Amanda460

When my dad was 50, he was over 300 lbs, diabetic, had sleep apnea and high blood pressure. He had tried losing weight many times before but had never been able to keep weight off. He finally decided to get a weight loss surgery to help him lose the weight and get his health back in control. Since then, he's lost 110 lbs and is within 10 lbs of a perfect weight.

At 24, I was healthy but very overweight. My dad and I compared notes and it seemed that my problem wasn't WHAT I was eating, it was just how much. In general, I ate pretty healthy. The problem is that 4,000 calories of salad is still 4,000 calories.

I'd tried tons of diets with little or no luck. I was just always hungry. Eating 1,200, 1,500 or even 2,000 calories just wasn't enough. I felt like I was starving.

At age 25 my parents and I decided I should get LAP Band surgery to avoid any long-term health problems and deal with my obesity before it became a real problem. At my worst, I was 252 lbs.

As I mentioned, I was healthy. I didn't have any of the health conditions that insurance companies look for and my BMI wasn't above 40. I paid for the surgery out of pocket rather than wait until I WAS sick or DID have a BMI over 40. I decided it was better to get healthy before I NEEDED to get healthy.

Today, I've lost over 40 lbs in 6 months. I eat reasonable portions and I'm down several clothing sizes. I'm hoping to get to an ideal weight of 145 but I'd be pretty happy with 165.