Wow, has it really been 9 months since my surgery?!

Things have been eventful to say the least since my last *real* update. I am very pleased with where I am at though, so it is all worth it.

Since January (6 months) was my last update, let’s rewind a bit. At that point, I was still having a few issues with tightness that would sometimes take me down to eating nothing but ice cream (where that bad, bad addiction found its way back into my life). In February, I had an appointment where it was decided that we would completely unfill my band and send me for a gallbladder u/s since the symptoms sounded similar. Well, needless to say, as of March 9th I am one body part less. Good news is, I am not longer in pain and can actually eat solid foods. Bad news is, this last 10 pounds has been nothing short or pure determination, since I have no restriction. I know the running is definitely what is helping me to stay on track. Monday, I have another appointment and finally get a fill again. We are planning to go slow, since I am VERY sensitive to fills and that is okay with me, I am only 19 pounds from my final goal and I know if I can lose 10 with no fill, I can lose the rest with a small fill.

Now, onto where I am now (yes, I am going to brag a bit…hey, it is my blog after all:).

• Starting weight 232 (highest ever 265)
• Current weight 159.2
• Pounds lost since surgery 72.8 (since highest 105.8)
• Starting BMI 41.01 (morbidly obese)
• Current BMI 28.20 (overweight)
• Staring clothing size 20, XXL
• Current clothing size loose 12, L
• Running then, what’s that, maybe 2 minutes without dying
• Running now, 5-6 miles easily at 1 time, training for half mary in spring
• Starting white blood cell counts, 22.6
• Current (as of Jan, I get tested again in May) white blood cell counts, 15.2
• If you want to see anymore, go here…

I feel great and that is what counts. I decided to share the pics above on facebook, even with my reservations. While I do not hide the fact that I had weight loss surgery, so many people still look at it as the “easy way out”. That is SO not the case, especially with lap band. The surgery/band is just a tool, if you are not ready to make the lifestyle changes necessary, you are not guaranteed success. You can fail with the band and it is very easy to “eat around the band” and not get off your butt and get active. I often get people asking me if I would recommend lap band surgery and I say yes, wholeheartedly IF you are ready to tackle those changes necessary. Lap band surgery was the turning point for me, I figured that I was not going to waste this $16,000 “gift” that I was given.