Halloween needs to go away!!

I have been a slacker!!! I did not mean to abandon my blog for almost two weeks, but that is exactly what I have done!! Forgive me!  Let me update here....

I weighed in on 10/14 with a 1.4 pound loss..yay!! It took me about a week and a half to adjust to my fill amount.  Finally I began to fill normal again and I was able to eat more normal - well, normal for a bandster! My mom came in the weekend of the 15th and Troy took me out for a birthday dinner.  For the first time since being banded I ate steak!! Yes, I said STEAK!!!! We went to Saltgrass Steak house and shared a steak, salad, and some wonderfully yummy potatoes.  Of course, I was not able to eat much...but I took my time and the steak went down very easily.  For some reason, I was worried about eating steak - knowing that my Dr. said red meat is hard for some to eat post surgery. No problems here! YAY!!! After dinner we went to the movies (no popcorn) and saw Courageous.  GREAT MOVIE!!! If you have children, I highly recommend it!! After our movie, we got some frozen yogurt and headed back home.  It was a great evening!!! Then came Sunday...

Last Sunday we received a phone call that my husband's step brother had been involved in an accident.  As details began to come in we also learned that he had not survived the accident.  We were devastated!! He was a young, smart, vibrant, Christian boy and his life was ended far too soon for our liking.  Aaron, who is a twin, was riding his bicycle outside of Troy's home town and was struck from behind by a woman driving a large pick-up - we were told she was texting while she was driving. Apparently she didn't see him on the shoulder of the road, in the middle of the day, with bright colored clothes on.  I won't get on my soap box here - but as you can imagine it was a very hard week for our family.  We left town on Tuesday right after school and we were out of town until Friday.  I ate terribly!! I just knew that I would gain weight with everything that was going on.  I am an emotional eater plus we ate out several times.  Some how, by the grace of God, I lost a whopping 5 pounds!!!!! To be honest, I didn't believe it.  I weighed on Friday morning at my mother-in-law's house and I was convinced that her scale was wrong.  So I came home and weighed again on my scale on Saturday morning and it said the same thing!! I could not believe it!!! I am now 10 pounds away from my first goal and I am stoked!!! The 200's are a mere 27 pounds away and I am feeling better than I have in a while!! My clothes are baggy! My face is slimming! My underwear are falling off my body! My bras don't fit! These are all wonderful feelings!

Now - this week's weigh in may be a completely different story.  Halloween is Monday and I cannot seem to keep my grubby little hands out of the candy bowl!!! Curse you candy for tasting so good!!! Last night I made cookies with my son and nephews...I have had to hide them from myself.  Have I mentioned that I have NO SELF CONTROL?!?!?!??!  It's really sad and embarrassing to be honest!!! I need to work on that...note to self.  Hahha  So I will update again on Friday - the scales dont' lie or sugar coat the truth.  We'll see if I can face it on my next weigh in!!

Until then....
Make sure to tell the ones that you love, that you do.  None of us are promised tomorrow.

Loving the support!!

My goodness gracious!!! I am overwhelmed right now - I have 13 followers!!!! I feel like a movie star!! You guys are great!! I'm so excited to share this journey with all of you and hope that I can offer support, encouragement, and help whenever you need.  Thanks for taking the time to send encouraging thoughts my way - it is so helpful to know that I'm not the only one experiencing things as they come up.  I am so appreciative!!

Thanks and good night! :)

I'm not loving it...

Last week I told you all that I got my first fill...I've had it for about a week now.  And let me just say that I am NOT loving it.  She only added 1.5 units but it is taking me forever to get adjusted to it.  I still have not had anything come back up but I have had several problems with food getting stuck.  And then I get to experience that awful burning sensation in my chest that makes my eyes water and hurts so bad!!! Yesterday it happened with tomato soup and crackers!!!! SOUP PEOPLE!!!! Actually, it think it was the cracker that got hung up, but still.  I will say that it's getting better than it was last week, but it has not been an easy transition.  I have another appointment scheduled for next week to get another fill and I will be canceling that, let me tell ya!!!
I just needed to vent - more to come when I weigh on Friday!!

Fill 'er up Joe!

I meant to post on Tuesday night, but never got around to it. I went in for my first fill on Tuesday afternoon.  I had blogged about my apprehension....it was so unnecessary!!! I was really nervous when I got there - my hands were sweaty and my stomach was doing flips!! When she was finished I was like..."that's it! You're already done!?" I'm glad it was nothing though!!! I have had a little bit of discomfort since my fill, but nothing bad and they said that it's normal.  I haven't eaten much in the way of solid foods so I'm still waiting to see if I notice a difference when I'm eating.  I have been so swamped this week at work that I have been working through lunch and usually trying to eat a yogurt between classes.  That makes for a starving Monica when school is out.  Hopefully things will slow down a little next week. The great news is that I lost 3.2 pounds!!!!!!! Go me!!!
We are headed out of town to LUbbock tonight - GO Red Raiders!! They are playing Texas A&M - hoping for a huge upset and sending those Aggies home crying! :)

First Fill Tomorrow...

Feeling a little anxious tonight - tomorrow afternoon is my first fill appointment. 
Does it hurt?
Will it make me nauseous?
Will I feel anything?
Do they numb you before the shot in the belly?
What if they can't find my port and have to poke me several times?
How far does the needle go into my stomach?
What if they put too much?

These are just a few of the thoughts that have run through my head leading up to this first adjustment.  I'm hoping that I am making a lot more out of it than I should - I guess I'll find out tomorrow!! More updates to come - good night bloggers.

This Little Light of Mine...

The inspiration for my title today is provided by my 4 year old! He was singing that song in the car on the way to school this morning.  It just melts my heart - love him so!!

Today is Friday, Sept. 30th.  Where has this month gone??? I cannot believe that tomorrow is October! It's been 6 weeks now since my banding and things are going so great!!! I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to get my band and get healthy!! I am well on my way! :)

Today is weigh day and I am down another 2.4 pounds! Yippee-Yay!!! That brings my total since being banded to 10.2 pounds and my over all total since starting the process in April to 20 pounds lost.  Let me put that in perspective for you.... It took me 6 months to lose 10 pounds before my band and only 6 weeks to lose 10 pounds after my band! Isn't that WONDERFUL!!!!! I heart my band!

This is gong to be an excellent weekend! Tonight is Allen's homecoming and we are going to the game - GO EAGLES!!! Tomorrow is a Bengal's football game and I'm excited watch my favorite player - #4. Following the game I'm off to Southlake to see my best friend and celebrate a sweet lady's 30th birthday. It doesn't get much better than football, family, and besties!! Have a blessed weekend bloggers!

Happy Dance

I'm doing my happy dance today.  Today is weigh day and I'm at 339.2!!!  Little victories friends - that's what I live for!!

I ordered a dance workout video on Amazon.com and it should be here today or tomorrow.  Planning to get started on that and hopefully I'll see those numbers drop even more! Still working towards my goal of 30 pounds by Christmas - I'm getting there!

Thoughts on Zumba??

What are your thoughts on Zumba? I don't mean in a gym or class with 30 other people...I mean the at-home, in the privacy of your own living room, personal DVD version? The 30 Day Shred kicked my but all over the house for a week and I only did it one time.  I can't muster up the gumption to do it again.  Plan B is to try something fun! I know nothing about Zumba, but I did watch some You Tube videos on it.  Looks interesting! I'm thinking of buy a DVD and giving it a try - any suggestions??

Not a good idea....

I made a decision last night and it did not turn out so well!! I am a belly sleeper - always have been!! I love to bury myself into my blankets and pillow and snuggle down in the bed.  I remember the point during my pregnancy when I was unable to sleep on my stomach anymore and I was so sad.  Since being banded, I have not slept on my stomach because I feared that it would hurt.  Last night I thought, it's been over a month, SURELY I can sleep on my stomach now.  WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh my stars!!! I woke up in the middle of the night and the spot where my port is was hurting so bad!! :( Is this normal?? Is it because it isn't completely healed inside?? Will I ever be able to sleep on my tummy again??? Ugh...if you know the answers to these questions, please advise! I know that sleeping like that is not good for your back - yeah, yeah, yeah! Hahahha.  I will tell you this....this chick will be waiting a while before trying that again! Boo!!! Dislike!! Hiss!! :)

Other notes....
I got on the scale Monday morning (yesterday) and I am at 340.0.  The 330's are lurking just around the corner - I can see them!!!! So hoping that I am there on Friday - can you see me crossing my fingers?  I am still feeling a difference in my clothes.  I would say most noticeably in my bra - sorry if that's TMI!! My husband is not liking that part!! :) Also noticing a slight difference in my pants - like in the leg and the seat.  They are droopy and saggy....both good things if you are trying to lose weight. I keep telling myself that it's designed to be a gradual process.....
waiting........................................................................

One Month Band-iversary

Today marks one month since I was banded.  It's a happy day for me.  I am feeling wonderful - no pain, have my energy back, and feeling great.  It's been a week since my last post - sorry about that! You may notice my fancy new blog design.  Thanks to my bff, my blog now has style! You rock LN!! There has not been much to tell this week other than I have noticed myself being hungry, a lot! I am going to call today to see if there have been any cancellations for my first fill - I have two and a half more weeks to wait! Today I weighed, I was disappointed to see that I had gained 1.2 pounds.  I am back up to 342.  While I am disappointed in my gain of a pound, I am feeling like I have lost some inches.  I have had a couple of people tell me that they can tell a difference in my face, my arms, and my legs.  It seems weird to me that you could not lose much weight, but tell a difference in your body.  Whatever it is, whether it's their mind playing tricks on them or if they really can tell a difference - I'll take it.  Who doesn't love hearing - "Hey, you look great!"??? My very wise best friend told me to take my measurements before being banded...did I listen??? That's a negative....well, I did listen to her, but just never got around to doing it.  I guess if I had done so, I would be able to compare those numbers.  Anyway, what's done is done.  I do have a picture update to add...it is included below.  I still need to kick my rear into gear and get to exercising.  Ugh...I so hate it!! Looking forward to a lazy, relaxing weekend at home with my hubby and kiddo.  Have a great Friday bloggers!

Weigh Day - 21 Days

Oh, Happy Day!!!! So many things to add to my Book of Awesome for the day!!

     1. It's Friday - obviously awesome!
     2. The weather today is beautiful!
     3. Our friends from Lubbock are here for a visit
     4. Aivry has his very first flag football game this Saturday
     5. I'm getting my hair done tomorrow
     6. It's weigh day and I lost 2 pounds!!

My weight today is 340.8 - I'm hoping to see a number in the 330's next week. (Seems odd to hope for that!) Oh how wonderful it will be to see a number on the scale that doesn't begin with a 3!!! That day will come, I know - just need to continue to be patient and diligent!!

I have scheduled my first fill appointment.  I was very disappointed to find out that they can't get me in until October 4th!!! Hello....that's like 4 weeks away!!! She did say that they have cancellations all the time, and that I should call and check often for openings. Trust me, I will be doing that!

I need to get back on my Shred bandwagon - I still have not done it since the first night. :( I'm so bad!!!! I won't make excuses this time - I was going to do it last night, I even put on my clothes, and then I conveniently found something else to do instead! What was that other thing you ask??? Clean - yes, I said clean.  I would rather clean my kitchen, floors and all, than to exercise for 20 minutes.  Isn't that ridiculous!!! I need to get the booty in gear and do it again - maybe the pain in my legs and arm will go away if I do it like I'm supposed to! :)

Happy Friday blog world - this chicka is out!

My legs are falling off!!

I told you that I started the 30 Day Shred last night...my legs were sore earlier, but as the day has gone one it has only gotten worse!!! I can barely stand up/ sit down!! I feel like an old woman!! Now my arms are sore as well and my abs are definitely joining in on this party.  Tonight, my little guy had football practice so my friend and I walked around our school while they were practicing.  We were walking at a pretty fast pace - I was sweating and panting.  We walked probably close to a mile and a half.  So, I've made an executive decision.....there will be no shredding tonight!! I seriously don't think I could do it if I tried tonight with the pain in my legs.  Plus, I feel like I got a good walking work-out in....I'm trying really hard to justify it - is it working??? Someone please tell me it's okay!!! LOL

Not sure why or what the difference was today, but at lunch time I was not a bit hungry.  I ate a little bit, because it was lunch time and it was my one chance to eat before 3:00 but I truly wasn't hungry.  I hope that is a good thing - especially since Dr. Marsden said that this would be when I started feeling hungry all the time.  We'll see...maybe I'll just take a banana for lunch tomorrow. 

For now, I'm am going to drag myself to my bed and crawl in it!!! Good night blog world.

Setting a Goal

I decided last night that I need to set a goal - a first step to reach towards.  I have been thinking about this for a while and I've had a goal in mind, but I feel like I need to put it in writing for it to be "real".  I'm a nerd, I know!! So....while I was trying hard to go to sleep last night, after I finally put my phone down and left Pinterest alone, I made up my mind.  So here it is.....this just in.....my goal is to lose 30 pounds by Christmas.  I guess I was expecting some trumpets and streamers to fill the air, but I got nothing! Hahahha! I'm hoping that this is a managable goal, I want to push myself but I also don't want to set myself up for failure!! Being a math teacher, I had to do some calculations before setting it in stone. I figure there are 15 weeks until Christmas; I will shoot for 2 pounds per week; and I've already lost 5.4, so I have a few (very few) pounds to buffer.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.........

That brings me to my other thought to share....I know I should have waited until Friday to weigh, but the curiosity got the best of me! I weighed this morning and I am back down - yay!!! Today's weight was 341.6.  It's not a huge change....but it's better than a gain!!! I will take it.  I will still weigh on Friday for my official 3 week total, but I had to share.  My legs this morning are really sore!! The Shred did me in and I'm not looking forward to tonight!! :(

More to come......until next time!

30 Day Shred ....WHAT WAS I THINKING???

Okay...so it's been several days since my last post. I meant to sit down and post on Friday and I got busy at work.  So here's the recap.....

Friday morning I weighed - twice! I weighed on our new scale at home and I sure was hoping that it was wrong! I weighed again on my nurse's scale at school and it said the same darn thing!! I had gained .8 pounds.  I know, I know...you are reading this saying "that could be water weight", "it's nothing, don't fret" etc....but I did fret! I was so disappointed to see that I had gained - even just that little bit.  It was good motivation though.  I tried really hard to make good choices this weekend.  We were out of town for the first Tech game of the season, with friends all weekend, and traveling Friday and Monday.  I have stayed away from carbonated drinks and sweet tea, I have really tried to make good food choices, and drink lots of water.  We'll see what the scale says this week. In addition to that, I decided that it was time to quit being a baby and get off my butt!!!

That brings me to tonight.  As I type, I am sweating, panting, and feeling like death!!! I just finished my first workout on the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.  HOLY MOLY....that crap is hard!!!!!! I was dying for the entire 20 minutes!!! I watched it first, to see what I was getting in to.  During the "viewing" I was thinking - cool, I can do this! Jumping Jacks - sure, jumping rope - no problem, crunches - eh, maybe a little harder, ...BOY WAS I WRONG!!!!! My arms feel like jelly and I couldn't even get my butt off the ground for those darn reverse crunches.  I'm going to stick with it but this chick is a wimp and I'm going to really have to dig deep to follow through with it.

I'm really kind of sad that I am almost 3 weeks into my Lab Band life and I can't really see a noticeable difference.  I'm really trying to be patient and that is a struggle for me! I can tell a difference in my eating for sure, but I am ready to see a difference in my clothes.  Time, time and more time will tell......I hope!

Thanks for reading....I will try to update more often.  And I'll let you know how the Shred goes on Day 2.

Post-Op Follow-up

Tomorrow marks 2 weeks since my surgery and I just got home from my post-op appointment with Dr. Marsden.  He is so nice!!!! I love that he makes me feel good about coming in and good about my decision to have Lap Band.  He's so genuine and non-judgemental. Basically...I <3 my Dr.! :)

My incisions are healing nicely and itching like crazy!!! He removed the steri-strips, so my belly is naked again. :) I'm supposed to schedule my first fill appointment for the middle of September - little nervous about that! I know that I have the access port, but what is the shot going to feel like?? I guess I will find out soon enough. Dr. Marsden also said that within the next week or so, the swelling inside my belly is really going to subside and with that comes hunger.  He warned me that I may be grumpy and hungry all day - yikes! I'm interested to see what the next week will bring me - I'm hopeful and optimistic.

Tomorrow I will weigh again - hoping for good numbers. :) I need to get by booty in gear and get on an exercise plan.  I have never been good about exercising....if only it was something that I enjoyed! More to come on that topic!!

First hang up

I am feeling better and better as the days go by. Today was another full day of seeing groups at school, I was busy all day long which made the day fly by!! We had a meeting after school and I didn't get home until a little after 5:00 and we had football practice at 6:00.  Luckily for me, I had dinner prepared in the crock pot!! My best friend's recipe for Green Chili Chicken tacos....so tasty and so easy!! By the time we got home from practice, I heated up some black beans, and sat down to eat dinner I was starving!!! There in lies the problem! I experienced my first hang up tonight at dinner.  I was eating way too fast.  I was chewing thoroughly and the food was very soft, but I was not waiting between bites and I scarfed down a chicken taco on a corn tortilla at top speed.  With the next bite, I felt a clog in my chest and I could tell that I had messed up!! It hurt! I stood up and walked around the kitchen to tried to give it room to settle - that helped.  Then I took a drink of my lemonade - that was a mistake!!! It burned. :( I did not regurgitate and the food I had inhaled did settle but it was not without a lesson learned!!!! No matter how hungry I am, I have got to remember that I have to eat slow now or I will pay for it later.  Isn't it too bad that we don't have a warning signal that goes off before we do something that we will regret later....that would be so beneficial in many aspects of my life!! :)

Success so far

It's been several days since a new post has been made - I am a forgetful person and I have never kept up with a blog before. I need to be more diligent about my posts!!


Friday marked my first complete week since surgery. The doctor told me that I should only weigh once a month, but I could not go my first week without a weigh in. I weighed at school in the nurse's office and I am down 5 pounds!! I am ecstatic!! I know that realistically, not all weeks will be 5 lbs. losses - more like 2 or so. For now, I am very pleased with the progress!!


Eating is going very well also. Today, we went to Christina's Mexican restaurant for lunch. Troy and I shared platter that included a cheese enchilada. I had not even half of the enchilada, one bite of rice and beans, and a few chips before I was very full. I was shocked at how little filled me up!! I think that will be the biggest adjustment; realizing and recognizing that it won't take much for me to be full. A mind game for sure!! For this week I am on soft foods, for that I am thankful! I was getting tired of soup.


Thursday I go for my two week check up. My incisions are healing great, it seems. They are itching like crazy!!!! Soreness is mostly gone; I have had a few twinges of slight pain during a wrong move but nothing bad. So happy to be feeling great and feeling blessed!!



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I survived!!

WOW...that about sums it up for me over the past few days.  Today is day 5 after surgery and I am finally feeling like myself again...kind of!  I truly don't think anyone or anything could have prepared me for what I would go through after surgery.  Let me explain....

I was scheduled for surgery on Friday afternoon at 2:30 and Baylor Medical in Carrolton called around 12:00 (while I was watching my husband eat a Whataburger) and said that they were ready for me. At that point, the excitement had taken over and I was READY!!!! When Troy and I got to the hospital I filled out paperwork and they took me back to the Pre-Op room.  This is where my nerves set in and I had a little crying spell....nothing too dramatic.  The nurses poked me, asked questions, and prepped me for surgery.  My mom and her husband, Gary, arrived a little while later and I was able to visit with them before they took me back. When it was time, the anesthesiologist put some kind of potion in my IV and they wheeled me out.  The last thing I remember happening is the nurse in the OR asking me to scoot onto the gurney.  I woke up some amount of time later in a recovery room.

I'll be honest, I don't remember much about my time there after surgery.  I remember feeling some pain. I remember getting up to go to the bathroom. I remember getting dressed - or should I say, Troy getting me dressed!! :) And I remember the nausea after standing up!! The drive home was sketchy and so was the rest of the evening. I slept a lot and felt nauseous A LOT!!!

My Mom and Gary stayed until Saturday morning and then my Julie momma came with my Granny Grace to see me later in the day.  I remember them being there...but I was in and out of coherence.  I received numerous calls and texts during the days after - few of which I actually responded to.  I felt so bad that I didn't want to hold the phone ....that's pretty bad folks!!! On Sunday my sister came by and took my little one out of the house for a while.  I know that was good for him!! My bestie came by to see me on her way home from birthday parties. Normally our time together is spent in laughter...there was none of that to be had. I looked and felt dreadful! To be honest, the pain for the surgery was not so bad - probably about like what I expected. 

What was getting me was the nauseous feeling I got whenever I moved.  It was so bad! They did give me medication to help the sick feeling in my body, but it knocked me out and it wore off before I could take it again. I couldn't eat anything and could barely drink anything! By Monday, that had subsided quite a bit and I was dealing with the bloating pain from the gas that they had to inject into my belly and my own exhaustion. I missed the first day of school :( I was so sad, but I knew there was no way I could make it to work that day. Luckily, I felt much better Monday evening and decided I could make it to work on Tuesday.
Yesterday was tiring but I did very well.  I ate my three meals (two shakes and some soup for dinner) and I went to bed at 9:00!

So was it worth it??? Absolutely, I think! I really am happy that I had the surgery and I know that the changes that are to come will only solidfy that decision.  I'm glad that I didn't know before hand how the surgery would affect me....I don't know if I would have the courage to do it again. I'm excited about the things to come for me and making the transitions. Who knows what's in store!! I'm excited all over again! :)

Day before surgery

Well, tomorrow is the big day!!! I went to True Results this morning and met my surgeon, Dr. Marsden. He is a very nice man and really did a good job of calming my nerves and easing my fears. I am so excited!!! I am scheduled to go in tomorrow at 1:00 pm and surgery is set for 2:30. Troy and my mom will be there during surgery - I"m sure they will be happy when it's all over. :) I am trying to tidy up lose ends around the house and make sure that it's picked up. I went tonight and got more protein powder, milk, and vitamins. I think I'm all set.  Hopefully I am able to sleep tonight!!

My weight today is 347 lbs.  I actually lost 10 pounds during the six month waiting period. My heaviest has been 360 lbs. I will post a weight tracker each month or so, so I can chart my progress. I have included my before pictures in this post. It makes me very nervous to do this. Most of my pictures are from the neck up and I usually take a ton of pictures until I find one that doesn't look too dreadful.  These pictures are gross to me....but it is what it is and tomorrow is the beginning of something wonderful!!! I hope that I am able to look back at these pictures and say, wow - look how far I've come!!! Say a prayer for me! :)

                            Me at 347 lbs. - night before surgery

Devine Intervention...

I love stories where God's presence is obvious. I had one of those moments last night and today. As I said before, I am having Lap Band surgery done on Friday August 19th.  I have been concerned for a couple of weeks now on whether or not my insurance was going to approve my surgery by the deadline that I am faced with.  What should have taken 10 days to process and approve ended up taking about 17 days!! I was freaking out!!! On Monday night, I had a very hard time going to sleep.  I tossed and turned and worried about the procedure, whether or not I was going to run past the deadline, and other issues. Needless to say, it was not a restful night! Last night when I went to bed I said a prayer.  I prayed to my most Awesome God, that if this surgery was in His plan for me, that He would take away my fears, doubt, and worry.  I prayed that he would give me strength and peace of knowing that it would happen in His time and in His way. Those were my final thoughts as I fell asleep.

Now those that know me, know how stubborn I am and how I have a tendency to want to control every aspect of my life!!! God knows that about me too, and I truly feel like he was waiting on my to give this stress over to Him. Once I decided to do that, things began to turn around!! I received the phone call I had been waiting for for 17 long days this morning at 9 AM.  Within the course of an hour, I had insurance approval for my surgery, I had a Pre-Op appointment set up, followed by a surgery date that was way earlier than I expected. I know that He was looking down on me thinking, "Finally you let me have your stress - now watch what I can do!!" It's chilling to me and sure makes me wonder why I didn't do it sooner!! I often struggle to remember that things do not happen according my MY plan....they happen according to HIS! :)

A little about me

My  name is Monica. I'm 31 years old. I am the wife of an amazing and loving husband/father.  I am the mother of a rambunctious and rowdy 4 1/2 year old. I'm a daughter, sister, friend, school teacher, and more.

In addition to these many "hats", I'm also overweight.  Scratch that, I am considered obese.  I hate that word!! It makes me feel so disgusting! I have battled my weight for as long as I can remember.  As a child, I was the chubby child in a family of tall and thin sisters. I have been referred to as "pretty in the face" more times than I care to count. It's funny how a compliment like that can make you feel so badly about your self-image. Anyway...I digress!

I decided to write a blog about my weight loss journey.  I'm starting a little late!! I have tried numerous diets, approaches, pills, drinks, etc.... I had success with some, but the weight always came back - and usually with a vengence! After my son was born, I struggled to lose the weight I gained with him - and never really lost much after the initial pounds came off. As I sit here tonight, I am at my heaviest weight to date - and I hate it! So...I decided to take drastic measures.  I say "I'm starting late" because although I have battled my weight my entire life, I have not blogged about those attempts to lose weight in the past. 

Six months ago, I decided to take the first step in seeking major medical attention for my obesity (still hate it) - Lap Band.  I heard an ad on the radio for True Results in Richardson, Tx and I decided to set up a consultation.  I figured - what do I have to lose?? After 6 months of visits, tests, prayer, deep consideration of whether this was the road I wanted to take, and many other thoughts...I decided to take the plunge and go for it.

Today I am 1 day away from my surgery date. I am nervous, excited, scared, hopefully, and a whole host of other emotions.  This blog will serve as a journal of my weightloss journey after my LapBand is done.  I will do my best to post pictures before and continue to post during the next few months.  I know that this road will not be easy and there will be bumps - but I pray that through support of family & friends and God's guiding hand, I will be a success story in the end.