Saturday I walked down the aisle at my son's wedding in a dress that made me feel FABULOUS--one I never dreamed I'd be able to wear. I never even made it to the buffet--couldn't tell you what was on it because I was too busy dancing.....for four and a half hours to be exact. Six years ago I would have made a beeline to the food and pretty much camped out near that table. The caterer allowed me to take my meal from the rehearsal dinner home with me in spite of it being a buffet, since I knew the stress of hostessing the party would probably keep me from being able to get much through the band. I assured her that I would fill my plate only once with a reasonable amount of food.....I got THREE meals off of it! Six years ago I would have eaten every bite and gone back for more. I am constantly amazed at how much food I was able to consume in one meal before the band compared to the actually nutritional needs of my body.
Yesterday I celebrated my 55th birthday and because of the gift that Dr. Michael King gave to me in the Lap Band, I felt like it could have been my 21rst! I was banded in April of 2007. I remember feeling so fearful that, like so many things I had already tried, it was not going to work, I was simply destined to be obese for the rest of what would be a very shortened life due to the extra weight and the effect it was having on my body. My weight loss has been VERY slow and steady, but because of that, I have not had the issues of sagging skin and sunken eyes and it has truly become a change in my attitude towards food instead of simply a "diet" to lose the weight. I have gone from almost a size 26 to an 18. It is a really awesome problem to have to buy new clothes because you can't find yourself in the old ones anymore! This last shopping trip actually found me in the "regular" sized clothes for the first time in...well, since I can remember.
I have exercised since before the lapband and because of the weight loss I am now able to walk 4 miles 2-3 times a week. I do a circuit workout with weights at a local wellness center 1-2 times a week. Before the weight loss, I struggled to walk a mile. Now, I look forward to the walking and the workouts because they make me feel so good. When I began walking 4 miles instead of doing the stairmaster for an hour, the inches began to fall off. Not sure what the difference is, but for me the walking has been much more effective. I had to ask myself....how badly do you REALLY want this? Bad enough to make the exercise a new habit? Bad enough to get off the couch; put down the potato chips and Cookies and get moving, even if it means waking up a bit earlier or getting out and walking after a long day? My answer, a resounding "YES".
I have found that keeping my hands busy is one of the ways I have learned to overcome the temptation to graze in the kitchen. Reading a book, which is an activity I enjoy, is not effective since I can still hold the book and manage to hold whatever food is the binge-of-the-day. I do needlework, sew, knit, crochet, work a jigsaw puzzle, do a scrapbook page or a number of other activities when I am tempted to mindlessly eat. Some days I have to just put on my tennis shoes and take a walk to put as much distance between me and the kitchen as possible.
I hope this encourages you. The lapband has not been a magic fix, rather a tool that has helped me in re-learning how to nourish my body the way it was meant to be. I still have days when I find myself falling into the behavior that caused me to become obese in the first place. It is very easy to sabotage my own efforts and "outeat" the band, but now that I have come this far and have experienced the "high" of feeling normal again, I am able to use that as my motivation to stop the mindless eating. I pray that you will find that "high" as well.
