Sage Advice

Lap Band Gal posted a great article, written by my doctor's husband, Dr. George Fielding.  Dr. Fielding has been banded for 16 years -- a number that gives a long-time bandster like me a lot of hope that my band may last for many more years to come.  In any event, his advice is very good, and I encourage you to check it out...here is a LINK.

And, just for fun, here is a photo of the hubby & me at a highly fancy white tie party last month! (Wow, did he look amazing!) :)

How Quickly I Forget.... An Extremely Belated 7th Bandiversary Post!

In October of 2014, I was completely shocked to realize -- very late in the day -- that it was my sixth Bandiversary.  Cut to October 2015... and November, December... New Year's.... all the way to today, when I realized that I'd completely forgotten to post on my SEVENTH Bandiversary.  

With around five years of maintenance (let's not count that pesky five pound bump, OK?) under my belt, living with the band has become really normal to me.  This goal-plus-five pounds feels a little heavy to me.  It takes some effort for me to think about what it was like to carry around 70 more pounds every day.  That said, I still feel incredibly grateful.  Sometimes, when I'm really pushing myself in a workout, I think "I could not have done this seven years ago" or "Wow.  I can't believe that I've become someone who is a regular at this kind of workout!"  It blows my mind a little, and I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude that this is reality.

There is no secret to maintenance.  You have to watch what you eat, and you have to work out.  You can't do nothing (or worse, sabotage yourself) and expect that the weight won't come back on.  The five pounds I put on last May aren't a mystery.  I know what I did and why I haven't lost them.  In my own defense, I've been working my a$$ off all year and have very little free time.  But the math is simple -- I've been getting about one workout less a week for the entire year, and I've been eating like I did when I got that extra workout.  Presto changeo... five pounds-o.

Anyway, I haven't given up on losing it.  In fact, I upped my workouts and got in four solid ones last week -- yoga, spin and two killer barre classes (OMG, I was walking like a robot, I was so stiff!).  This week is hectic at work, but I'm still going to get in three workouts, and I'll try for four again next week.

This isn't a sprint, and it's not even a marathon.  It's like a really long, never ending walk.  It's important to keep the plan sustainable so that you'll stick with it, and to make it as fun and as enjoyable as possible.  Speaking of which, when I get back to my goal, I'm going shopping.  Stay tuned!