robinlhowland

Well, another weekend has come and gone and I am back to work this AM. Had a successful weekend with very few slip ups.
 
I had a NSV moment this weekend..We had some dead spots in our yard so we had dug them up and were re-sodding..well, I was carrying the 40 pound bags of new dirt and throwing the squares of sod while my husband "watched". I asked if he was going to help - he laughed and told me that I was in better shape than he was, so he would just "let me" get my exercise in for the day..Hehe, As tired as I was - not to mention dirty - I kept on with the bags and the sod until the job was done. I acutally amazed myself in the fact that I was not short of breath and did not really get overly tired and no soreness. Now, you to have to know I live in Florida and it was 97 degrees and humid - Hot my friends..A year and 100 pounds ago - none of this would have been remotely possible. But I guess I am in pretty good shape to have done this job.
 
As I sit and look at my tiny plate, with my tiny amount of food (all the time really wanting a pizza followed by some ice cream) I reflect back on this weekend and realize that I have come a long way. I am not only smaller, I am healthier and stronger than I was one year ago. Yep, I still have about 40 pounds more to go (the weight of one bag of dirt - which I thought was HEAVY) so I trudge on..Moving foward, not wanting to go back to the old fat me. I am thankful for the surgery and my weight loss...even if I never reach my goal weight - hey, there is still 100 pounds less of me today and that in itself is a "GOLD MEDAL" performance - if I do say so myself.
 
So, next time you feel down, feeling left out or short changed - go find an old picture of yourself (a fat one) and think back at just how "wonderful life was" when you were heavier - huffing and puffing your way through life, with sore knees, bad ankles and who knows what going on in your insides. Hang in there bandster peeps - we are in this boat together and we will succeed one way or the other.
 
This Saturday I am doing my 5th 5K - this one is up and down the ramps of the Jaguars (NFL) football stadium. It is called the "Stadium Challenge" and it is a tough one. I did it last year and I am crazy enough to do it again. Been working hard on my training. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I make it through such a demanding 5K. Maybe that dirt and sod "training" will come in handy.....I bet my husband will take credit for that one !
 
Until next time - have a great week and stay true to yourself !
 
Melinda in Florida

One year ago today i made a choice that has changed my life. One year ago today i said ok to having lap band surgery. Not knowing what was going to happen to me later on but scared and excited all at the same time. I didn't have my surgery until September but today is the day i said ok to changing my life forever. This time last year i was well on my way to three hundred pulse and my feet, knees, legs, back, everything hurt. I huffed and puffed everywhere i sweat doing the smallest things and i wasn't sleeping well and i couldn't figure out why. And exercise was a very dirty word for me. I didn't wear a swim suit all summer or even for the past seven years of my life. I couldn't wear the girly clothes because they just don't have pulse sizes everywhere you go. I was limited on things that i could and would do.
I was unhealthy and unhappy and most of all i wasn't a fun person. On the inside i wanted to be someone who could do everything that i wanted but on the outside i knew that i wasn't. After hearing about lap band i knew that i wanted to do it and i knew that i was going to. So one year ago today is when i found my dr the next day i made the appointment and today here i am a little wiser and allot healthier. Im still not where i want to be but im so far from where i was. I have worn a swim suit and i have shopped at ever store in the mall and i don't have to wear a size XXX L and my pants are not a size 20 and my bras are not a size 44 D and my underwear are no longer a size 18, and i don't have a ring size of 11 on my ring finger. Today as of right now i wear a shirt size of Large a pants size of 13 juniors underwear size med and a bra size 38 B and my ring finger size is 8.
Granted i have been through hell and i have been in bandster hell and i made it! I have had problems and i have still made it to here healthy, happy, and for the first time in a long time excited about life. When i am ask knowing everything that i know now would i still have done it my answer is always the same YES. Knowing everything that i know I still would have done it. Do i ever get scared when i feel like something is going wrong YES but i seem to always make it through the hard times and come back and looking back i would do it again every time.
If you are sitting here today wondering if you should have lap band because of all the stories you have read and all the horrible things people have told you, im here to tell you that its all up to you. If you want to go for a healthier life then look at all your options and find the one that works for you but don't ever let anyone tell you that you cant do it. You have to do this for you not for anyone else! I love to exercises now and i go to the gym every day that its opened i am going back to school i have a full time job and i am married with three kids. Before lap band half of the things i do now where not possible but with the new me anything is possible. Don't ever get down on you because you can change and you can make your life what you want it to be! When you start don't let yourself stop and take the time to reward yourself. Make the change for you not for anyone else. OH and one more thing I got to meet Jessie James last weekend and i had the courage to ask him to take a pic with me something that i could have never done before lap band!!!!!!