READ PART 1
https://www.empowher.com/share/weight-management/mexico-lap-band-experie...
READ PART 2
https://www.empowher.com/news/weight-management/2008/05/14/kelley-howard...
READ PART 3
So, my saga continues. To review, I had my lap-band removed in February, 2007, or roughly 16 months ago. Since having it removed I have been walking 2 miles a day, at least 5 days a week. I have been eating lots of fruits, vegetables, lean meats and fish. I must admit that my portions could be smaller, and I have tried to decrease the amount that I eat, but I have not always been successful in that regard.
Since having the band removed, I have gained back over 50 pounds. This has been such a hard journey for me to be on, watching my clothes go from a size 12 to 16 and now pushing a size 18. When I had lost 100 pounds with the lap-band I thought I had kissed my size 22 to 24 clothes goodbye forever, so to see the scale creeping up slowly along with my dress size has been incredibly difficult. I was so thrilled to be out of the Plus-size section and so happy to not have to walk into another Lane Bryant store again, only to find myself back in plus sizes again. I feel as though I have my nails dug into the side of a tall building and am hanging on for dear life while sliding down leaving huge gouges in the side, as I continue my downward fall back to the “land of the large”.
Over the last 16 months I have tried to reduce food portion sizes, tried taking the weight-loss drug Alli, and I even joined Weight Watchers twice, but nothing seems to reverse my weight gain. I think as humans who want to succeed it’s vital that we can acknowledge our shortcomings and weaknesses and work around them to overcome them. My “work around” is the lap-band, which I fully understand is just one tool in my arsenal to conquer my lifetime weight problem.
I failed my band the first time by not exercising, not eating what I was supposed to, and not following all of the guidelines set forth by my physician. As a result, I was very sick throughout the 3 years I had the band. If I could maintain my current weight, although over weight at a size 16, I would not get another lap-band. However, I know in reality that my weight will continue to inch back up to a size 22 (or more!)
I believe in the lap-band as an effective tool in long-term weight management. Therefore, I am going to follow my physician’s instructions (this time) to the letter and get another one. For anyone considering a the lap-band procedure, please feel free to follow along my lap-band journey via my blog. Feel free to post questions and comments to me on my blog
I am working on the details of scheduling my lap-band surgery, and selecting my physician, and I will disclose all of this information soon once the details are confirmed. More to follow soon…