brendaJean

In May 2009, I lost my mother at the age of 57 to breast cancer.  She had always wanted me to be healthy but I never listened or blew it off.  After she passed, I along with my younger sister and brother and dad had to go through my mom's things and give them away.  My sister is about 5 inches taller than me and my mom and I were the same hight and stature, except I had put on a lot of weight.  When she passed, I weighed about 280lbs.  At 5'2" tall...I was considered morbidly obese.  I made a decision within a few months to inquire and move forward with this surgery.  I had two co workers who had the gastric bypass performed with amazing results, however, they did have some complications and each of them have certain foods they can not eat because of digestion issues.  Taking into consideration the "down" time after surgery, the drastic changes to my anatomy and the very real complications, I opted for the Lap Band.  I'm 5 months post surgery and I've lost almost 50 lbs.  I feel healty, my skin looks good and my clothes feel better.  All can be attributed to the pounds slipping away.  I've changed the way I eat.  I make an effort to be more active.  No soda's or breads.  I stay away from carbs.  Finally after staying away from those types of foods and drinks for so long, I no longer crave them.  They taste "off" to me.  I'm feeling great, my relationship with my husband and family has improved.  My confidence in myself has skyrocketed.  I have a lot more weight to loose, but I don't even jump on the scale all of the time.  I check in on it about every 2 weeks or so.  I get excited when I see that needle inching closer towards 200 in 5lb increments.  I saw my regular doctor who didn't know that I was going to have the lap band done.  I didn't get clearance from her like I should have.  she was amazed at the results so far and was excited to see me so happy with myself.  At the end of my visit, she gave me a hug.  And I became excited again because I was finding me.  I was told this would be a wild ride...but I never realized it would be so much fun.  I think the trip is worth as much as the end result.  And when I get there, there'll be no stopping me.  Every second of every minute will be spent on myself, enjoying my family and living my life no longer weighted down literally.  I just can't wait!