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Kelley Howard: Mexico Lap Band Journey-Part 3

 
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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…

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

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