A year already! - X POST

[Guest guest]

This week marks my 1 year anniversary with the band. I always look

forward to reading others' anniversary posts and it's hard to believe

the time is here for mine. Where do the days go?!

First, the stats: Banded 3/9/04 by Dr. Bonanni in Reading, PA. I

think I was his 45th or so banded patient (he does primarily lap

RNY). Banding was covered in full by my insurance company (PRAISE

GOD!). Since then, I've lost 66 pounds and gone from a 24/26 to 18

and even some 16s. I started working out at curves in August and go 2-

3x's per week. I also play in a competitive volleyball league weekly

and go dancing (swing, salsa, ballroom, country line dancing, club

dancing, anything!) at least 2-3x's per month. My goal for this year

is to complete a 5K (I HATE running so this should be quite a

challenge) and am doing my first 1mi race next weekend in preparation.

Along the way I learned that patience really is a key ingredient to

this whole process. It took me 3-4 fills (and 4 months) to get any

kind of restriction so I was a " slow loser " in the beginning,

averaging just over 1 pound loss per week. Finally, at my 5th fill, 6

months after surgery, I got to my sweet spot and was successfully

losing and average of 1.6 pounds per week. Still not as fast as some,

but I am pleased, especially since I don't follow a strict diet plan.

I've said this before but for the newbies I'll say it again. I made

the choice from the beginning to not have a diet mentality. So, I

still eat mostly the same foods as pre-op (at least the ones that I

still want), just a lot less of them. Now, this doesn't work for

everyone, and to be honest, it probably slowed down my weight loss.

But, there is more than one way to skin a cat, as they say, and for

me, this worked.

Feeling deprived is the number one reason I never could stay on a

diet. With the band, I can lose weight without feeling deprived. Now,

does this mean I eat nothing but cheese, chocolate, mozzarella

sticks, and peanut butter all day? Absolutely not, but I do eat those

things sometimes. But, instead of a whole order of mozzarella sticks,

I eat 1 or 2.

I've often said that I'll keep doing things this way until it stops

working for me. Well, I think I've come to that place. For the past 6

weeks I haven't really lost any weight. Part of that is because I

think it is time for a slight fill as I am hungry between meals and

can eat more (like a whole 6 " tuna sub, bread and all!). So, getting

a fill will help. But, I can also adjust my eating a bit and cut back

on the snacks and late night eating. If it weren't for my high level

of physical activity, my weight loss probably would have stalled many

weeks ago. But, I know what I need to change or adjust.

Some final comments on loose skin. I'm 31 and have been overweight

all my life and despite having " good skin " (per a surgeon), was

worried about loose skin. At about 4-6 months post-op I began to see

some floppy areas (arms and thighs mainly). To my surprise, they have

toned up quite a bit over the past few months and I don't notice it

nearly as much, despite continued weight loss. I still have at least

50 pounds to go so there's no telling what the end result will look

like, but it is nice to see that the skin can possibly tighten up

over time.

Can't wait to see what this year brings,

3/9/04

5'6 "

309(highest)/295(at surgery)/229(current)/180(tentative goal)

BMI: 50(highest)/48(at surgery)/37(current)/29(tentative goal)

Be sure to check out my newest photo in " L " album