Carpe Diem

[AgentSmith 39]

This message is to all those who are contemplating lap-band surgery. I will preface this by saying that this is MY experience and I know full well that its different for everyone...

In August 2010 I decided that I was no longer able to ignore how fat I was and the risk I was taking with my life. The potential health impacts were great but I was ignoring them. I didn't 'feel' bad, so in my mind there was no major problem. I had always been a big person, and had grown to accept it.

My fater in law was diagnosed with cancer and that for some reason prompted me to make some changes.

I had a consultation with a lap-band surgeon in my area and made the decision the next evening with my wife. My stats at consultation were as follows:

36 years old

5'9" tall

330 lbs

3-4XL shirt

50 pants

20.5" collar

10.5EEE shoes

60 suit jacket

I am a self-pay client therefore the process was rather quick. I had lap-band surgery on September 16th 2010. Then my life changed forever.

The pre-op diet was 4 boost diabetic per day with 1 cup of vegetables only. It honestly was not THAT bad... You get through it and it goes by fast.

The surgery was a breeze. The two days post-op were a little tough. A little incision pain and A LOT of gas! Other than that NO problem. I was on the treadmill 4 days after surgery NO problem. All in all a very easy process all things considered.

One week after surgery I was back to solids and although I didn't have restriction right away, I started my new life.

I started with 100 push-ups and 50 sit-ups in the morning, 30 minutes of cardio (bike, tread or elliptical rotating) and 100 push-ups and 50 sit-ups in the evening every day...

I started to lose right away.

I got a fill on November 4th to 4 CCs. My doctor advised me that I need to stop the cardio because I was losing weight too fast... Good problem to have I suppose! So I did...

So, as of today (Feb 8th) I am at the following stats:

Stil 36 years old

Still 5'9" tall

236 lbs (-94)

L-XL shirt

36 pants

17.5" collar

10 shoes

46 suit jacket

I have maintained the push-ups and sit-ups, and have started playing hockey with my kids at the local arena twice per week. I cheat and do a little cardio but no more than 2 times a week for 30 minutes. When my weight loss trend slows, I will re-integrate cardio because I felt even better when I was doing it. I'll offset by eating a little more calories if needed to balance things out.

I aim for 1500 calories per day (2000 on more activity days) and try to keep things simple. Protein first (80 grams), Fibre (30 grams) then vegetables, then whatever else. NO bread, 1-2 deserts per week MAX. chewable multi, fibre and Calcium supp every morning. Those are my only rules.

I have NEVER felt this good. I feel healthy and I feel like I can keep this up NO problem now.

If ANYONE out there is wondering if changing their life is possible IT IS. Is the lap-band right for you? I don't know... But I can say that for me it was definetly what I needed. and IT WORKS if you use it as a tool in your overall plan and start to think of food as fuel as opposed to a reward (probably the best lesson I took from my nutritionist...).

GOOD LUCK to you all and hopefully this story helps one person out there change their life for the better. Either with the band or some other way.

AS

[dFaults 1]

Congrats! Keep up the good work! What is your goal?