One Great Year

Today is the one year anniversary of my lap-band surgery. It has been a great year. I cannot believe how quickly it has flown by. Let's get the basics out of the way. My highest weight was 371 lbs. My pre surgery weight was 351 lbs. The day of surgery was 341 lbs. Today I weight 232 lbs. For a total loss of, 150, 130, or 120 lbs. depending on where you start subtracting from. It depends on how much motivation I need as to which numbers I use.

On the whole the process has been amazing. I have had no physical complications at all. I have had seven adjustments in a year. I believe I have around 8.3 cc's in my 10 cc band. The first six months were really a breeze. I did what the doctor said and the weight literally melted off. After six months I began to test the waters a bit and the weight loss slowed down. Then the holidays hit and I jumped off the wagon, willingly I guess. I did not lose any weight from December through January. After that every lost pound has come off much more slowly and with more concentrated effort. I do not make good choices all of the time. I battle everyday with making good food choices. I crave ice cream and chocolate everyday. Too often, I give in. The band allows me to eat less and has helped my finally understand what fullness feels like physically, but it has done nothing to curb the cravings and feelings of hunger that exist in my head. I am making progress however, I find that after surgery and up until recently most every thought I had was about food, when and what I would eat next, did I eat too much, was it a good choice, etc. Now I find that it doesn't consume me quite as much. I can go a day and eat when necessary and just enjoy whatever it is that I am doing. I do find that I am sometimes sad about food. It used to be that eating was an activity that I enjoyed very much. I guess I just don't enjoy it as much now, there is a sense of loss associated with meals. I am often depressed that I can't eat the big meal. I know that sounds crazy, but it is real.

On the upside, I feel better than I have in years. I have much more energy. The commorbidities I had pre-surgery have almost all been resolved. What a blessing it is not to have to sleep with a c-pap machine. I can but clothes in most any store. I'm not the heaviest person in the room anymore. People don't look at me with the, "is he going to keel over and die?" look anymore. I exercise regularly and enjoy it. I don't loath yard work anymore. Over and over people have asked me it I would do it again, and in immediately I tell them, "in a heart beat". Having lap-band surgery is one of the best decision I have ever made for myself.

Now, I'm in the process of having a tattoo done to capture this journey I have been on. It is of a phoenix rising from the fire. I've had the outline and shading work done. The color goes on next week. I'll post pics when it is done.

Blessing to you all,
Marc