Laura (Robbla1) Lost 110 Pounds!

Laura Before

I can remember my ballet teacher telling my mother that I could be a professional dancer if I lost some weight. I was 5. I started counting calories as young as 8 years old – I got a new skateboard when I was 11 when I’d lost down to 92 pounds. Obviously, I’ve battled the weight monster my entire life. My parents always supported me, and I never felt badly about my weight, but they did encourage me to lose. They wanted me to be healthy and happy, and I just wanted to wear the popular new styles of dress like the other kids in my class. If it didn’t flatter my figure, my mom didn’t buy it (thank God!!!), but most of the trends never looked good on my “plump” body. I got down to a size 12 in the 10^th grade, but started gaining again, and graduated at a size 18. After my freshman year of college, I was 220 pounds. After hovering around 230 for about 5 years (give or take the 30-45 pounds I’d lose and then gain), I decided I’d had enough. I knew exactly what to do to lose weight. A registered dietician actually told me once that I knew almost as much as she did about nutrition and how to lose weight. I was active, and still healthy, but I just couldn’t seem to get it off. I would have bouts of success – 35 pounds here and even lost 45 at one point, but I could never keep it off. In 2004, I went to my parents and told them I wanted to look into bariatric surgery. They were supportive – I wasn’t sure they would be. I found an option call LapBand. It’s perfomed laproscopically, it’s adjustable, it doesn’t cut, staple or re-route your intestinal track, and I felt that it was the option for me. Although costly, it was the best money I’d ever spent in my life. My parents and grandmother helped me pay for part of it, and supported me from start to finish.

I was 256 pounds when I started my pre-op diet for surgery in June of 2005. The first week or so after surgery was a little rough. I was only sore where they’d cut through my muscle to place the access port (used for adjusting the band), and I was scared to eat for fear I’d not know when to stop and I would have to regurgitate – which sounded really painful at the time. But, after the first week, I found my footing, and I learned to listen to my band when it tells me to stop.

After a few months, I’d lost about 30 pounds, so I was pleased. I continued to eat as I did pre-surgery, but the lapband would limit the amount of food I could consume. I quickly realized that if I incorporated diet and exercise I would see healthier more dramatic results. LapBand is designed so that you lose slowly, gradually, and I was trucking right along.

I chose to incorporate the Diet to Go program into my weight loss regimen. Diet to Go makes it easy to monitor your caloric intake, tastes great and is reasonably priced.

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I did not want to go to a gym, so I do own a treadmill and an elliptical. Two of my favorites! I love watching TV while walking since it makes the time go by really fast.

About 9 months later, I’d lost approximately 70 pounds!

But shortly after my weight loss I noticed that I could eat more, and I could eat things I shouldn’t be able to eat easily. I went to the doctor and found out that my LapBand had broken. The inner ring that held the saline to keep the band tight had burst. This had never happened to anyone else, and my doctor had performed over 700 of these surgeries at the time. Well, I had to get it replaced, but it involved a long battle with my insurance company for 3 months. Luckily, I got the approval for another LapBand with no cost to me. Just 4 days shy of my 1 year anniversary with my original LapBand, I got another.

Four years later, I would call the surgery a success. I weighed 147 pounds this morning. That’s not skinny, and that’s ok, but I am healthy, happy, and I can wear the clothes I want to wear. Last year, I had a tummy tuck to get rid of excess skin that was so stretched and damaged from yo-yo dieting that working out wouldn’t get rid of it. There are some other small surgeries I’d like to have involving skin removal, but I am happy with the way I look.

Most people that didn’t know me then don’t believe me when I tell them I’ve lost 110 pounds. But, the absolute best feeling was when the unrequited love of my life for 10 years told me how great I looked as I walked out the door leaving him wondering, even if just for a second, what it would’ve been like to be with me.

Laura After