In April, when i stepped on the scale, that I had been avoiding all winter, I weighed 287 lb. I knew that I had to do something drastic. I had tried and tried and failed and backslid, for the last 10yrs. I decided on lap band, as it seemed less invasive than the other types of bariatric surgery. I found a wonderful surgeon, Dr. Chris Coburn, in Mississauga, Ontario. The day of my consult, June, 21st, I weighed 284lb. My surgery was scheduled for July 27th, because I was a self pay, I didn't have a lot of preliminaries to take care of , besides a general medical check up and a two week full liquid protein diet. I think the liquid diet was very beneficial for me. Besides getting my liver into shape, I totally turned around my thinking and cravings about food. It was like doing a cleanse and a lot of my bad eating habits fell away.

The day of my surgery, on July 27th, I weighed 271 lbs. Now, here it is, just over 5 weeks from my surgery and I'm down to 256lbs. I couldn't be happier. I was just in my hometown visiting family and already people are noticing that I am losing weight. I'm down like 2 sizes and I've lost a lot of weight off of my stomach. I can bend over without feeling like my eyes are going to pop out...lol

I'm also amazed and delighted just how easy this journey has been so far. The surgery itself was a piece of cake. I slept on my recliner for about the first 3days and by day 10 post op, I was better than I had been even before the surgery. I have stuck to my doctor's guide lines and now am eating most solid foods. Still can not eat grilled steak, no big deal. I make sure to get all of my protein, at least 70 gr. a day. I keep my carbs low and make sure I get in some fiber. My appetite has been tamed to that of a thin woman. I have my 3oz. of protein, and usually two small servings of some kind of veggies. I am using a divided childs plate to eat on and that works good for me and keeps my portion sized in line. I am learning to listen closely to my body and as soon as I get the first feeling that I'm done and satisfied, I stop. If there is still food on my plate, that's ok, I leave it.

As, my doctor says , the idea is not to see how much you can hold, but how much you need to feel satisfied and able to hold over to your next meal. I never snack in the evening anymore, ever. I have no desire to do so. I actualy sleep great, with no heartburn or acid reflex, since I have not been stuffing myself with food all evening.

This has been way easier than I ever imagined, and I think its probably one of the best decisions that I have ever made.

Thank you for your post. You are a true inspiration! Congratulations! You rock!!

Awesome! Congratulations!

Woohoo!

That's great! Keep up the hard work!

FABULOUS!

So awesome, thanks for sharing!

I just had surgery on Friday August 31, 2012 by him as well and I have no regrets for the first time I feel hopeful like this "tool" will never be going away like diets do and always supporting me in my choices.

Way to go!

Thanks for sharing. Keep up the great work!

My surgery is coming up on mon sept 17 and your story, while I know everyone's experience, puts some of those horrible negative thoughts to rest! Best of luck to you!!!

Wow. I am saying a prayer that I am one of the lucky ones like you for whom its smooth sailing. Thanks for the inspiration

That is great news. I had my surgery a couple days before you and a very similar starting weight. I agree with everything you said. It is amazing the difference in how I feel alone - taking solace in the simplest of things like you mentioned even just bending over to tie shoes, etc.

I just had my first fill so I am getting reacclimated to the band. However, loving it all the same. I am so happy to have the help of my band to get control of my weight and health back. I did have a very painful "stuck" episode today. The dietician told me before to try to walk if that happens. It was pretty agonizing but I know it is part of my learning curve. As soon as it passed it was fine.

It is a great feeling, as you mentioned, finally having control over my eating. My daughter (17) was so proud of having money from having her first job she wanted to take me out to eat. She took me to The Cheesecake Factory. They have a fabulous new menu called "skinnylicious" so I was able to eat tasty and healthy food. I never would have gone before and not at least brought home a piece of cheesecake... I had no desire to do so and avoided that temptation.

Congrats on all your success and best wishes to you going forward!! We can do this!

Yay - lap band!