Hi, I'm just starting to think about lap-ban surgery. I am 38 & have recently broken the 200lb mark (only 5'3.) That was kinda a bench mark number for me. My weight has not been a life long struggle. I've wrestled with 10-15 pounds since college but after my daughter was born (she's almost five) the weight piled on quickly. I used to be very active & atheletic & would like to get back to that. Plus, I'm just feeling sluggish & not great. I want to be active & healthy for myself & my kids. My son (7y/o) has high functioning autism- I think contributes to some of my weight gain. My focus has been on him for the past several years. I've done that at the expense of taking care of myself & using food as a form of stress relief.
I wonder what is life like after the surgery? After you're well healed and weght lose is moving in the right direction- can you have a somewhat normal eating pattern? I assume you'll always need to eat small meals but can you eat regular types of food? I like to cook & grow veggies in the summer- could I eat a salad, go out to dinner with my husband, share an ice cream with the kids on the boardwalk or will I have to live on Protein drinks forever? I really would look forward to healting healthy foods -I'm not concerned about having to eat a healthy diet. I am concerned that the surgery would mean not participating in things like family holiday dinner etc- ie I'll stand out cause i'll only have a pine float (toothpick & water) at every occaision.
If anyway has thoughts/experience on those concerns, I'd appreciate your input. Thanks, Jen