Yahoo! It has been a year since I went to Mexico to have lap band surgery. I cannot believe it! This time last year I would have been recovering in my hospital room. I decided to write a journey of my past year, hope it will help any one who struggles with weight. I posted my pic from the Awards of Excellence from 2008 in Feb and the on this year 2009 in Feb. Since that pic I have lost a few more pd..:)
The changes in me: I am starting to see me again in me, I see my nose and dimples and looks I have that I have not seen in years, I had forgot them:) I can cross my legs when I sit, I can get off the floor and actually sit on the floor if I need too, not a thing I do often:) I can hold my grand babies with out felling like it is too much weight, I can walk and breath at the same time, I can jog, I have more stamina and so much more energy, I feel good and healthy, I do not hurt all the time, my knees do not hurt, I fit in chairs and have room on each side of my butt:)) not going over the chair:) I wear a size 16 instead of a 24-26!! YEA!! I still have some double chin but not a quadruple one! OK, my hair is still gray but I like it:))
My Journey started February 2008, I had seen the TV ad for Lap Band procedure and thought I want to do that, I am so sick of my weight, it affects everything I do, I weighed 276 pounds, the largest I had ever been in my life. My family doesn't have weight problems and growing up I struggled to weigh a 100 pounds by the time I was a senior in high school. Of course all I ate was ice and McDonald's French fires;) I did not know I liked Mexican or steak or Chinese because I would not try it:(( go figure! I was always very active in riding horses and out door things, I weighed 120 pd. when I married Steve and I had fought to put on 10 pd. when I did that. AS years went on I had babies and gained weight and then since 2004 I put on 76 pounds. I have never made my self be disciplined for any period of time, I just gave in to what ever I wanted and it showed in my health and weight. SO off to Mexicali Mexico I went, now some ask why there??? Are you nuts??? I researched out Dr. Aceves and found him to be the leading surgeon in bariatric surgery, he also taught some of the US doctors this surgery. I checked out the Almater Hospital for death rates and infection rate, it was better the our US hospitals of the same size, so off I went and I am so thankful I did. The medical care was superb, I have never had that good of care and the staff was so gracious and kind, the Drs. were wonderful, I did not have a language barrier and they do complete pre testing and after testing before you go home, it is a two day hospital required stay, not out pt. like here in the US. Plus it is half the price, in which helped me a lot, I think my cost was 8400.00 dollars and the plane ticket to San Diego. Coming home was not too bad, I got a wheel chair at the airport and that helped a lot, plus you board first:) I was weak and had low energy, was sore from the surgery but doing well, I could not drink very much at all and I thought if this is all I can do then I will never get to eat again, had some feelings of what will I do when I get stresses or emotional???? I am and emotional eater and usually high fat, fast foods, something to help quick. I also had faint feelings if I did not eat right then when I was hungry or thought I was hungry, my body had a chemical thing going on. I have found my eating was tied to several things in my life, stress, emotional, when I feel out of control I just want to cram 100 burgers in my mouth or something. Since I can not do that I have recognized a lot of areas in me that need some help:) So I started doing other healthy things to help me with this, one I am walking and have a goal to run in the LR Marathon next March, ok....not the 27 miles but part of it, I train three times a week or more so I will be ready, this walking has been a big help to me to relieve stress and give me time to think through what is going on in my life. When I feel I just have to eat, I do but something healthy, IF I can, sometimes when I am stressed my band will tighten and I can not even drink, this happened when my dear friend past away and He and I had just had a come to Jesus talk in his ICU room, I had to be strong in front of him, I am good at holding it all in and being strong then later need help my self, this does not do well with the lap band. So I took some deep breaths and calmed my self and was able to drink tea but no food.......later it was fine. This is the hard part for me, because I thought food was my friend but I am learning it was not. I basically can eat anything I want, but I keep in mind, is this good and healthy for me since I do not eat much, I do not use my calories on junk food, you still have to have will power and lots of prayer to do this. There is no quick fix to a weight problem. Weight comes off by diet and exercise, just like they say:) I have found some times when I eat, I can not eat much and other times I know it is more then I should be able to eat, my weight has been steady at about 1 1/2 pd. a week, some weeks I have not lost and get discouraged that I did not, but inch by inch its a cinch is what I tell my self! I have 56 more pounds to lose to be at 140 pd. this should have me in a size 12 and be in better shape, I cannot even began to tell you how much better I feel, before surgery it hurt to walk, move and I was totally not able to run, climb or get up off the floor with out help, now I can stand up in a chair if I need to change a light bulb, I can jog, I can walk without pain and fast:0 I remember when I first crossed my legs, I was in the family room talking to Jenn and I crossed my legs, she looked at me funny and i thought Oh my Lord, I can cross my legs!! I was so excited, Jenn said she looked funny because she had never seen me sit like that, I told her it is because my legs were to fat to do it!! Most thinner people have no ideal what we go trough being over weight, there are so many restrictions and I would tell my self I was healthy and could do what ever I wanted but I could not. I still cannot pull my self onto the horse, I have to stand on a box to get on, I cannot wait until I can do that again!! I have gained strength in my arms and legs, I do have a lot of sagging areas but I am working on it daily, I will just not look to good skin wise but I will be healthier and when the time comes I may just get it cut off!! Depends on how bad it looks, they say wait a year after you are at your goal weight. So we will have to wait and see on that one!
One other thing, my cholesterol and triglycerides and glucose, hdl and ldl are all normal and so is my blood pressure! I never take meds for pain or sleeping, when my head hits the pillow I am out! I do take liquid vitamins that the Dr. suggested and they really help. I drink almost a gal. of water a day and I would of NEVER thought I would of quit drinking diet coke, I had them when I went to bed and when I woke up and in between, I am amazed at how your taste really does change when you go a month on a liquid diet, that is what you do the first month, but it is needed to let you lap band Heal:) and you eat clear the first week, non clear the 2nd, mush foods the third soups and puddings, ect the fourth and mush food the 4th, I did what the Dr. told me to do and still follow their advice daily. My life has changed so much in my eating habits, I do not eat salt or sugar and do not miss it!! I limit my self totally on junk food and eat good food, I eat mostly chicken, or fish, lots of veggies, salad, soups are still my favorite!! Drink juices and un sweet Tea!! Hardly no breads and limit my food intake. With the Lap Band you can have it and never lose a pound if you do not use it to your best interest, I could eat small meals all day long, once the food has gone into the stomach you can eat again, and you can eat and throw it up if you want to....BUT WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT when you have paid the price to go thru surgery to have it help you lose and maintain your weight????? I know some who struggle with this and I say you need to get counseled BEFORE this surgery so you will understand what your weakness are and know why you turn to food for a fix in your life then settle it in you mind BEFORE you have the surgery, it isn't a quick fix as I said it is a life style change you have to be ready to do it or you can blow this too. SO it you are thinking of this surgery feel free to talk to me and I will walk you through it. Its a wonderful change that gave me my life back, I want to thank Dr. A and all the wonderful kind people at Almater Hospital who helped me change my life! I have not had any problems with my lap band and I am so thankful I made the choice to change my life and you gave me the tools to do it! Byron and Marilyn McKimmey I want to thank you fro always being there, telling me I look good and helping me find Linda again!! I want to thank my sweet husband who is always there for me and will stop what he is doing to do what I want:)) I thank my children who have been a blessing and encourager in my life during this process of my journey!! I can do this walking hand in hand with my friends and family, thank you McKimmey Associates Realtors for being there for me, I need the accountability! I cannot wait till next year to see what I look like and how I will feel!
The changes in me: I am starting to see me again in me, I see my nose and dimples and looks I have that I have not seen in years, I had forgot them:) I can cross my legs when I sit, I can get off the floor and actually sit on the floor if I need too, not a thing I do often:) I can hold my grand babies with out felling like it is too much weight, I can walk and breath at the same time, I can jog, I have more stamina and so much more energy, I feel good and healthy, I do not hurt all the time, my knees do not hurt, I fit in chairs and have room on each side of my butt:)) not going over the chair:) I wear a size 16 instead of a 24-26!! YEA!! I still have some double chin but not a quadruple one! OK, my hair is still gray but I like it:))
My Journey started February 2008, I had seen the TV ad for Lap Band procedure and thought I want to do that, I am so sick of my weight, it affects everything I do, I weighed 276 pounds, the largest I had ever been in my life. My family doesn't have weight problems and growing up I struggled to weigh a 100 pounds by the time I was a senior in high school. Of course all I ate was ice and McDonald's French fires;) I did not know I liked Mexican or steak or Chinese because I would not try it:(( go figure! I was always very active in riding horses and out door things, I weighed 120 pd. when I married Steve and I had fought to put on 10 pd. when I did that. AS years went on I had babies and gained weight and then since 2004 I put on 76 pounds. I have never made my self be disciplined for any period of time, I just gave in to what ever I wanted and it showed in my health and weight. SO off to Mexicali Mexico I went, now some ask why there??? Are you nuts??? I researched out Dr. Aceves and found him to be the leading surgeon in bariatric surgery, he also taught some of the US doctors this surgery. I checked out the Almater Hospital for death rates and infection rate, it was better the our US hospitals of the same size, so off I went and I am so thankful I did. The medical care was superb, I have never had that good of care and the staff was so gracious and kind, the Drs. were wonderful, I did not have a language barrier and they do complete pre testing and after testing before you go home, it is a two day hospital required stay, not out pt. like here in the US. Plus it is half the price, in which helped me a lot, I think my cost was 8400.00 dollars and the plane ticket to San Diego. Coming home was not too bad, I got a wheel chair at the airport and that helped a lot, plus you board first:) I was weak and had low energy, was sore from the surgery but doing well, I could not drink very much at all and I thought if this is all I can do then I will never get to eat again, had some feelings of what will I do when I get stresses or emotional???? I am and emotional eater and usually high fat, fast foods, something to help quick. I also had faint feelings if I did not eat right then when I was hungry or thought I was hungry, my body had a chemical thing going on. I have found my eating was tied to several things in my life, stress, emotional, when I feel out of control I just want to cram 100 burgers in my mouth or something. Since I can not do that I have recognized a lot of areas in me that need some help:) So I started doing other healthy things to help me with this, one I am walking and have a goal to run in the LR Marathon next March, ok....not the 27 miles but part of it, I train three times a week or more so I will be ready, this walking has been a big help to me to relieve stress and give me time to think through what is going on in my life. When I feel I just have to eat, I do but something healthy, IF I can, sometimes when I am stressed my band will tighten and I can not even drink, this happened when my dear friend past away and He and I had just had a come to Jesus talk in his ICU room, I had to be strong in front of him, I am good at holding it all in and being strong then later need help my self, this does not do well with the lap band. So I took some deep breaths and calmed my self and was able to drink tea but no food.......later it was fine. This is the hard part for me, because I thought food was my friend but I am learning it was not. I basically can eat anything I want, but I keep in mind, is this good and healthy for me since I do not eat much, I do not use my calories on junk food, you still have to have will power and lots of prayer to do this. There is no quick fix to a weight problem. Weight comes off by diet and exercise, just like they say:) I have found some times when I eat, I can not eat much and other times I know it is more then I should be able to eat, my weight has been steady at about 1 1/2 pd. a week, some weeks I have not lost and get discouraged that I did not, but inch by inch its a cinch is what I tell my self! I have 56 more pounds to lose to be at 140 pd. this should have me in a size 12 and be in better shape, I cannot even began to tell you how much better I feel, before surgery it hurt to walk, move and I was totally not able to run, climb or get up off the floor with out help, now I can stand up in a chair if I need to change a light bulb, I can jog, I can walk without pain and fast:0 I remember when I first crossed my legs, I was in the family room talking to Jenn and I crossed my legs, she looked at me funny and i thought Oh my Lord, I can cross my legs!! I was so excited, Jenn said she looked funny because she had never seen me sit like that, I told her it is because my legs were to fat to do it!! Most thinner people have no ideal what we go trough being over weight, there are so many restrictions and I would tell my self I was healthy and could do what ever I wanted but I could not. I still cannot pull my self onto the horse, I have to stand on a box to get on, I cannot wait until I can do that again!! I have gained strength in my arms and legs, I do have a lot of sagging areas but I am working on it daily, I will just not look to good skin wise but I will be healthier and when the time comes I may just get it cut off!! Depends on how bad it looks, they say wait a year after you are at your goal weight. So we will have to wait and see on that one!
One other thing, my cholesterol and triglycerides and glucose, hdl and ldl are all normal and so is my blood pressure! I never take meds for pain or sleeping, when my head hits the pillow I am out! I do take liquid vitamins that the Dr. suggested and they really help. I drink almost a gal. of water a day and I would of NEVER thought I would of quit drinking diet coke, I had them when I went to bed and when I woke up and in between, I am amazed at how your taste really does change when you go a month on a liquid diet, that is what you do the first month, but it is needed to let you lap band Heal:) and you eat clear the first week, non clear the 2nd, mush foods the third soups and puddings, ect the fourth and mush food the 4th, I did what the Dr. told me to do and still follow their advice daily. My life has changed so much in my eating habits, I do not eat salt or sugar and do not miss it!! I limit my self totally on junk food and eat good food, I eat mostly chicken, or fish, lots of veggies, salad, soups are still my favorite!! Drink juices and un sweet Tea!! Hardly no breads and limit my food intake. With the Lap Band you can have it and never lose a pound if you do not use it to your best interest, I could eat small meals all day long, once the food has gone into the stomach you can eat again, and you can eat and throw it up if you want to....BUT WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT when you have paid the price to go thru surgery to have it help you lose and maintain your weight????? I know some who struggle with this and I say you need to get counseled BEFORE this surgery so you will understand what your weakness are and know why you turn to food for a fix in your life then settle it in you mind BEFORE you have the surgery, it isn't a quick fix as I said it is a life style change you have to be ready to do it or you can blow this too. SO it you are thinking of this surgery feel free to talk to me and I will walk you through it. Its a wonderful change that gave me my life back, I want to thank Dr. A and all the wonderful kind people at Almater Hospital who helped me change my life! I have not had any problems with my lap band and I am so thankful I made the choice to change my life and you gave me the tools to do it! Byron and Marilyn McKimmey I want to thank you fro always being there, telling me I look good and helping me find Linda again!! I want to thank my sweet husband who is always there for me and will stop what he is doing to do what I want:)) I thank my children who have been a blessing and encourager in my life during this process of my journey!! I can do this walking hand in hand with my friends and family, thank you McKimmey Associates Realtors for being there for me, I need the accountability! I cannot wait till next year to see what I look like and how I will feel!
3 comments:
I totally remember that first time you crossed your legs.... You really look amazing and the before and after picture is incredible! We love you so much and are so proud of what you've done! And we can't wait to see you in the LR Marathon!!!
Love you,
Jen, Jared and the girls
Linda, that is such an amazing story! You absolutely look great!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful story and I will most definitely use it as more motivation to keep me going!
Linda,
The NEW you is beautiful and I loved reading your story. You have done great. I love this little blog and I have enjoyed all the posts about your grandchildren. I remember your horse in High School...I was so jealous because I wanted to have a horse. Where have all these years go. I keep up with your family through Kay and April. It is always good to see you and when we come home this summer I would love to bring Jenny to see April's horse. Jenny is horse crazy and would just love to visit. Love ya, Carla
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