The End of 2009

At the beginning of 2009 I made a New Years resolution to lose weight. Much like I have every year for the past 10 years. Unlike the past ten years, this year I was finally sucessful. I've lost a total of about seventy pounds this year, and fifty of those have been since my lap band operation in October. Looking back at all the years I made resolutions to lose weight and failed miserably, I wonder what took me so long. I made the decision to have a lap band nearly five years ago but put it off because of fear. The fear of an operation, the fear of having to change my life, the fear of admitting that I was unable to lose weight on my own. Those fears held me back five years from becoming the thin girl I always wanted to be. I wish that I would have made this decision sooner, then I would have had five years of not failed weight-loss resolutions.

This year I will once again make the resolution to lose weight, but this year I will not fail. This is the year I will reach my goal weight. All thanks to my lap-band, my surgeon and the hospital where I had my operation. Making a New Years resolution that I know unquestionably I will be sucessful at keeping is envigorating. I can't wait to see what I am going to look like by the end of 2010.

To those of you reading this blog. If you have made numerous failed New years resolutions to lose weight, if you feel like you should just give up because nothing seems to help you lose weight then make that choice to do something this year. Stop trying the fad diets, quit paying for a gym membership you never use, and finally do something about your weight problem. It's worth it, I feel like I have a new lease on life and you can too.

Not the Stomach Flu

So apparently it was not the stomach flu that made it impossible for me to keep, anything down. While it may have been some type of stomach flu initially my constant vomiting was caused by a complication with my lap band. I guess at some point my band partially flipped due to throwing up or something. I wound up having surgery last week and am once again allowing myself to rest and heal. I am feeling pretty good now. Sore annd tired but I can tell I am healing and I am super happy that I am able to keep things down finally.

I am happy that I put this bump on my road to a thinner me behind and as soon as my body is healed I am exicted to get back on the right trak to achieving my weightloss goals. Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday.

Stomach Flu

If this time of year is not stressful enough, I've a raging war with the stomach flu to make it all the worse. Rather than telling you all about the tantalizing tidbits about my fight with my illness, I will leave it at this. Me and a certain piece of porcelain functional art have become intimate friends.

Because vomiting can harm the band I had to go see Dr. Keshishian and have him remove the fluid from the band so that there would be no restriction in either direction. Other than that I will just have to wait it out until I am finally able to keep things down.

Some Pics from a Few Days Post-Op

Officer Help The Holidays Are Stealing All My Time

So between the holidays and the end of the semester I am suffering from a severe lack of time. So to keep all of you up to date on my weight loss journey I am going to link a twitter account to my blog so you can follow my short and sweet daily updates.

www.twitter.com/lapbandjulie

Finally My Picture

I finally was able to post a picture of myself. I had some profession pictures taken the day before surgery and I finally got my copies. I can't say I love them, mostly because I didn't really love the person in them. They look better than I expected them too and in them I look better than I actually did. But that's changed now. I still have a lot of work to do and still a lot of weight to lose but the difference that forty pounds makes is incredible. My face is slimmer, well all of me is slimmer but I notice the difference the most in my face. I don't avoid taking pictures as much anymore, in fact I usually stand proud and smile (as long as I'm wearing makeup). These pictures will help chronicle my transformation. I think I will wait until New Years Eve to share my first after picture. And then I will share some of the pictures I have taken to chronicle my journey.

I am so grateful that Dr. Keshishian and Delano Regional Medical Center perform this surgery. I can't help but think of that commercial where the girl is like, "I changed my life with just one phone call." That's me now, my call to Dr. Keshishian has changed my life in ways that I can't even begin to fathom. I am turning into a different person, I am physically shrinking but my personality is growing. I am happier, more self-confident and I can finally stand up for myself. Doors aren't just opening for me, they are being flung wide in every direction. Opportunities at every turn, and it's all thanks to Dr. Keshishian.