Monday, May 27, 2013

How Lap Band works

In case you're not familiar with it, here's a short video about how the band works:

Back on the Band Wagon with LapBand

Hey folks, it's been a good while since I've posted here, and some things have changed with my situation. In the year or so since I was last active on my blog, I allowed my weight to creep back up to about 273 by the beginning of the year. This was due in part to slipping back into bad eating habits, but also because I stopped working out after all of the foot problems I had from overtraining. My feet have gotten better than they were, but the problems are still there. I deal with it as best I can, but it's a constant annoyance. Back in February of this year, I had a very painful incident where I pulled a muscle in my back in such an ugly way that I was laid out for a week. I've never experienced pain like that in my life! My doctor put me on a steroid to help me heal, and in a week, I'd gained ten pounds and landed on the scale at 284lbs.

OH.HELL.NO!!!

I called Surgical Weight Control Center up that very day and made an appointment to get a lapband adjustment. I'd been without restriction for more than a year and a half at that point. By the time I got my fill, I'd lost most of the weight I gained from the steroids, and started back on the LapBand Wagon at 275. It's been a learning experience, and I've had to spend some time re-acquainting myself with how to eat as a bandster. I've been working hard at learning how to do things right this time around. In the time I'd been gone, SWCC had stepped their support game and are now offerring weekend support seminars in addition to their weekday evening meetings (which I can't attend due to my schedule.)
I went to a bariatric nutrition 101 seminar in March to get the ball rolling, and I feel like I'm doing things better this time around with a solid nutritional base. I've also attended two of the monthly Nutrition Support meetings, which I enjoy, and I feel like it helps me to stay on track. I'm focusing on lots of protein, 90+ grams a day, veggies, complex carbs, and staying away from junk food. I've been using the MyFitnessPal iPhone app to track my food and excercise, and I've been working on getting active again. I've been doing a recumbant bike for my cardio because my feet are still jacked, and my podiatrist told me to stay away from weight bearing excercise. A little over a week ago, I had a trainer at the gym set me up with a weight routine, and I've been trying to get on program with that. My back and knees have been twingy, so I'm taking things slow and not pushing too hard.

I had a number of band adjustments between February and April, until I got to what feels like a good level of restriction. My last adjustment was on April 8th. Hopefully I won't need to get another one for a few months until I lose substantially more weight. I've had some bumps in the road along the way, but I've been doing pretty well for the most part. I've lost about thirty pounds since I started, and currently weigh less than I have in about three years. A stretchy pair of size 22 jeans that I could barely fasten three months ago are starting to get baggy. In another ten pounds or so, they'll probably be too big to wear. I have a huge pile of clothes, including jeans and capris going down to about a size 18. I don't expect I'll have to buy any pants until the fall, though I'm in desperate need of some new bras now.

My weight loss is slower than I've liked, and I've plateaud here and there, but at least I'm losing. I'd really like to be losing a steady 2 lbs a week, but it's been half that. Still, if I can keep this pace up I'd be in the 220's by my birthday in late October. I've been changing up my routine, after a friend pointed out that I'm probably not eating enough calories. I've bumped them up to about 1400 net calories a day including exercise. Previously, I'd been doing anywhere from 750-1300 net, depending on the day, and not eating back what I'd burned through excercise. We'll see how it goes.

Anyhow, I'll try to keep the updates coming. I'm planning on keeping my posts less formal than before. As fun as those multimedia posts are, they take a lot of time to write, and it's just not as much fun for me if I feel like I'm under the gun.

TTFN,

Stephanie



Current weight: 253 lbs, BMI 37.3
 
Starting weight: 284 lbs, BMI 41.9