and I am now down 43 pounds. I have been on another plateau of sorts for a while, but it is ok. I have finally figured out that this is going to be a long journey and although I may stick around at a number a while, I won’t be there for ever. I am officially off ALL meds with the exception of my allergy tablet that I take nightly. My gynecologist was very happy about the weight loss at my yearly check up. I started out wearing a TIGHT size 20 jeans. I am now in a 12-14 depending on the maker and the cut. (yay!) I want to get down to at least a 10.
Some questions that I have been asked recently that I thought you might like to see the answers to:
1. Was it worth it? Unequivocally YES. I would do it again tomorrow. I know that 43 lbs is not the huge amount of weight that I had hoped to lose by this time, but it is still a significant amount of weight. I have SO much more energy now, and to be honest am saving a TON of money on not only food but also on medicine co payments every month! It took me 15 years to gain to over 250 lbs, so I suppose that taking a couple of years to get rid of it isn’t such a bad deal.
2. Is it easy? NO – I still struggle every day with the head hunger. I am getting better – I think my mind is finally accepting that bread, potatoes, rice and other assorted starches will not be tolerated. I know pretty much the things that I probably will never eat again. And it’s ok. I am finding things that take the place of those foods and I’m healthier for the substitutions.
3. Will I ever have the band removed? NO, the only thing that could convince me to remove it is if something goes horribly wrong – which I do NOT expect to ever happen. This baby will be in there until the end.
4. Do you still have problems with the band? Yes and no. The problems I have are from not listening to my body. IF I try to eat in a hurry, too early in the day, don’t chew properly, or eat things that I know good and well won’t go down, I end up in the bathroom.
My band is as tight as my MD will allow. I have 9.5 cc in a 11 cc band. I did this for a couple of reasons. The major one being that I push the limits with what I can eat. This is my way of keeping myself from eating the starches and carbs. With the band this tight, they will NOT go through. If I order chicken fingers, I have to pick the breading off or I can’t eat them. So now I just get grilled chicken and I’m good. When I hit goal weight I *may* have a tiny bit taken out, but I don’t expect to make any changes for a long time.
If YOU have any questions – please comment or email them to me at tricia.gilliland@gmail.com and I’ll try to post the answers here.
My journey so far in photos – yes I realize nearly every one is me riding. Evidently that is the only time anyone can take a photo of me cause I usually run from the camera! LOL
Sept 2011
Oct 2011
Jan 23, 2012
March 11, 2012
May 2012
August 2012
Sept 30, 2012
Oct 3, 2012
November 11, 2012
Thanksgiving 2012
Dec 9, 2012