Let’s turn the clock back to May 28, 2004.  At this very moment I was checking in to Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura CA to have the procedure that would change my life.  I had no idea at that moment how significant the change would be, nor did I even imagine myself sitting here today blogging about my experiences.  Once up to the pre-op area I started getting pretty nervous.  I had to undress and put on a giant size hospital gown and get weighed.  I remember stepping on the scale and being upset.  Why?  Because at my surgeon’s office I had shown a weight loss of 27 pounds between my first visit and my visit immediately before surgery.  That put me at 397 pounds.  The scale in the hospital showed me at 401 pounds and we all know that getting down to that next lower set of numbers means so darned much.  This was my first foray with the scale and weight loss surgery…..scale 1- Sandi 0.  It took me a long time to come to terms with the scale and learn that it doesn’t rule my life, rather it is my health that rules my life and the scale number is only one part of that equation.  Glad I finally got that!

Next, there I was, sitting upright on the table in the pre-op area hanging on to my husband’s hand for dear life when in walked the anesthesiologist.  He introduced himself and asked if I wanted something for my nerves.  My husband spoke first saying, “if she doesn’t I do” which helped me relax and say YES.  He came back in, and that is the last I remember until waking up in recovery as they told me, who wasn’t diabetic, that my sugar was too high and they were going to give me a shot of insulin to bring it down.  That confused me, but I later learned that it is not an unusual reaction for an obese person to have during/after surgery.

I was a good patient, showing up in my doctor’s office every 4 weeks, not for band adjustments but to check in with him and talk about what I was doing right and what I could be doing better.  The choices were all mine.  I attended support group and made the right choices and the weight just kept dropping off.  I could move a bit more freely and now actually shopped at the supermarket and took occasional forays to the mall.  Maybe I could really do this.  About a year into it and 100 pounds lighter - still in the very high 200’s or low 300’s I decided I needed some formal type of exercise.  What could I do that would not further hurt my knees or my back.  Swimming! I love swimming, and I am a certified scuba diver, so I found a pool I felt comfortable going to, and began my exercise literally one lap at a time.  Pretty soon I could feel some muscles begin to form in my arms and my legs were getting stronger….  Over time I was swimming up to 7 days a week for as long as 60 minutes per session.  I was getting fit and healthy.  No more sleep apnea, no more high blood pressure pills, no more asthma meds…  just my vitamins and supplements and my choices as to what I was going to eat and drink.  I was a compulsive rule follower and it was working well for me.

Here I am, nine years after that scary surgery, starting my day every day with some fitness planned into it, my foods planned for the day, and working diligently to get in my 64-96 ounces of water (right now at 9:14 AM I am at 30 ounces) and my 80-100 grams of protein.  These are the numbers that I have determined by trial and error help me stay fit and healthy and active.  This morning I spent 30 minutes sweating on the elliptical and then worked with my personal trainer for 30 minutes.  My trainer was showing me an ab exercise and asked me, “Can you do this, or is it impossible?” My reply, I will try just about anything once, and if I can’t do it today it just means we need to work up to it.  NOTHING is impossible!