Struggling to prove to myself, and doctors, that I can

psychokatt

Hello everyone,

My name is Kerri and I'm 42 years-old. I am married and have three spoiled rotten dogs. I am currently working on my Master's in Mental Health Counseling..online. I have had a weight problem pretty much all my life. Both my parents were overweight and my husband is as well. When I got married, I moved 10 hours away from everyone I knew and loved to start my life with my husband in his paid for house (we met over the internet). During this time, I gained over 200 pounds and sunk into a very deep depression. When my father passed away in 2007, it hit me hard and the depression got worse. A year later, things worked out where we could move back to where I grew up and be close to my mother. I still struggled hard with my weight and tried everything I could think of to lose what I had and still was gaining. At my biggest, 523 pounds, I had developed some serious health issues that made it where I had to go on disability because I couldn't walk more than three or four feet without wheezing and gasping for air and I had to sleep sitting up.

I had the lap band surgery on December 29, 2011. I received the first adjustment a month later, which ended up being only half of the usual fluid amount they start with at this facility, and never received any more fluid as the restriction never needed to be increased. Over the next 2 years, with some struggles with the band and health..I still lost down to 347. The small amount of fluid had to be removed, however, due to being over restricting and causing problems with holding down food and drinks, and reflux in the night. I am now trying to continue the weight loss with only the band with no fluid. This is a struggle, both physically and mentally and I have come to the conclusion that I am going to have to take this journey a step at a time and focus on the positives that have come to this point in order to stay motivated and not fall back into the old habits.

I look forward to utilizing this site and hoping it can help get me, and keep me on track, where when I go back for my follow-up in a couple months, that I've lost more weight and I can prove to both myself and the doctors that I have learned over the last couple years what it takes to keep up the progress and continue toward my goal without the need for fluid restriction in the band. I also look forward to meeting other people who have been, and currently are, in the same journey that I am. I believe we can all learn from each other and help each other in the low times, as well as cheer with each other in the high times.

Off I go on this quest..this journey. Hope to meet a number of you along the way.

God bless,

Kerri

Alissakae

You can absolutely do it without the band! In fact, one of my motivations was to prove to my husband that I could lose weight without the band after he raved about how well a co-worker was doing after getting it. I've already won that bet - she lost 40 pounds and keeps going up and down because she won't give up forcing containers of Ben and Jerry's down. Get some movement every day, track what you eat and stay in your calorie limits. You can do this.

psychokatt

Alissakae,

Congrats on your weight loss. And thank you for the encouraging words. I still have the band in place, just no fluid in it. To be honest, I'm scared to put any fluid back in because of the recent issues that prompted what little that was in there to be removed. And because I wasn't able to hold food down, now that I can eat again, even though I am not eating any bigger portions than I was before the issues, I gained weight. This was a big hit to my mentality and excitement and i'm just now starting to claw and pull my way back out of the discouragement it caused. I was told it was because I was starving my body when nothing stayed down for nearly 2 weeks..and now my body is trying to readjust to having food and not storing it thinking it is all it is going to get.

Kudos to you for your success and keep up the good work. Thanks again for the encouragement.

mavicaquino

Thanks for sharing Kerri! I think your perseverance is very inspiring. You can do this!!

rowlandsw

I agree you can do it without the band. I chickened out on that surgery twice and i'm glad i did as i see so many folks who get it who seem to be miserable after. Just keep at it and use the food chart on here to record everything. I've lost 20 lbs so far.

lcroslin

Welcome to MFP! Thanks for sharing and keeping things real. I struggle with emotional eating and I have to tell myself that life is about progress, not perfection. Every baby step adds up. Log your food intake honestly and faithfully and move a little each day. Good luck. Feel free to add me as a friend if you'd like.