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It is important for me to share my journey with others. I will be honest about what I am feeling so that new people or people thinking about getting banded can have an honest view point. I believe most people are this way but there are also some trolls out there with weird agendas that want to scare people. There will be ups and downs as with anything, I am sure. It is my goal to honestly portray what it is like to be banded. I am 34 years old with a start weight of 305. I have a large blended family. Between my husband and I we have 6 children and a very busy life. I am 8 days post op today. My surgery included a hernia repair, lapband and plication. My band was not "primed" at time of surgery. My first fill is scheduled for 6 weeks post op. To be quite honest, I am one of those people who don't do well with any pain meds. They knock me out and generally make me groggy. That is what happened this week. Not only was I groggy but I experienced discomfort like never before in my life. This was me being unprepared as I have never had major surgery before. The gas pains alone threw me. They are not your standard gas pain. Until you have it you really won't know what people mean when they are talking about the gas. When you have your band do what everyone says and walk, walk, walk. The first three days after surgery, I was happiest when walking. Working out the gas pressure is a relief! My relationship with food this week has been an emotional roller coaster. In the beginning of the week, I felt like I had lost a dear friend. I am still on the clear liquid part of my post op diet. It seems like every commercial on TV is about food. Food I don't even normally like looks delicious. Now, at the beginning of my second week Post OP, those commercials no longer bother me. I have accepted the stage of the diet I am on and I know that eventually I will be able to eat "real food" as long as I keep it healthy I WILL succeed! My relationship with my husband has gotten stronger. I am 34 years old and needed help taking a shower, getting dressed and making broth for myself. He stepped up and did all of these things for me. He took the kids to school, cleaned house, and made their dinner all while holding down a job of his own. I could not have done as well this week without his loving support. When I was ready to start doing things on my own again he did not smother me. He is letting me take control back one step at a time, as I am ready. I am truly blessed to have him in my life. I hope everyone can find support in this journey as I have. I have had a lot of time to think this week. I took a long hard look at myself and have decided I will not fail my band. Notice I did not say the band will not fail me. I will not fail the band because I have made a decision to follow doctor's orders, to be honest with myself and to let my support system help me. I made the decision to take this step in my life for my health. Let's be honest here.. I also have dreams of feeling sexy again. I am 34 not 90. It is up to me to see that this tool helps me reach my goal. I believe with all my heart personal responsibility needs to be a big part of the healing process. So flash forward to post op day 8. I feel fantastic today! I have no more pain. I have not had to take my pain meds for two days. The gas is all gone. Food commercials no longer bother me. I am not weak or groggy anymore. So I promised in my title two NSV's (non scale victories) and one SV (scale victory). So already I am encouraged by progress. My first and a very important NSV is I was able to get my wedding rings back on. Not only are they on but they are comfortable and no longer cutting into my fingers! As I was heartbroken and sorely disappointed in myself when I had to take them off, I am overjoyed to wear them again. My husband is also very proud I am wearing his rings again. The second and also very important NSV.. I was able to sleep in my own bed last night! This was the first time in 10 years I have had to sleep apart from my husband when in the same house. We have never let a fight make one of us sleep on the couch. I spent the entire last week in my recliner because it was the only comfortable spot to sleep. I am so HAPPY to be back in my own bed. And drum roll please... My scale victory... As of this morning I am down to 289 from 305lbs. 16 lbs lost! I have not seen the scale move backwards in years and never has it moved 16lbs! I can do this. If you are a new person with doubts and questions.. YOU can do this if you want to. Do research. When you think you have done enough.. do some more. It is not easy. Oh boy is it not the easy way out.. It is a tool for you to use. If you want success, reach out and grab it. It is there for you. Remember success comes with bumps in the road. These are just things we all have to get through. It is part of life. I am sure I will have ups and downs. Lets be realistic. Of course there will be ups and downs. I will share as many of these as I can that I feel people considering this journey should hear. If something goes wrong (unlikely), I will be honest about it and what caused it. I will share the victories as well. Thank you for reading my first blog. I wish you all success in your own journeys no matter what road they take. I am happy to answer any questions I can if you have any. =)

on my couch with teeth whiten trays in and smelling the sweet smell of my tanning lotion left on my skin while typing with my new pretty clean manicure, I realize I spend a lot of time and money on trying to look good....to compensate for the fact that I am not skinny. On Tuesday I'm going to be calling my Weight loss facility and then my insurance company to make sure of the next few things that need to get done before my last nutrition appointment which is on the 25th of Feb, so I hope to be able to be approved and banded in early March. It seems so far away. So the reason why I am really writing this blog today.... something that I plan on starting to do again and from here on in. When I was in high school I used to eat in front of a full length mirror that was in the dining room. As I was able to see what i was putting into my mouth and how much of it was entering my body. I used to stop eating long before my plate was empty! and I'm going to start again. Let me know what you think.

Ok so today is the my last day of the pre-opt diet and what a challenge it was. But I succeed non the less. I will weigh myself tomorrow to give you guys another update on my weight loss. Also, BDay is tomorrow can you say super excited. not nervous at all.

Ok, 2 days before surgery clear liquid diet. Glad it's Sunday and Darrell is home, he'll keep me on track. Packing for the hospital and to stay at our sons house, he lives closer to the hospital. Gonna stay with them after surgery so they can take care of Dexter my dog and give him his insulin shots. A week with my grand daughter is always good. She probably won't understand why I can't pick her up though. She's the Apple of my Eye!

Everyone goes bat crazy here when they are hungry but I love feeling hungry. Yes you may think I am crazy but this is why I love feeling hungry. All of my life I was obese and I consumed probably about 4 to 5 thousand calories a day and never gave my stomach a chance to ever be empty. I would even get up in the middle of the night and eat cookies, cereal, peanut butter and jelly or what ever darn thing I could find to stuff in my face. The very first time I felt hungry after lap band surgery I was pissed off but then I thought "I have never felt hungry before in my life". When I am hungry it means it really is time to nourish my body. The days following the post op diet of liquids only were not pleasant but from that time I welcomed hunger. I realized I was not going to die due to no food for a few weeks because I could drink as much as I wanted. I was not starved to death because that only happens when people can not afford to purchase food or live in a country that has no food or if someone is anorexic and refuses to eat. I was not in any way going to starve to death. I love feeling hungry, hearing my stomach actually growl once in a while. I know I won't die because of it. So when you are feeling hungry if it is true stomach growling hunger enjoy it because I guarentee you have never really felt hungry while you were obese. You are not going to die from being hungry but maybe just uncomfortable. If you are just head hungry then don't complain about it because our heads made us obese unhealthy people. The preop and post op is only a small portion of your life that goes quickly. Welcome hunger and know that it really is a signal to nourish your body with healthy food.

10 days to go and I can hardly wait, I'm almost counting down the secs. My emotions are all over the place, one moment I'm jumping up and down like a child waiting for Christmas, and then five mins later I'm in a panic, wondering if I'm doing the right thing, and how much it's going to hurt, will I be able to drink enough fluids ect, then back to how great I'm going to look and how much I'm going to enjoy working out like I used to. arghhhhhhhhhhhh... I hope it's all pretty normal... I'm now on one small, healthy meal a day and two protein shakes, I spent the $50 and got the large can of isopure vanilla, and I mix it with unsweetened almond milk it was a good purchase, I love the taste, it reminds me of an old fashioned malt shake yum! Oh yes and I started walking again, I guess as they are going to make me walk in the hospital I had better get used to it so I thought I would try and get in a mile a day for starters, I made my goal today thats about it for today, the pre operation diet is driving me nuts, I'm not hungry in my stomach at all, but my head is constantly like a child screaming for food, snacks and trash im demented by it... anyone out there? anyone know what I'm going on about? and anyone got any advice? apart from telling my head to hush up lol xoxox

Ok, so this is my first ever attempt to blog.. so here goes.. I am 26 years old, originally from India but been living in UAE since age 5. I have had a weight problem all my life, I was always the chubby kid, the fat girl, the obese college student etc. Guess I just got tired of being a two dimensional character, of being defined by my weight. I wanted people to know me, the real me, so after years of dieting, attempting to exercise and still not losing weight or losing weight only to gain it all back plus some, I decided on surgery. I got sleeved on 30/10/2012, at the time I weighed 129kgs, today I weighed myself and my current weight is 112kgs. Surprisingly enough, I haven't had a lot of trouble with my diet, only threw up once, and that was my own fault for eating too quickly. After the first 2 weeks I was able to manage semi-soft food just fine and now can easily manage a small piece of grilled chicken or fish. Haven't had carbs since the sleeve though, sometimes really miss bread.. though all I have to do at those times is pull out my largest pair of jeans and try them on in front of the mirror and see the difference in my shape. I have dropped almost 3 jeans sizes, which is absolutely fabulous as far as I am concerned. Hmm what else? Protein was initially very difficult, had been given those really nasty protein powders that I absolutely could not stand let alone have 3 times a day, looked everywhere for an alternative and finally found a clear protein drink which is much more palatable at least to me. So the drink gives me about 40g protein as day and the rest is from my diet which is almost exclusively chicken and seafood.. I get cold very quickly since surgery, so have learned my lesson and go to work all bundled up. Telling people about the surgery is something I've been rather conflicted over, I've told people at work and close friends I really trust, but not relatives or family friends. It is sometimes difficult to explain away my limited portions but usually just say that I am on a diet. Guess that's all for now, sorry my thoughts are all over the place, not a writer by any stretch of the imagination Cheers!

I just can't seem to get it together. i read all other blogs about menus and updates and all that stuff and I think to myself....I'm witty, I'm organized I CAN DO THAT. Uh...NAH! I am disappointed in myself, but that's just me. I am a planner, a doer, a go getter. Anywho. My menu plan for the next 2 days are won't be worth posting. I just had a fill today and I'm on liquids for the next 24-48 hours, then soft for the following 3-4 days. I didn't follow the directions properly the last time and found myself gaining 2 lbs since my last visit. I can read all about how important it is to follow directions, and how this is my choice and on and on and on. I know, I get it, I had to fall before I could pick myself up. When I saw that 2 lbs, I wasn't surprised, but I was very upset. I had to reboot myself and decide for myself that I have to let the lapband work for me, and in order for it to work I have to use it properly. I have followed my menus, but I found myself eating a little more here and a little more there. Yes, calories do count. My 2 lb weightgain proved that to me. I had my 6 months bandaversary on Jan 16th and I am happy to have lost about 30 lbs. It was not done easily or without effort, and I just don't think I could have done it without my band. It was my wakeup call....I qualified for a lapband. Not my proudest moment, but so very thankful for it. So, I promise myself to blog...more often. May not be everyday. To continue my 30 minutes a day walking. To add some light hand weights. To accept that I am worth this. I deserve to be healthy. I am already happy. I'm always happy. Yeah, I am one of THOSE people. I smile through everything, I strive to see the good in every situation. And when it starts to get hard, I have a rock I can lean on...my awesome husband. Very greatful and blessed.