I am definitely a success story in the making. I have reached a major milestone in my life and one that I would not have made without the lap band. Please see my blog about my journey so far and click to follow. http://thelapbandexperience.blogspot.com/

I was banded 10 months ago and cannot believe where I stand today. I never dreamed I would hit this milestone in less than a year. My surgeon had a goal of 40 lbs a year with a total weight loss of 120 lbs over 3 years.

I have always shopped at places like Lane Bryant and Woman Within (when I could no longer buy off the rack at Lane Bryant stores). I have gone from a very tight size 28/30 in pants to a size 18/20. I went from a size 4x/5x (30/32) top to a size 1x/2x (22/24) at a regular store not the specialty plus stores like Lane Bryant. I am shopping at Old Navy and saving tons of cash on clothes. I now shop at least 2-3 times a month for clothes. I am LOVING it!! That is definitely something I would never have thought I would do again.

I still have a long ways to go but I know without a doubt I will get there. I am not eating bird-size portions. I don't eat fat free. I eat a salad plate size portion at each meal. I eat eggs every morning pretty much for breakfast. I don't exercise as much as a I should. Frankly hardly at all so I know that if I were to change that I would probably have been at my surgeon's goal already. The key here is I am happy. What I am doing is working for me. I don't obsess about food. I only recognize the foods I cannot eat. Other than that, all is fair game. I have come to realize my whole problem was portion control. I can choose healthier items if I want but I would eat really huge portions of everything. Now I don't.

Another milestone for me is that I have not had a single soft drink in a year. March 25, 2010 was the day I stopped drinking soft drinks. I only drink Vitamin Water Zero, milk, juice. That's it. I have no caffeine at all.

May 12th will be my 1 year bandaversary. I can't wait to see where I will be at that time.