Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Six Years, Six Posts: Post 1 - The Basics, My Annual Post

In honor of today being six years since I was banded, I am going to attempt to do six posts! This first one is my standard annual post. I haven't forgotten about the questions/things people suggested either and some of those questions are answered in this one, but please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions...it will make the 6 posts so much easier for me too as right now I pretty much just have this post with 5 to go

Official weigh in stats:
  • Height: 5'8"
  • Starting weight: 234 lbs
  • Original goal weight: 149 lbs (Sat here for a while in maintenance and then decided I was still a bit fluffy)
  • Revised goal weight: 138 - 142 lbs (Stayed within this range for a while and picked up boot camp)
  • Revised goal weight again: 132-136 lbs.
  • Pretty much landed at 129 lbs and then divorced the scale.
  • Overall loss: 105 lbs
  • Lbs to goal: 0 lbs
BMI: 19.6 -  (Normal weight = 18.5-24.9)

How many fills have you had?
  • 1st fill – 1.2c
  • 2nd fill – 1.8cc
  • 3rd unfill - was just too tight - went to 1.4cc
  • 4th unfill - dilated pouch - complete unfill
  • 5th fill - .6cc
  • I think I went up some from here to about .8cc; then unfill to about .4 cc; then another to .2 cc - that's where I remain
Are you going to stay at your current fill level? Yes. I honestly can't even recall how long I've been at this level

What are you going to do next? Keep on going with my wellness goals!

What size clothes are you wearing?
  • Pants: 2/4
  • Dress: 2/4
  • Shirt: S/XS
What do you eat in a typical day? There really isn't typical anymore, but I always eat 3 to as many as 6 meals. I listen to my body and if I'm hungry I eat. I should say though that "meals" is used loosely here. It could be a few nuts, a string cheese, a yogurt, half a bar, etc. - each is a "meal" - and I consciously make it a bandster portion.

Was it worth it? Would you do it again? Yes, it was! It was much more expensive when I got it than it is today (you lucky dogs!), but it was still worth every single self-pay penny!

Have you had any problems? Yes, but not anything horrific in my book. You'll see in the beginning of my blog that shortly after my surgery I swore my stitches in my port popped. Everybody told me at the surgeon's office no way and not to worry about it (there was a huge snow/ice storm when I was supposed to go in for my after surgery follow up). When I went in for my fill, my port was on it's  side. I still have not had it fixed, but you can see lump from it when my shirt is off and FEEL it. Feeling it is the grossest. (I think many people refer to them as port baby or something? Well, mine is more of a tween!) I also had some problems with pouch dilation. Turned out that it was likely a combination of being too tight and eating too much over time. Signs? Eating more than you are supposed to (and also could be in conjunction with eating too fast) and getting heartburn (aka - reflux).

Have you pb'd? Unfortunately, yes. More so when I was too tight. Currently only from stupidity and I can't even remember the last time.

What rules do you follow? Eat slowly. Take small bites. When I feel full - stop. Eat bandster amount. Don't drink with meals. (See the side.)... and: Eat CONSCIOUSLY - am I hungry? Am I full? Does it taste good? etc. Here's a post on my most important rules.

Do you have loose skin? I had said no previously. As I got thinner, my skin is not definitely that of a 20 year old, but I'm not 20 either! I'd have to say that the skin situation has improved more over time though. How is that? Exercise! Boot camp and jogging. The only time you can see a "skin situation" is when I'm in a certain position that I only do when working out. You can also see a bit of loose skin in the tummy area when I'm naked and leaning over (so you won't be seeing it!) which is not noticeable when i am standing up or in a swimsuit. This is the same answer as last year, but I have to tell you that this has continued to improve!

Do you 'diet'? Yes? No? Even if I only ate hamburgers, wouldn't that be a hamburger diet? The bottom line whether you have a lap band or not is you have to make healthy food choices most of the time. For a while, I was roughly following Weight Watchers that my friend gave me all the scoop on---the intent though was to become more in tune with what I was eating (the eating consciously crap). It was successful for me, but with all the exercise it just wasn't feeling right. It was feeling like work, so I just started listening (and trusting!) my body and eating when I am hungry---what you can pretty much think of as intuitive eating. Your call on whether or not it's a "diet", but there isn't anything that is restricted from my eating if I want it. But then again, sometimes I want a bunch of crap and I tell myself no. So you tell me.

Ya, I had a regain! --- So what is all this about this 15lbs you gained? Well, for about 5 or 6 months sometime in 2008(?), I didn't work out, log my food, or make good choices. Major, major funk city---ironically this is when there was a "break" in my relationship with my now husband. The good news is that I "only" gained 15 lbs. In the past, this would have been much worse. I also avoided the scale, so it was my clothes screaming at me that they were tight that woke me up. I just slapped myself upside the head and said: HELLO, get a grip. You spent a ton of money. You are being an idiot. Get back on track and do it NOW! You will feel better if you do. (I think I was in a bit of a depression.)Well, I did - I'm just stubborn like that. That is what you see referenced in a period of 12 weeks. During that time with a lot of dedication and effort - and following all the rules - I lost 15.5 lbs....and, felt a whole lot better!

Favorite Posts:
If I was going to point out a few posts to go read, it would be:
My thoughts on protein and some other opinions
Restriction
Golden(?) rules
My Most Important Rules
Why Do You Exercise?
Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3

Accomplishments this past year: Wellness Goals!

11 comments:

Jessica said...

Congrats on your accomplishments! and thanks for the info for us new bandesters out there!

Rhonda said...

Great post, can't wait to read the other five! :)

MandaPanda said...

You've just done so well! And you show how much of a commitment you have to be willing to make to get and stay healthy. I also like how you've adjusted your goals over time to suit you.

vickyd said...

Great post! Congrats on your 6 year bandiversary...you are such an inspiration!!

Dawnya said...

Happy 6 year bandiversary!!! I love you so much. You are such a big encouragement to me. You keep me focused. When I lose sight of my goals...I read a post that you wrote. I keep in in my wallet...yup (stalk much). You are a superstar in my book...and you always will be.

The only question I have for one of your future post is how long did it take you to lose all of your weight.

Cat said...

Happy 6th year bandiversary! So glad to be getting to know you through my journey. I definately look to you as a mentor. Thanks for sharing! I cannot wait to go back through and read all your links too!

Catherine55 said...

Great post!! And, happy bandiversary!! It's so interesting to hear how things might be for me three more years out. Thanks for this post.

Had my b-day yesterday and have GOT to catch up on my posting! Has been a crazy week! :)

Andrea said...

Happy 6 years!!! Thanks so much for posting all of this info! Being 6 months into my journey this is really helpful for me. I'm sad I didn't get to meet you last Saturday, but hopefully next time!

Beth Ann said...

I doesn't matter how many times I hear your story, I hang on every word, every single time. You are one of my biggest inspirations. Truly.

Manda said...

Awesome post. New follower and definitely helpful for me.

Kristin said...

Your are so beautiful and such an amazing women. Meeting you was so much fun, and you are such an inspiration to us all!!