Progress Report

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I don't post that often, but thought I would give a little progress

report on my experience with my band. I was banded on March 13 this

year, at a starting weight of 234 lbs. (I am almost 5'4 " , BMI was

41) 9 months later, I am 189--down 45 lbs. To a lot of bandsters,

this might not sound that great, but I am ecstatic. My average

weight loss is 5 lbs/month...some months it's seemed like I haven't

lost at all, but it's coming off. I compare my progress this time

with the last time I lost a major amount of weight on WW--I lost 35#

in 13 months, and I stuck to the points plan pretty religiously. (Of

course, my lowest weight lasted a few weeks, then I was on my way

back up while on " maintenance " ...gained about 10# more on top for

good measure.) And, this time I am able to lose weight without being

on a painfully restrictive diet. For example, in the past 6 weeks my

husband and I have been eating out a lot (more than usual, which was

already at least twice a week) because we've been moving from

Portland to Spokane and we haven't had very much access to a kitchen,

as we sent all of our things to Spokane while we stayed in Portland

for a month. Even with frequent dining out, I am still losing

1#/week, and here's how: we make the healthiest choice we can

(usually) and we split one entree between the two of us. I lose

better when we cook more, of course, but I'm grateful to my band for

helping me continue when our living/eating/cooking situation is less

than ideal. (I'm also grateful that my husband is happy with

splitting meals with me--he likes eating smaller portions too, which

is great!)

I believe I have 3.2cc in a 4cc band...I don't keep close track on

the amount of fill. For ME, this translates to pretty good

restriction. I've never been tight enough to have trouble eating any

kind of food. I've always been able to eat bread (sadly) and I'm

happy to say I have not barfed or gotten stuck one time since being

banded. I had one brief episode of heartburn a few months ago, but I

think it was because I had some especially spicy Thai food too close

to bedtime...it's never happened since then, and I've been smarter

about what & when I eat. So I certainly " could " be tighter, but I'm

losing weight and not having problems so I'm not interested in more

restriction. Also, with us moving to Spokane, which is about 6 hours

from my surgeon, and starting a graduate program that won't allow me

much time to fiddle with tweaking my restriction that much, I don't

want to get too tight and be far away from my surgeon.

45 lbs lighter, I went from size 18 to a loose 12/snug 10 so far, and

no longer use the CPAP. I'm off my antidepressant, and wasn't taking

other medications other than supplements. Best of all, I work out 4-

5x/week and LOVE it. I used to think I hated exercise, especially in

a gym, but I discovered that if I found a gym I like being in--that

has a lot of natural light and isn't too noisy or busy, and doesn't

have lots of people who are only there for attention--I love to

exercise and feel restless and grumpy when I don't. Go figure! I

have more energy and a better mood these days, which I think is due

to the exercise at least as much as weight loss. I do a variety of

different cardio exercises, 45-60 min per session, and take yoga a

couple of times a week. I'm also resuming a resistance training

program.

I always have regarded myself as a slow loser, so anyone out there

who is just starting with the band and feels like their weight loss

is slower than everyone else's, just keep going because it does add

up. I have 29 lbs to go to my goal of 160, which is probably a bit

of a high goal, although I do think my frame requires a little bit

more weight than the BMI chart suggests I should be. When I get to

that goal I'll assess if I need to go lower or not. If I lose the

last 29 lbs in the next 6-12 months, I'll be pleased as punch.

I hope this is helpful to some of you out there. Thanks!

Gwen