AARRRGGGHHH!!!

Ok...let me preface this by saying: I knew that by doing interviews, etc. about my lap band experience, I would be more google-able (in Canada...apparently when you Americans google me, you get nothing), and that people might find me on the interweb and stuff. I was aware that it would happen. What I was not aware would happen is that I'd go to a party, and run into a really stupid boring couple that I've known since high school, and that they'd see me, not say a WORD about my weight loss (which is weird since I haven't seen them since I was at my absolute heaviest) and then go home and GOOGLE ME, and then gossip about me to an ex-friend of mine whose brother I am still friends with, who then messaged me on Facebook about it. SERIOUSLY!

People are so stupid sometimes.

(did that make any sense at all? don't blog when extremely irritated...advice from me to you)

Here's What I Do:

I go to the grocery store, and I see all the junky, crappy food, and I contemplate buying it...and then I DON'T buy it (mostly)...and I feel all good about myself because I am strong, and I refuse to give in to temptation...and I pay for my real food, and go home.

AND THEN...

...I spend the rest of the day thinking about the crap that I DIDN'T buy, and mentally berate myself for not buying it!!

What the hell is up with that?? I need a band for my crazy brain. Pfft.

I Learned Something Today

Today I went on a local TV program to talk about weight/my band. It turned out to be lame and a little pointless, but I did get to meet the head doctor from my clinic, and got to talk to him at length. He told me something interesting that I didn't know, and I wonder how many of us knew this: he told me that they've learned that when we eat, the food doesn't actually sit in the pouch and slowly trickle down into the lower stomach. What happens is, we take a bite, and we swallow, and it goes through...slower than it would normally, but pretty much right away. Which means that it's totally possible to eat around the band. Which means that when we say we can eat more than a cup, it's because yeah...we CAN! Which means that sticking to a cup of food is even more important than I thought! I'm telling you...it blew my mind! I live in fear of stretching my pouch, but in reality, unless you're severely too tight, that's pretty hard to do. But it put a whole new light on remembering to LISTEN to my body, eat as little as I can of good, real foods, and make sure it's only when my body is telling me I'm hungry. So easily said...

It was great having the doctor all to myself for a while! The only time I've every actually talked to the surgeon was at my consult and at my surgery. Although my clinic is amazing, I usually talk to the nurses, so today was a treat!

Confessions

So...a while back, I mentioned that I might be involved in a pro-lap band campaign that my surgeon's office suggested me for. Well...in March, a film crew came to my house, and they talked to me about what my "moment of truth" was, and my experiences with obesity and the lap band. And since then, I've done a few radio, tv and print interviews. And I haven't told anyone, because I'm not loving the way some of the interviews are going...more that I'm being the face of obesity, rather than the face of someone who is having success with the lap band. However, the big picture seems to be that this campaign is drawing attention to the problem of obesity, and possibly, HOPEFULLY, might lead to changes in the health care system so that the lap band procedure might someday be covered! If that happened, it would be unbelievable! And I sincerely hope that the government will realize that spending $16,000 on lap band surgery will be much much cheaper than the countless thousands they will eventually spend on obesity related complications, and that they'd be giving thousands of people a chance at LIFE! That's my hope.

They asked me for a before and a recent picture; our beloved Jenny was kind enough to put the shots together for me (WITH a graphic, and I love her endlessly for it!), and since I'm a girl who loves her comparison shots, I now present you...ME!