on him... Anyways, I remind him not to say anything to my mother, which pissed him off further since, he mumbled he is a doctor and patient confidentiality.... But just to be sure.... So now I have more motivation... A Lil surprise for my MD at my 1 year check up;)

I had my surgery November 9th of last year. I am down 154 pounds since surgery 204 pounds overall. Best decision of my life. good luck!

OK, so today I got an unexpected, but exciting call from my Gastroenterologist office! I have been waiting to hear that our health insurance company has given the approval for my Sleeve surgery. I have been on a weight loss program for the passed 7 months, and also exercising to satisfy our insurance company, and to show them I can lose weight, and I can eat better, and live healthier. I have seriously made up my mind that I can do this, and I want the sleeve done. Well, today they called and said my insurance APPROVED me for the surgery, and it looks like I will only have to come up with a relatively small amount of money up front before I can have it done. I'm a bit nervous about it, kinda scared, but also excited! It will probably be about 3-4 weeks before my surgery date. I hope I survive the couple weeks before and the few weeks after that I can only have liquids! I know it will be hard, but I have already done so many things I have set my mind too in the passed 7 months, that I should be able to do this too! Right? Right! I can't wait to be able to wear a REGULAR size again instead of PLUS sizes! :wub: Until next time....

Thats so exciting...I hope all works out for you!!!

I had such an emotional day yesterday. I am typically not an emotional person (but things are changing....in a good way). So, Saturday evening I went out and I had a couple of drinks...and food. It wasn't a lot compared to how I would've in the past but it was more than I wanted. I got up Sunday and went to my Zumba class. After Zumba I started doing other stuff. All I thought was....Zumba was not enough. Although proud of myself for getting up and going to class after a night of celebrating with friends, I felt I needed to do more. About 6 hours later, I went back to gym and worked out on the elliptical to burn more calories. Going back helped me in so many ways because it was a better workout. I showed myself I am serious about this journey and even if I messed up, I can redeem myself by exercising more. It has set the tone for the week. I am not going into the week feeling like I screwed up...instead I feel like, I can pump it up harder. I think I am emotional now more than ever because food used to help me mask my feelings. I can no longer use it and all the emotional baggage comes out. Wow, I think I read something related to this but this really hit me as I typed it. Deep stuff. Well, wishing myself and everyone else out there, great things to come. We are victors.

Good luck, I am tomorrow too and a nervous wreck right now.

I have ordered clothes that will fit me around my goal. I use them as inspiration to eat right, and as something to look forward to. I had part of the clothes from a ways back when I had lost the weight but then gained it back, plus some more. I bought a few pairs of CUTE levi's at a resale shop to hang around my closet to have for a goal. I enjoy knowing that eventually i WILL wear those jeans....

10lbs that is totally cool I hope I am that lucky. I am still waiting to be approved. The wait is what is so hard. I am doing Weight Watchers until I know I am approved. I lost 6lbs this week. I still want my surgery now.