The Before and After of it all

Like most woman between the ages of 18 to 35, I have always had one issue or another with my body. Be honest, we all wish we were a bit thinner or our breasts were a bit bigger or our butt a bit more like j-lo and less like a no. But for me I had always simply accepted my body as what it was, mine.

I was okay being the funny fat friend, I had given my self the roll and the rolls on my stomach were my props to insure my spot in the lime light. but when my extra weight went from a part of me to something that could kill me I realized it was time to take a good long look in the mirror and make a choice. So I faced the music or rather the camera, as an object that simply can't lie to me and was forced to face the reality of my life and what my choices, my family history and what body was doing to me. So after a long talk with my doctor, my family and myself I made a decision and it is one I have yet to regret. I decided to have a Gastric Band placed.

Gastric Band surgery like most weight loss surgery is kind of one of those don't ask don't tell activities. But unlike a new nose or bigger boobs where the after affect is clearly seen and people are always comparing you to old photos the band which currently lives inside my body, is a tool that gives me help I need to lose weigh in order to get healthy over time.

I knew that if I wanted to I could keep my surgery a secret that only my inner circle was privy to. (get it Gastric band Inner Circle, okay maybe not funny to everyone) I could pretend I had suddenly simply become more aware of my health and had lost a large amount of weight on my own. But for me that just made it seem like I was doing something to be ashamed of and I'm not.

So I decided to create this blog as a way of journaling my experience, answering questions for people who are thinking about going through the same thing, and most of all giving a real face to something that society has turned in to a quick fix when it really isn't.
My Gastric Band has drastically change so much about me from the way eat, think, look, and more importantly it has changed my life and in many ways helped save it.

-Later Readers