The Big Damn Lap-Band Surgery Post
What is this Lab-Band Surgery of which you speak?
-Simply put it is a simple procedure where they place an adjustable band around the top of my stomach restricting the amount of food that can pass through at one time as well as the size of my stomach. If you'd like to know more here and here are good places to start.
Why have you decided to have the surgery? Why not just eat right and exercise?
-That is probably the question I've wrestled with the most and the simple answer is, been there failed that. That isn't to say that it isn't true that I could loose a significant amount of weight through diet and exercise alone. The real reason I decided to do this is my health. I have noticed changes in my body lately that signal the start of some big problem. By admitting this I'm really putting myself out there; I currently weigh 300 pounds and I am at my heaviest. I carry it very well but my joints just can't take the weight and with arthritis running in my family I can't take the chance that I won't have the same problems as my grandmother. My cholesterol is higher than its ever been and my family has a history of heart disease. Aside from that, I cannot walk far without hip pain, foot pain and excessive sweating. I suffer from sleep apnea because my lungs are being compressed by the extra weight. I am slowly gaining weight and I can't seem to stop on my own. I have gone to therapists. I have taken pills. I have gone on every diet ever thought up by scientists, doctors, actresses, trainers and supermodels. I have been to OA, Weight Watchers, therapy and I've been on a medical weight loss plan. I have a serious eating disorder that I can't seem to recover from. The surgery would not offer a quick fix but rather a tool to enable me to lose weight more readily and to control my portions forcibly because I obviously can't do it alone. This isn't a choice I made overnight and it is not a quick fix but I'm afraid if I don't do it I won't be able to live the life I want.
Why can't you just learn to love yourself?
-I do love myself but I'm worried about my health and happiness. I'm very fat positive and sincerely believe that there are gorgeous, healthy women out there of every size and shape. My body is built to carry about 180 pounds really well. I weighed about that my freshman year in high school and I was healthy then. I know that doctors would consider my BMI quite a bit lower but that is what I'm shooting for. I have a lot of muscle in my legs and I'm naturally built a bit stocky. That would put me at about a size 12. I will never be skinny and I know that. I don't want to be. I was healthy at size 14 too and would be perfectly happy to get there again. I want to be able to do things without the excruciating hip pain, shortness of breath and excessive sweating. It's embarrassing and really cuts into the way I want to live my life. I don't want to be skinny, I want to be healthy. Yes my motives are partially superficial (I would love to have a firmer body and look good in a bikini of course) but ultimately they are grounded in a serious desire to do what's best for my health. I will never sacrifice that for a quick fix or to fit an ideal created by the media.
Why the filter?
-A friend asked me to make one and it occurred to me that others might not be comfortable with all of this for one reason or another so I wanted to extend the choice to all of you. As of this moment every single one of my friends can read this post and every subsequent post about the surgery except for those who have already asked to be removed. If you don't want to be on the filter just drop me a comment here where they are screened. You don't have to explain if you don't want to. There are many reasons it would make people uncomfortable to read about someone's experience with surgery of any kind. This post will be the only public post referring to it from now on and you can always go back and request to be added or taken off here. I will link all future posts to it as well because it will contain answers a lot of questions I don't want to answer over and over again and in case someone decides they want to be taken off the filter. Think of it like a FAQ post. I will also be happy to add to it if anyone else has questions and.
I don't normally do filters because they can be messy but this one is fairly straightforward. From now on, all mention of the surgery beyond vague references will be kept under the filter. If I slip I apologize. Just let me know and I'll fix it. I will probably say things like, "had my doctors appointment....it was good....," etc in general posts but I'll save details for the filtered posts. That's it. I hope that all makes sense. Questions are always welcome! ♥
-Simply put it is a simple procedure where they place an adjustable band around the top of my stomach restricting the amount of food that can pass through at one time as well as the size of my stomach. If you'd like to know more here and here are good places to start.
Why have you decided to have the surgery? Why not just eat right and exercise?
-That is probably the question I've wrestled with the most and the simple answer is, been there failed that. That isn't to say that it isn't true that I could loose a significant amount of weight through diet and exercise alone. The real reason I decided to do this is my health. I have noticed changes in my body lately that signal the start of some big problem. By admitting this I'm really putting myself out there; I currently weigh 300 pounds and I am at my heaviest. I carry it very well but my joints just can't take the weight and with arthritis running in my family I can't take the chance that I won't have the same problems as my grandmother. My cholesterol is higher than its ever been and my family has a history of heart disease. Aside from that, I cannot walk far without hip pain, foot pain and excessive sweating. I suffer from sleep apnea because my lungs are being compressed by the extra weight. I am slowly gaining weight and I can't seem to stop on my own. I have gone to therapists. I have taken pills. I have gone on every diet ever thought up by scientists, doctors, actresses, trainers and supermodels. I have been to OA, Weight Watchers, therapy and I've been on a medical weight loss plan. I have a serious eating disorder that I can't seem to recover from. The surgery would not offer a quick fix but rather a tool to enable me to lose weight more readily and to control my portions forcibly because I obviously can't do it alone. This isn't a choice I made overnight and it is not a quick fix but I'm afraid if I don't do it I won't be able to live the life I want.
Why can't you just learn to love yourself?
-I do love myself but I'm worried about my health and happiness. I'm very fat positive and sincerely believe that there are gorgeous, healthy women out there of every size and shape. My body is built to carry about 180 pounds really well. I weighed about that my freshman year in high school and I was healthy then. I know that doctors would consider my BMI quite a bit lower but that is what I'm shooting for. I have a lot of muscle in my legs and I'm naturally built a bit stocky. That would put me at about a size 12. I will never be skinny and I know that. I don't want to be. I was healthy at size 14 too and would be perfectly happy to get there again. I want to be able to do things without the excruciating hip pain, shortness of breath and excessive sweating. It's embarrassing and really cuts into the way I want to live my life. I don't want to be skinny, I want to be healthy. Yes my motives are partially superficial (I would love to have a firmer body and look good in a bikini of course) but ultimately they are grounded in a serious desire to do what's best for my health. I will never sacrifice that for a quick fix or to fit an ideal created by the media.
Why the filter?
-A friend asked me to make one and it occurred to me that others might not be comfortable with all of this for one reason or another so I wanted to extend the choice to all of you. As of this moment every single one of my friends can read this post and every subsequent post about the surgery except for those who have already asked to be removed. If you don't want to be on the filter just drop me a comment here where they are screened. You don't have to explain if you don't want to. There are many reasons it would make people uncomfortable to read about someone's experience with surgery of any kind. This post will be the only public post referring to it from now on and you can always go back and request to be added or taken off here. I will link all future posts to it as well because it will contain answers a lot of questions I don't want to answer over and over again and in case someone decides they want to be taken off the filter. Think of it like a FAQ post. I will also be happy to add to it if anyone else has questions and.
I don't normally do filters because they can be messy but this one is fairly straightforward. From now on, all mention of the surgery beyond vague references will be kept under the filter. If I slip I apologize. Just let me know and I'll fix it. I will probably say things like, "had my doctors appointment....it was good....," etc in general posts but I'll save details for the filtered posts. That's it. I hope that all makes sense. Questions are always welcome! ♥