Mandisa

Hi! My name is Amanda but my husband loves to call me Mandisa (he has lots of nicknames for me- Mango, Mandarin- you see where this is going)!I have not ever been "one of those people" who had trouble with their weight- I was always skinny in high school and beyond- without much effort!!! In fact, I taught group fitness classes for ten years, did personal training, was a program director at a fitness center, and have two bachelor's degrees in health-related fields- one in Wellnees science Fitness management, and another in Nursing.About 3+ years ago I started having some weird symptoms... muscle twitching at first, that got worse, then a very rapid decline (about a one month period) in energy and muscle endurance. I wasn't able to walk up stairs anymore, couldn't teach fitness classes anymore, and even had to stop physical therapy for my neck because I couldn't do it! I went to every doctor in the book and none of them could figure out what was wrong with me. I had every test possible and no positive results for anything out of the ordinary. I tried medicines to keep me awake because I was sleeping around 16 hours a day. Nothing worked! I eventually resigned myself to the fact that I had one of those disorders (CFS or the like) that nobody understands yet! The very disorders that I used to say I didn't believe existed- that they were just an excuse! During these three years even though I was unable to exercise I continued to eat like I was- hence, enormous weight gain for a little short person!!!! My mother also died tragically and mentally I was used up... I lost my job and spiraled further....I discovered that I could not change my eating habits by myself- I always had exercised to get any extra pounds off- so steadily I gained weight until I decided to see a weight loss surgeon. My friend had seen one and had good results so I thought maybe it could work for me. My friend insisted that I didn;t weigh enough (fluctuating around 180lbs.) but I didn't care. I knew that I was not going to get any better. Well, here comes my first stumbling block. My husband didn't want me to do it. He didn't understand it (which is why education beforehand is SO important) and wouldn't let me. Never mind the fact that our insurance didn't cover it even if I did weigh enough. So a year + later, I had a light bulb moment! I watched a video of myself singing in church and said, "Who is that woman?"That was the end of that. I told my husband that I was having the surgery, attending a free educational seminar (which my surgeon requires), and did he want to go with me? He went and was floored! He replied that this was exactly what I needed and why didn't I have this done a long time ago???? You know what my answer to that was. Less than a week later I went to a lap-band support group (which my surgeon also requires) and less than a week after that I had my first consultation and less than a week after that I had my surgery. I weighed in at a whopping 201.8 lbs! I couldn't believe that someone like me who loved to be active (and now so unfairly couldn't be) could actually weigh this much. I weighed more than when I had my children. I weighed more than I ever thought I could possible weigh. I weighed more than I would admit to my husband or anyone else around me. So, I am on the mend. Physically and mentally. I have never gotten a diagnosis on my health, although I seem to be able to do a little bit more than 3 years ago. My hope is that I will continue to do more even though I may never be 100% of what I was. I plan to attend every lap band support group I can...