WHAT!?! 2 Years just snuck right past... (pictures)

I've been banded for 2 whole years... getting this little tool "installed" was the best gift that I could have given myself and my family. I am still anxious to see where this journey will take me. (And to be honest a bit nervous as to where I'll end up) But all I can say is that never in all my life of dieting have I ever been able to maintain any amount of dieting/weight loss for any amount of time. So this is a new record for me and you know what? I'm still losing...

Yeah, sure, it's a lot tougher now to lose weight then it use to be (when I was first banded, it came off without a lot of work on my part) but it's at least possible!!! And for so many years.... it was just SO IMPOSSIBLE!!! I feel normal now.

Maintaining is the new normal for me and if I want to lose weight then I have to really eat less and work out more. I mean that is what I always heard people say that's what it took to lose weight but it just never worked that way for me.

I can't really explain it. But if you've ever been really overweight you'll know what I'm talking about. And if you've never struggled with major weight issues then you'll just think it was lack of will power on my part. But I'm telling you... it was something more. Something I couldn't take care of on my own. I needed help and for me that help came in the form of a little tool called a Lap-band.

Now losing weight is more like a game. A challenge... Can I lose another 10 lbs? If not.. Oh'well.. I am happy where I am... if so then how cool is that!!

I have met all my personal goals for why I wanted to lose this weight... my last goal of seeing 180.00 on the scale is only 8lbs away. I have lost 125lbs. I am 94% of the way to my goal of 180lbs.

I feel blessed. What an opportunity and blessing this has been for me and my family. I remember about a week before I went to have my surgery laying in bed with my husband, he said something like "Wow, this could really be a game changer... you could look totally different in a year...." I agreed with him but my heart was thumping in my chest and I was really scared that it was just another false hope, just another gimmick, just another failed attempt... AND It hasn't been a magic fix. It HAS taken work, effort, dedication and responsibility. But I'm telling you now... It's been worth it!

So just for fun... here are some photos of me pre-band. As always click on the picture for the larger version. (cringe) I'm sure I have even better more embarrassing pictures in my back up files but these were the handy picture files still on my computer.










2 years After:

Yep, that's me on the left with 3 of my siblings... I look tiny wedged in there between my big ole brothers. Yeah, and I just said "tiny" a word that I never thought I would say in regards to me!