NurseShay

I am almost 26 years old and have been overweight since my teen years. As a kid I was the skinniest one in the family. A very picky eater and I was very active. Weight for me was never an issue until after puberty. In my 20's I began to really pack on the pounds and found myself unable to maintain any weight loss I ever achieved. I have always been relatively "ok" with my weight because luckily Im tall (5'10 & 1/2) and have always been pretty W/H proportionate. In the last 2 yrs though my proportions are starting to even get out of control. I find myself actually having to alter my lifestyle- what I can do, where I can shop, where I sit, what trips & activities I partake in, even who I take a chance in relationships with according to my weight. Actually having to consider my weight on a day to day basis is where I draw the line. Its no longer cute to me. I have simply gotten too big. My body is screaming at me these days for mercy! My joints, feet and back hurt. I got a cataract at 24 due to metabolic issues. In other words my body is all out of whack at such an early age trying to deal with this excess weight. I need help getting control of my weight and some tool to provide the rules & structure to truly change my lifestyle. I became a nurse and started researching my options. Gastric Bypass is totally out of the question. Im a nurse, Ive seen what it can do and Im not so unhealthy- more so uncomfortable- that I would take that risk at this point in my life. Although dont get me wrong it has its benefits for the appropriate candidates. I looked into the realize & lap band and settled on the lap band. Funny enough I treat people with it but my insurance doesnt cover it. So I am paying out of pocket. This is how commited I am to do something about my health. I want my life back & my future. Because Im self pay this is happening pretty quick. I went to a seminar 3/31 and have my pre-op 4/7 and just one week later my surgery is scheduled for 4/14/2010. Nervous & torn are on top of my list but so is excited and relieved to have finally taken a step in the right direction. I pray for everything to work out as it should. Im only just begining this journey and on here looking for advice & support.**Update** So I did it! I started out at 380lbs, lost 10lbs with simple changes just paying attention to my eating habits while I was making my decision to be banded at my pre op appt I weighed in at 365lbs, one week later for my surgery date 4/14, I was 5lbs lighter at 360lbs. It has been 2 weeks since my surgery and I have successfully maintained my pattern of -5lbs/wk and have lost 10lbs post op. I am hoping to continue this pattern for the first few months at least since I do have alot to lose, and its alot easier for someone my size with a Basal Metabolic Rate of 3000 calories/day and now zig zagging between 800-1200 calories/day with daily excercise to lose the extra "extra" weight I hold. But thats a "hope" I'd be happy with -2lbs/wk! I honestly dont feel a difference in the -30 or -20lb loss but mentally its very encouraging to have lost all of this in a month. Clearly all I ever needed to do was change my habits! Lap band really helped to guide me to do that. Im thankful I did & I dont have a single regret as of yet. My first mini goal was to to be 350lbs... I accomplished that 4/30/2010. My next mini goal is to be 299lbs & my next one is to be 250lbs. & Finally to be 200lbs. I do not know if I want to be any smaller than 200lbs because I am so tall & Ive seen some people take the weight journey from one extreme to the other and I dont want to be 150lbs skin & bones even though thats well within the realm of "ideal" on paper. Off paper its just not cute and I just want to be curvy & thick & healthy!! Failure is NOT an option for me... I will accomplish everyone of my goals! I will keep updating & hopefully my story will inspire some of you who are toying with the idea of being banded. I thank all you for your support & advice. Its been my pleasure so far to get to know those of you who I have spokent to. God Bless! **UPDATE** I managed to reach my goal of being 299 around May of 2011 and am now 281lbs. I still have many, smaller, mini goals left. Looking at the big picture in numbers is too hard so I keep shorter goals of 10-25lbs losses and Non Scale victories to focus on. I fit in clothes I could not not fit into 4yrs ago in nursing school. I can fit in a restaurant booth and buckle my seat belt without strain.I rode on rides at the fair I havent been to in over a decade because I have always been terrified at getting kicked off the ride in front of people if the restraints did not fit. I was hesitant and it took me going to the fair twice before I got the nerve to get on a ride but once I did I was like a kid again running back after each ride to get in line again! lol  I LOVE it. Words cannot even being to explain my joy at being 100lbs smaller. I don't know if I ever even believed this day would come. I still have plenty weight left to lose but just knowing that I no longer am gaining and am finally at a weight thats at least comfortable is an awesome feat. Plateaus are still my biggest enemy and old habits do indeed die hard. But the band gives me strength because where I sometimes forget it reminds me because I simply Can't eat the way I use to. The pounds drop much slower now and discipline is slippery when results come slow but the good thing is I never gain because on my worst days I can't as much as I use to. How awesome it is to be called "skinny" by people who knew me at almost 400lbs. Funniest elation I've had lately was when I realized I no longer have to order scrubs online I can fit the ones at Walmart! Im sure the checkout clerk thought I was insane for grinning like a cheshire cat. I've definitely seen the harsher side of losing weight- that is I have had people who I never expected, totally turn on me for trying to better myself. Oddly enough people who have always been thin seem to be my biggest supporters and the people who who were heavy along side me that seem to judge me, discount my  efforts because of the band, and some even stopped talking to me altogether. Jealousy is an ugly trait! But on the upside it really had shown me who truly has my best interest at heart and those people are all who matter. See you all when I reach my goal of 275, 250, 225 and finally 200. =) Good luck bandsters!!