As most of you know by now on October 1 my Lap Band was removed and my surgeon wanted me to have some tests before we did any further weight loss surgery. 

Did I freak out a bit?  You bet, wouldn’t you?  I was sure I was going to wake up and be 424 pounds again.  Well, it hasn’t happened yet, my test results were all negative thank goodness, so now starts the process of selecting and scheduling surgery again.

Due to insurance, the sleeve is not a contender.  My choices are between a new Lap Band and a gastric bypass.  It’s really a tough choice at this point in time.  With a bypass I can be assured of rapid weight loss, possibly reaching a new low weight I never in my wildest dreams thought possible.  However, it is a lot of surgery and do I want to deal with the possibility of dumping, of malabsorption, of iron issues and of having my body “re-plumbed”?  I don’t know. 

With my Lap Band I was able to successfully lose 250 pounds in about 27 months and keep it off.  I was able to control my hunger through food choices and in the past 10 years 5 months I have adopted a totally new Lifestyle that is focused on not only Healthy Choices, but Exercise, Water, Vitamins and LIVING every day as the best it can be.  Why wouldn’t the band serve me again as my tool of choice?

I am still contemplating my decision.  It will be final very soon and I will share with all of you.  In the meantime, what am I doing to keep massive regain at bay?  Nothing different than I have done for the past 10 years - I am PLANNING to succeed each day.

I must admit, I had a bout of feeling sorry for myself overindulging that included chips, guacamole, a seafood enchilada and beans along with a Dos Equis Dark and then a number of hours later popcorn at the movies followed by Trader Joes triple ginger snaps.  Did it taste good, probably but the discomfort was certainly not worth it so I will not be visiting those “poor me” thoughts again.

I continue to plan my week and my days as I have been doing and I find that as long as I lead with protein first I am not physically hungry as I keep my portions to the size that have kept me in maintenance for these years.

I woke up this Sunday and made my frittata of the week, some chicken salad, prepped my dinner so it will get in the oven quickly at dinnertime and made sure my frig was stocked with everything I needed including deli turkey meat, baby bel lite cheeses, a plethora of 80-100 calorie yogurts with Caramel apple pie as my new favorite, small apples, grapes and I have lots of bottled water in my pantry.

Have a look at how I prep my week and visit the inside of my frig with me.  I will journal all I eat and make sure I get 64-96 ounces of water daily and at least 30 minutes of exercise.

I can do this.  I am doing this.  I have been doing this for 10 years.