TENTH BANDIVERSARY!

Ten years.  Wow.  I can't believe it's been that long.  Ten years ago, I was just starting this part of my life.  I weighed 230 pounds and had had enough of feeling terrible about my body and weight.  Getting my band was the end of a long period of negative self-talk, bad feelings about food, and feeling like a failure for not being able to control my weight.

Catherine on the Half Shell

I changed my life during the past 10 years.  This morning, I got up and went to a Pilates class because that's what I do on Wednesday and Friday mornings.  I also do indoor cycling on the weekend, and yoga on as many Mondays as I can.  Working out is a part of my life.  It's something that I do for myself, that I have come to really enjoy, and I make it a priority, despite that I work longer hours than most.  It's also the main reason that I've been able to maintain a healthy weight consistently through my maintenance phase, and have kept off roughly 70 pounds (more like 67 or 68) through that time.  The other reasons are that I generally, though not too strenuously, pay some attention to what I eat, and I usually weigh myself every day to take stock of how I'm doing.  If my weight is up a little, I try to eat healthier, lower calorie foods, and if it's low or where it should be, I don't worry about it too much.

In Paris with my husband last month.

My relationship with food is very different now that it's no longer saddled with a ton of guilt.  I love cooking, read cooking magazines, and even base trips partly around the restaurants I want to visit (the above photo is a great example... it's outside Le Cl@rence in Paris, where the hubby and I had a 5-hour 5-course meal that was truly amazing).  It's such a pleasure to enjoy food without worrying that everyone is looking at me, thinking "Should you really be eating that??"

Be kind, I'm 47! :)

I also enjoy beach vacations so much more, now that I don't spend the whole time fretting about how I look in my bathing suit, and know that my summer dresses from last year will still fit the next time I go to wear them.  Actually, I have some dresses that I've been wearing for years -- because my size hasn't changed.  That's a very different experience than my pre-band life.  OK, that's not strictly true because I did a lot of shopping at my lowest weight, which I haven't been able to maintain, so there are a few things in my closet that I haven't been able to wear for a few years, but I am basically OK with that for now.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I am overwhelmed by how grateful I feel to have found this tool, to have used it the way I was told to use it, and to have found a way to my life now.  Things have gone really well over the past ten years.  I met and married the love of my life, who is a kind, loving person that is truly the better part of me, my career has been going really well, and life in general is good.

Sending so much love to all of my fellow bandsters, especially those of you who I've known through this blog for years.  You helped and inspired me -- and continue to do so -- more than you'll ever know, and I am grateful for you.  xoxoxo