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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

BIG News!


I am so sorry I haven't posted recently. I was on vacation last week and so far this week I am being punished for daring to take time off. In other words, I am so stinking busy at work. So I am taking a few minutes to dash out a post before I get back to work. But I have SO much to tell you! And I am dying to get caught up on your blogs too.

First of all, last Thursday marked six months since I was banded. As of this morning, I am down 75 lbs. (34 kg.). I weigh 205 lbs. (92.9 kg.). SO CLOSE to Onderland! My goal was to be there by the end of August. I probably won't make it since I only have one more official weigh-day this month, but I know I'll be really close. I started this journey at 280 lbs. (127 kg.). I wore a size 24 pants and 3X shirt. I am now in a size 16 pants and size large shirt.

I LOST WEIGHT ON VACATION! I am down 2.6 lbs. (1.2 kg.)since my last weigh-in. This is amazing to me, especially since I am not doing anything special to lose weight. I am not dieting. I eat whatever foods I want. I try to make healthy choices most of the time, but I don't always.

I LOST WEIGHT OVER MY BIRTHDAY! Last Monday was my 37th birthday. Between that and my vacation, I've eaten a lot more dessert and fast food (not to mention diet soda!)than I normally do, but my gastric band keeps the portions small and lets me keep losing weight even when "real life" gets in the way.

When I look back at the last six months, I am AMAZED by how much I've changed. Six months ago I was OBSESSED with food (BTW, I have no idea why I keep randomly capitalizing words. Emphasis, I guess.). I had been obese for seven years and had struggled with disordered eating for pretty much my entire life. I had tried to lose weight many, many times, but had lost weight so painfully slowly since turning 30 that I would always give up in disgust, go on a binge and regain the weight, and then some. Things could not be more different today.

I now subscribe to a diet of all things in moderation. I eat butter, drink my coffee with real cream, have an occasional beer, and am basically enjoying being able to eat whatever I want without worrying about my weight. There is nothing I am doing now that I will not continue doing for the rest of my life. There's no gimmick. No magic pill. No special diet. I don't count calories as a general rule. Every so often, I will tally them up and I generally fall somewhere around 1,200 per day. I am completely satisfied.

I do try to eat sweets on weekends and special occasions only. Not because I think sweets are bad or evil, but because I still feel somewhat compulsive about them and I am trying to live my life free of food compulsion. I've found that when I eat certain foods, they cause me to having cravings. I don't like that. If I only eat those foods on occasion, I don't feel the compulsion (except when I've eaten them which I attribute to a physiological blood sugar reaction). I now realize that a lot of the compulsion that I used to wrestle with came from frequently eating sweets which would then set me up for more cravings about 20 minutes after I'd had them. Sometimes I would have more. I never went long enough without them to get out from under that cycle of cravings/compulsion/overeating.

I have always been a regular exerciser, but I don't go to the gym. Instead I walk my dog each morning (rain or shine) and I ride my bike about 20 miles a week. I find that it is easier for me to incorporate exercise if I don't have to commit a great deal of time. It would probably take me at least an hour and a half if I went to a gym and I just don't have that kind of extra time, not to mention the expense of gym membership. But I do have 30 minutes in the morning to walk my dog. And I can leave for work 20 minutes early twice a week and ride my bike. I also hike, garden, and do housework.

So here are a couple of "before" pix:


And here are some pix taken during my vacation last week:



So that's where I'm at six month post-banding. I am so glad I decided to have this surgery. It was, without a doubt, the best thing I've EVER done for myself!

22 comments:

Jacquie said...

I am so excited for you Amanda! You look great!

Pamela E. Williams said...

Great post!! Congratulations on the WL and on Vaca too!! The pics are really inspirational. Thanks for that.

Happy Belated Birthday!!

Colls said...

You look amazing, really huge difference! <3

Steph said...

Congrats Amanda. You have hit such a milestone and you look wonderful! I am so happy for you!! :)

Theresa said...

Amazing Amanda!!!! I'm so proud of you and your success and I really do appreciate all of your thoughtful post, they are most helpful. You are a super star!

LDswims said...

So very awesome! Your pics look amazing and I couldn't agree more with your philosophy!

Happy Belated Birthday!

Hope the work calms down soon.

Jess said...

Good for you girl! Way to go!

CeeJay said...

Awesome!!!! Way to go!

Genise said...

Woo Hoo! Glad your back and you look GREAT!

Sarah G said...

Happy Bandiversary!

Happy Belated Birthday!!

Good work, you'll be in Onederland before you know it!

Sarah
http://nwanonymom.blogspot.com/

Band Geek said...

Congratulations! Your joy comes through so clearly in your post, that I can't help but smile big.

Bonnie said...

Lot of great points. I also think moderation - not restriction - is key. You look great!

Mary said...

You are looking amazing! Congrats on the 75 pounds, wow!!

Linda said...

Wow - 75 pounds in 6 months is amazing. You look great.

♥ Drazil ♥ said...

Yipppee - love the happiness in this post!

Cindylew said...

You look amazing gum drop...way to go.

Anonymous said...

Wow! You are an inspiration girly! You look absolutely fabulous in the pictures, and I truly appreciate you talking about HOW you've done it...I'm with you, no counting calories (on occasion), no real change in lifestyle..it's about moderation of the foods we eat. THAT is maintainable for life, and we're healthier women for it!

Michelle said...

Wow you look great and you seem to be doing so well. I'm so happy for you! Congrats!

Lonicera said...

Amanda, what a lovely post, and many, many congratulations! You look terrific, and I was so interested in your analysis about compulsive eating being tied to sugary foods.
Thanks for sharing all that.
Caroline

CC said...

beautiful! you are kicking my butt :-) rock on girlfriend

Manic Pixie Dream Slut said...

Wow... you're doing fantastic! If only I could figure out how to get over the sweet cravings. Even when I limit myself to having them on the weekends, I still end up overindulging.

DB said...

Congratulations on 75 poundds - WOW!!! You look fantastic & Happy Birthday!