My Bandiversary - tomorrow

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

Tomorrow is my bandiversary - and since I wont' be at work - I

thought I would send this post now.

I started exercising and modifying my diet (ie kicking my

serious " Coke " habit) a year before my surgery as I had to wait for

health insurance. In that time I lost 10kg. A huge achievement for

me that really gave my self confidence a boost after years of failed

diets.

After I got my band, I actually left hospital heavier than when I

went in!! *laughs*

It's been a slow process and I have lost a total of 38 kg to date.

So I am down from a starting weight of 170kg and a BMI of 62.4 to

132 kg and a BMI of 49.9. I am now officially morbidly obese and

NOT SUPER OBESE. This is also a huge achievement and I know I will

never by super obese again!

This year I have walked 10km from Gladesville to Anzac Bridge for no

other purpose than because I wanted to do it. What a change! This

would usually be the last thing I would suggest.

I have started to RUN! Again, something I would never have

done...or even wanted to do. Completing the triathlon this year was

a real landmark for me. My life has changed...because I have

changed it. I am not the couch potato I once was...although I still

enjoy sitting on the couch...I am not limited to it or defined by it.

I have started wearing my seatbelt in the car after years of not

wearing it because it didn't fit. While this is a small

achievement, it is really big for me as I used to be very embarassed

by the fact that I couldn't wear the seatbelt.

This has not been an easy year. There have been plenty of tears and

anxieties about how *slow* the weight loss is. I've started taking

a low dose anti-depressant to help deal with these anxieties and it

has made a real difference. I've had days where I wish I had done

the bypass or sleeve instead of the band. But on the whole, the

band has been very good to me. Never in my life could I have

imagined losing 38kg and believe that I'm still going to lose a

whole lot more.

While I haven't gone down as many dress sizes as I had hoped...and

I've got the most bizare wrinkly skin on the tops of my boobs

now...I am in a much happier and healthier place. I'm looking

forward to what the next year will bring.

So happy birthday to my band! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip

Hip Hooray!

Love Kate