Bec

Two major milestones this week: Onederland and 75 pounds gone forever! Hi everyone, I’ve never posted on here before but have definitely benefitted from all of the information, advice, and encouragement given on this board these past nine months or so. So I wanted to say a great big thank you to everyone for being so open and great in general. This was a huge week for me and I just really wanted to share it. Please pardon any excessive gushing. Tuesday morning I woke up and discovered that I was now a resident of the elusive state of being known as “Onederland” and at the same time I had lost a total of 75 pounds. Needless to say I’ve had a smile plastered on my face for the last couple of days. I’m just so grateful for the band and the OCC, my life is forever changed for the better. Just for a little background info, I have struggled with weight issues since I was ten (I’m 29). I’ve been up and down on the scale so many times that about two years ago I kind of gave up. It’s always been an appetite issue with me, I could always diet and lose weight for a few months but I was always hungry, always aware that I wasn’t eating enough to be satisfied, and could only maintain that willpower for a few months at time. I had just graduated law school but felt like a total failure in life because I still hadn’t gotten my weight under control. Fast forward to about a year later and one fateful episode of Oprah and well you can all guess the rest. The biggest hang-up I had regarding surgery was accepting that I needed it, I’m a very independent person and the thought of having a lapband placed in me was hard to deal with. Fortunately, I was able to let go of the stigma I thought I would feel and had it done, and I can honestly say it was the best decision I’ve ever made. I knew pretty early on maybe one or two days post op that this was going to work for me because of the way I felt after drinking my liquids. The best way I can explain it is that it’s like the scales balancing hunger and satiety had finally been tipped in my favor and now I was going to be able to do this. I could get my eating and body under control. It hasn’t been all sunshine and roses (I broke through a 3 1/2 month plateau 3 weeks ago) but the changes surgery brought to my life have been remarkable. The weight loss has given way to a new focus on nutrition and a healthy way of life. I credit the no carbonation rule with much of this because I used to drink a massive amount of diet soda and pre-op the only vegetables I liked was lettuce, cucumbers, and uncooked carrots, seriously that’s all. Now that my taste buds are alive again I like all kinds of veggies. The day I realized I liked broccoli was hilarious. In some ways I still can’t believe that this is happening to me. I feel really lucky and am so happy to be a bandster. Hope everyone has a great weekend, Bec In case anyone’s curious about my stats, I know I am about everyone else’s, here they are Height: 5’11 Pre-Op diet 8/20/08: 273 Surgery date 9/1/08: 261 6/16/09: 198