hilliaryl

Okay, here we go, my story. I've been over it time and time again in my head now to write it out. I was always overweight, in high school I was on the swim team, and the hard workouts kept the 200's at bay (I weighed 170 then). But once I graduated and left exercising for Culinary school the pounds started to grow! Before I knew it I was 280. Well I worked hard and did everything I could think of (metabolife included), but I never got below 250. But I was happy there, it didn't get in my way and I was an semi-active coed. I found a supportive doctor who did not beat me down for being obese, but share my risk factors and encourage me to help myself. Because of him, I walked everywhere on campus. I could have jumped on the shuttle, it stopped right outside of my dorm room, but I needed to do this for myself. I did lose a little weight in the 6 months between visits and was congratulated me on my progress. That weight didn't stay gone long though... I needed to pay bills when I decided to move off campus so I took a job at a line chef at a fancy downtown Italian restaurant. When that started to tire me, I was off to wait tables at another restaurant... I was doing whatever it took and my health suffered for it. When I found a non-food line of work, I started dieting with my roommate and hitting the gym, hard. But the only time I saw any progress was the 25 lbs I lost on the Atkins diet, which of course was only temporary. I'll move forward to the time where Weight Watchers (and other diets) failed me and my fluctuating weight was contributing to a slow metabolism. To lose anything I had to starve myself and spend 2 hours a day in the gym. I had other obligations that were being ignored (I worked until 11 PM and was not getting home until 2 AM). I was having fertility issues and my husband and I were desperate to have children. After realizing that I had a thyroid problem, and talking with my ob/gyn about the fertility problems, she told me that the hormonal imbalance had to be fixed and she would not help me until I lost 15% of my body weight. At my new high of 315 this was only 47 lbs, but I couldn't maintain a 15 lb loss. I asked her how and laid out what it was taking for me to drop the slightest bit of weight and she told me to go to Weight Watchers. Infuriated with this answer, I went to a new PCP who looked over my food log and could see my frustration. He suggested that I consider Lap-Band and told me that when I was ready he would refer me to a surgeon. I went to a seminar at a surgery center a friend recommended. He had his surgery done by one of the doctors in the group, but I was determined to not have surgery. I could do this on my own, right? A week later we were off to Grand Cayman for our yearly vacation. I was still considering surgery, but it wasn't in the forefront of my mind. My husband is an avid photographer and I didn't like for him to take my picture, but we were on vacation. So after a day of swimming, I sat on the sea wall about to go back up to the condo when I let him snap a shot of me. It was a beautiful day and I couldn't look that bad?!?!?!:eek: Well we downloaded the pictures when he came upstairs and I decided I couldn't fool myself any longer. The day we got home, I called my PCP. Within a week I was in to see Dr. Smith, the Nutritionist and had my psychological screening. I scheduled my surgery the day of my visits, for about 3 weeks later. Well on my surgery day, I was proud to see I lost 15 lbs on my pre-surgery diet. I will not say it has been easy, but it seems like the pounds melted off. It took a while to adjust to the new eating style. It was different to say the least, but I can eat pretty much anything I like just in MUCH smaller portions (I even had pizza at the mall for lunch today). By Christmas I was 250. I decided then and there, if I NEVER lost another pound I would be satisfied. In mid-April, I was 220 and ecstatic. Now I finally weigh less than my husband and still have about another 45 pounds to go to my goal. This last month has been slow progress, but at this point in my life, slow progress is wonderfully accepted. I went from a size 26/28 to a 12/14 and I cannot wait to see how much more I've got to go! I keep an online photo diary and even I cannot believe the progress. Its been a life long battle, but I'm glad to finally be on the winning (or should I say losing:lol:) side. Photo Diary is here: The Photos of Jonathan & Hilliary Lalor- powered by SmugMug

So, we suspected I was pregnant when the nausea and tightness last more than the normal 2-3 days before my period (oh yeah and I am 5 days late and I've been like clockwork since coming off the pill in April). So I went to the ER to get the dehydration treated and after 4.5 hours it is confirmed, I am pregnant! We have been waiting just over 4 years to hear those words I thank my band for this blessed occurrence. Any tips you have will be greatly appreciated, I don't know if I can handle morning sickness, but I'm hoping that once I get my defill (I actually just happen to have an appt in the AM) I'll feel tons better. Thanks for placing this post because it eased my concerns until I had confirmation.

Love the personality and high spirits. Not only do you rock, but you will be rocking it a few sizes healthier too!

Okay, I actually emailed the account holder of the Dr.RRutledge YouTube account and stacked up the facts I had received about lapband versus the issues post-GB. He replied (on 2 different occasions with different poorly written responses to the same message) and told results were better with GB and basically that lapband sucked. He never even responded to my morbidity due to surgery questions. I was a week away from surgery when I found him and I wanted an insightful assessment in the differences of the 2 (other than what I heard from my doctor and surgeon). Well I am happy to report that 9.5 months post-LAPBAND surgery down 98 lbs, so I don't know what he would say to that. Also if you read in the comments on the video of the girl (who claimed to be in her 20's) there is a post by a user that says that they are the person in the video and it is all true (a look at the user account revealed a woman in her 40's however). Oh yeah, and one thing to mention about "Dr." Rutledge's responses was that he could not spell or write to save his life. It sounded as if a middle school or high school student had composed the responses, not someone who attended 10+ years of college.

WoW, I thought I was in trouble... My hair has always fallen out, but recently, it had gotten worse. I know I was eating my Protein and taking my Vitamins but decided to do some start research... I'm thinking its time to have my thyroid retested, as well I found out that if you are on birth control, it can contribute to hair loss. Just a few thoughts... As well, I also noticed the clumps got smaller when I upped the hair washing...

No pain, I mean there is a little prick for the needle, but it doesn't hurt. There are people who will play it up for sympathy and try to scare you... Dr. Smith is so gentle, I cannot wait to see him again :-)

Dr. Smith did my band on August 15 at the Specialty Surgery Center in Hurst. He is fabulous and I love his staff, they have been wonderful. I email Suzee with what I feel could simply be the silliest questions, but she is always been patient answering any question I have. Dr. Smith did my first fill on Sept 14, and it didn't feel anywhere near as bad as some people acted it out to be.