Heather, Ladylaw, Et Al....

01-13-2003

I had Lap Band surgery, which is far less extreme than a gastric bypass. It's also no panacea..you have to still work at losing weight, the bypass makes you lose weight no matter what, but at what price? There was no way I would have let someone cut out half my stomach and re-reroute my intestines. 1 in 200 die on the table from a gastric bypass..only 1 person in about 10K has died from the lap band.

There is a saline-filled band around my stomach, which was put there with laparascopic surgery. I was in the hospital one day. Nothing about surgery is risk-free, of course, but this is the least invasive method and is reversible, but I don't know why I'd ever reverse it.

It makes it pretty much impossible to eat meat or soft breads. It also makes me feel full faster. But as I said, it's not as simple as that. I have to seriously watch what I eat, the band just made it easier. I can have the band opened when I reach goal weight so that I can eat more food, but I doubt I'd ever have it completely removed, though that, too, is possible.

I changed the way I ate basically. Because I can't eat meats aside from ground meat and flakey fish, I cut down a lot on my cholesterol intake. The inability to eat bread has helped as well. But more than anything else, I decided to leave almost all simple carbs and fats behind (not that you can tell that from the way I ate in Vegas...yeah, I stole Sharky's fries!) in order to control my diabetes.

Chocolate, ice cream and other high calorie, high fat foods go right past the band, so you do have to use self-control. It's sometimes easier to eat a chocolate bar than to chew your veggies 9 million times, but I had to make a decision to get my health back. Also, since I can only eat about a half of cup of food at one sitting, if I want to keep my hair, etc, I have to choose carefully what I put in my mouth.

I eat a lot of soups, veggies (no butter), fish and non-fat, no-sugar yogurt. I don't have to drink those nasty protein shakes because I watch my nutrients closely. Many people who have this surgery and almost 100% of gastric bypasses have to drink protein to keep from getting sick.

My cholesterol dropped from 325 to 74 in 4 months. My triglicerides are down from 800 to 175. No more cardiac arrythmia, no more diabetes meds, no problems breathing.

My iron levels are higher than before I had surgery, I'm not deficient in any vitamins or minerals and I don't even take vitamins, but I eat tons of a varitey of vegetables and fruits and I can eat liver still, which helps my iron levels a lot. My stamina is incredible.

KK's right, exercise is key as well. Because I have a bad hip, my exercise is pretty much limited to walking, but I'm going to start doing some strength training and yoga to firm up some lose skin. If it weren't for the hip, I'd be on a Nordic Trak every day.

I was 155 pounds overweight. My BMI was like 53..ridiculous. I've lost almost no muscle mass, which is pretty wild. The first 3 months I lost NO muscle mass at all. Since I had 137 pounds of muscle mass before, I have to lose some, but it's been minimal. I feel incredible and most people tell me I look very healthy. I still have about 45 pounds to lose, it's now going a bit slower, but I lost 5 pounds since Vegas, thank god Xmas is over (no, I didn't GAIN any weight over Xmas this year!).

What I did I did because I was in imminent danger of dying of a heart attack and my diabetes had to be controlled. It's not for everyone, but I saw quite a few people at the show that were at least as overweight as I was. I lost hundreds of pounds over the years, I always gained it back. This time it's different. Just the knowledge that I never have to gain it back has made all the difference.

To those who can drop over 100 pounds without help, more power to them. My situation was critical and I felt out of control.

What it all boils down to is the same thing KK said, expend more calories than you take in, no matter how you have to do it. I'd do it over again in a heartbeat. I've lost a lot of weight many times in the past, this time it's different.

01-13-2003	#11
originalheather Guest Posts: n/a	I had Lap Band surgery, which is far less extreme than a gastric bypass. It's also no panacea..you have to still work at losing weight, the bypass makes you lose weight no matter what, but at what price? There was no way I would have let someone cut out half my stomach and re-reroute my intestines. 1 in 200 die on the table from a gastric bypass..only 1 person in about 10K has died from the lap band. There is a saline-filled band around my stomach, which was put there with laparascopic surgery. I was in the hospital one day. Nothing about surgery is risk-free, of course, but this is the least invasive method and is reversible, but I don't know why I'd ever reverse it. It makes it pretty much impossible to eat meat or soft breads. It also makes me feel full faster. But as I said, it's not as simple as that. I have to seriously watch what I eat, the band just made it easier. I can have the band opened when I reach goal weight so that I can eat more food, but I doubt I'd ever have it completely removed, though that, too, is possible. I changed the way I ate basically. Because I can't eat meats aside from ground meat and flakey fish, I cut down a lot on my cholesterol intake. The inability to eat bread has helped as well. But more than anything else, I decided to leave almost all simple carbs and fats behind (not that you can tell that from the way I ate in Vegas...yeah, I stole Sharky's fries!) in order to control my diabetes. Chocolate, ice cream and other high calorie, high fat foods go right past the band, so you do have to use self-control. It's sometimes easier to eat a chocolate bar than to chew your veggies 9 million times, but I had to make a decision to get my health back. Also, since I can only eat about a half of cup of food at one sitting, if I want to keep my hair, etc, I have to choose carefully what I put in my mouth. I eat a lot of soups, veggies (no butter), fish and non-fat, no-sugar yogurt. I don't have to drink those nasty protein shakes because I watch my nutrients closely. Many people who have this surgery and almost 100% of gastric bypasses have to drink protein to keep from getting sick. My cholesterol dropped from 325 to 74 in 4 months. My triglicerides are down from 800 to 175. No more cardiac arrythmia, no more diabetes meds, no problems breathing. My iron levels are higher than before I had surgery, I'm not deficient in any vitamins or minerals and I don't even take vitamins, but I eat tons of a varitey of vegetables and fruits and I can eat liver still, which helps my iron levels a lot. My stamina is incredible. KK's right, exercise is key as well. Because I have a bad hip, my exercise is pretty much limited to walking, but I'm going to start doing some strength training and yoga to firm up some lose skin. If it weren't for the hip, I'd be on a Nordic Trak every day. I was 155 pounds overweight. My BMI was like 53..ridiculous. I've lost almost no muscle mass, which is pretty wild. The first 3 months I lost NO muscle mass at all. Since I had 137 pounds of muscle mass before, I have to lose some, but it's been minimal. I feel incredible and most people tell me I look very healthy. I still have about 45 pounds to lose, it's now going a bit slower, but I lost 5 pounds since Vegas, thank god Xmas is over (no, I didn't GAIN any weight over Xmas this year!). What I did I did because I was in imminent danger of dying of a heart attack and my diabetes had to be controlled. It's not for everyone, but I saw quite a few people at the show that were at least as overweight as I was. I lost hundreds of pounds over the years, I always gained it back. This time it's different. Just the knowledge that I never have to gain it back has made all the difference. To those who can drop over 100 pounds without help, more power to them. My situation was critical and I felt out of control. What it all boils down to is the same thing KK said, expend more calories than you take in, no matter how you have to do it. I'd do it over again in a heartbeat. I've lost a lot of weight many times in the past, this time it's different.