Hi all, I've just returned from a weeks holiday to Sydney (Australia). My family and I drove up last weekend.

We all had an amazing time, we walked everywhere and some days we were out from 8 am in the morning till 10 pm doing all the touristy things. We walked and walked and walked and I kept up the whole time, some days it was walking for up to 6 to 7 hours, I walked with ease, I climbed stairs with ease and even when it felt like my feet were ready to drop off I kept going. I even did a thunder jet boat ride ( amazing). If it was a year ago I would have been exhausted within the first five minutes of walking.

My 15 year old son came up to me and hugged me towards the end of the week and said, "mum, I am so proud of you, do you realize how much walking you've done and you kept up with us all without even saying you need to sit down". He bought a tear to my eye, I feel so much more energetic and part of society again and don't feel like I stand out like I used to at my heaviest (366 pounds this time last year). My confidence levels are returning, I'm energetic and so much more alert.

I walked through spaces holding my breath because I was scared I wouldn't fit but I did and with plenty of room to spare, I sat comfortably in every chair I sat in including booths.

food wise it was fine, I was never hungry for Breakfast, lunch times if I still wasn't very hungry my family shared their meals with me, a bite here and there, dinner time I ordered my own meals focusing on Protein rich meals and one night I even had pizza and I enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine with dinner. We always walked after dinner. I managed to loose nearly 5 pounds in a week with all the extra walking and felt muscles waking up.

This lapband has saved me and given me the quality of life I ached so much to have again. I still have a long way to go and for the first time in all my years of trying to loose weight I am confident I will get to my goal weight, even if it takes me another year or so.

Food is no longer my focus 24/7, living is now and I have so much I want to do and will do.

To those of you thinking about lapband it is an amazing tool when finely tuned and used correctly, sure there are struggles throughout the journey but so worth it.

Less than a year into banded life and so many positive changes for me personally. To those of you that are struggling take a deep breath and try to refocus and get the support of your aftercare team, a crucial part of being successful is being open and honest with aftercare and a good team will get you back on track.

The only pain is every morning going through my clothes to see what still fits ok without looking overly baggy or falling off. I'm at a stage where my smallest clothes are way to big so I need to get a few things and at this stage in my journey just dropping 10 pounds is making a huge difference from size to size.

Life is good again, finally!

Congratulations and thank you for that inspiring story, you give us newbies hope and motivation to get our journeys started.

Just wanted to say thanks for sharing, I agree with what emidastwin said. I'm am having LBS next month and look forward to keeping up with my 2 teenagers. You gave me the hope & motivation I needed today.

What a great post!! Thank you for sharing. The biggest complaint I have is also that I put something on from day to day and it is pretty much falling off of me! A nice problem to have I say! Keep up the great work.

Great post!! Congrats on the new you.

Thank you so much for sharing! It brought a tear to my eyes when I read your son's comment. How wonderful to gain your freedom and time with your family back. Congrats!!!

Aaaawwww nice. I don't think we really realize how our obesity affect our children. I am so happy for you. What a VICTORY!!!!