Mary Ash

Congrats!!! A half marathon is one of my big way future goals. Thanks for sharing your accomplishment!

Love my nutribullet and can't wait to try some of these creative recipes! Thanks!

Love my nutribullet and can't wait to try out some of these creative recipes! Thanks

Love my nutribullet and can't wait to try out some of these creative recipes! Thanks

Honestly since I have been banded I have found that the caffeine in coffee affects me much more quickly and intensely than before surgery. I still drank it through the end of college but I rarely drink it any more because of the jittery way it makes me feel.

Trying to stay on track and motivated!! Feel free to add me !! username= maryashmore

One of my friends who I thought was going to be pretty supportive of my banding is really starting to get to me. They have mentioned before surgery that they really didn't think I needed to go to these extreme measures. Now after surgery this friend mentioned to me that I could have lost my weight naturally and that plenty of other people do it all of the time. I then asked him if he personally knew of any people that were able to lose more then 200 pounds naturally and keep the weight off. Of course he said now but that there are people that do it. I told him that was rare and that I personally needed the lap band as a tool. He said he understands this but that I still could have done it without surgery if I had just TRIED. This really set me off because I have ALWAYS been overweight, since before kindergarten at least, and God knows I have been TRYING to lose weight for as long as I can remember. I just feel like he was not listening to me and could not see that this was the BEST choice I have ever made for myself. I am a little bit upset because I counted this person as one of my best friends and I would have loved to have had their support during this time. I can't believe being banded is going to change our friendship but it looks like it just may...

Alcohol definitely affects me more quickly than before but not to the point where I can't drink. I'm in college and enjoy drinking with my friends and do not see myself abstaining from drinking in the near future. My advice would be mix your own drinks and just don't put as much alcohol in them. A bunch of my friends have questioned why I all of sudden didn't/ couldn't drink beer anymore and that was an awkward one. Since carbonation is really bad for the band I've been experimenting with many different liquor options. As was mentioned above vodka with just about any crystal light is awesome! Almost no calories at all.

I was banded when I was 19! Finally decided I didn't want to waste my youth away I guess.

I was banded at the age of 19 and I am so glad that I did it. I have been extremely overweight my whole life and this tool has helped me to start moving towards a healthy life.

I was just looking back at this post and thinking about the past year I don't think that it was necessary to tell as many people as a chose to tell. It made it easier in some aspects but I also know that people will and do always judge. It really did just get hard to keep it a secret from some of my friends who I spend a ton of time with.

Wow so lucky. I'm a college student and had to be moved back at school and was regularly attending classes within a week of surgery. That was a killer.

Why not just do it. It can only make the surgery easier for your surgeon to shrink your liver a bit. Plus you will already be on the right path and start losing weight. Another plus is that you will know what to expect with the post op liquids diet.

I definitely went through doubts both before and after surgery. Now that it has been a year and I have lost a substantial amount of weight I am 100 % sure this was the right decision for me. I still need to work hard and lose a good deal more weight but I know that getting banded was one of the tools that I needed.