Finally, I have reached 290 lbs.

This took longer than I thought it would given the progress I was making, but I know it was having to do with the bad foods I was eating.

Hopefully, I'll reach 280 sooner rather than later.

Losing Weight

My weight loss has slowed as I've begun to eat somewhat normally now that I'm off the liquid phase.

I guess the most significant thing that has happened is that I've busted the 300 lb. mark. It was weird, though. Even though I know I shouldn't, I've been checking my weight every morning just after I get up while I'm still in my underwear. For about two weeks, my weight would go up 2 lbs., then drop 1 lb., then another, then up a 1 lb. Then on Thursday this week, I finally hit 300 lb., but given how my weight was fluctuating, I thought it would go up a pound. It didn't. It just all of the sudden dropped 5 pounds. Huh?

I didn't believe it. I thought something was wrong with the scale. I weighed myself 3 times with the same result. So I proceeded to get ready for work and took a shower, then I weighed again. Still the same. This morning, the scale reads 294, so I guess 295 was for real.

Now my next mini goal is a ways off, but if things keep going well like they have been, I might be at 250 well before June 30th.

I see my WLS doctor next week for my first fill.

Weight Loss
Well, I'm now unofficially 305 lbs. My weight loss is still on a downward trajectory, but it is slowing. Now that I'm lighter, I need to start exercising.

For now, that means I'll be walking the dog. I used Google maps to plot out a route in my neighborhood. By doing so, I now have the distance of the route. I setup a 1 mile circuit. If I want to do more than 1 mile, I can just do more than 1 loop.

How did I use Google for designing my exercise route? I first established my starting location, then I set a second location just down the street. Then I stretched the route and added way points to control how Google plotted the route. I eventually stretched the route back to where I started. Google automatically calculated the distance.

The neat thing about doing this is that you can play with the route. So later, if you get bored with your route or you want to make it bigger, you can just revisit Google and design a different or longer route.

Morbidly Obese No More
Today, I am no longer morbidly obese. I've lost 40 lbs. since I've been banded. This is not typical. Normally people lose at a much slower rate.

I think I'm losing as fast as I am because I'm not eating much of anything. I might be getting about 300 to 500 calories per day which is far less than the recommended 2500 calories. It also helps that I'm a man. Men lose weight faster than woman because men have more muscle than women.

I haven't done much of anything except follow the liquid protein diet, drink lots of water and try to stay active.

This is my first mini goal. My next mini goal is to hit 299 lbs. At the rate I'm going, I should achieve this by early February.

I'm 4 Days Post-op...
...and I feel fine. Now my surgical wounds just need to heal. I'm on a liquid protein diet that I haven't quite gotten the hang of yet. I'm having a hard time just accepting the fact that I should only have 2 oz. to eat three times a day. I called the doctor's office and left message to get a clarification. I want to know if this is a guideline or a rule.

I don't understand how having 6 oz. of yogurt or 11 oz. of Slim-Fast will ruin my lap band.

So far, unofficially, I've lost 14 lbs. My goal is to weigh 180 lbs. by January 1, 2010.

Lap Band Surgery

Well, on December 31st, I had an adjustable lap band put around my stomach. Now on January 2nd, I'm home and dealing with the aftermath. I'm optimistic that this will help me lose all of the weight I've gained since I was 18. On Thursday, December 27th, my official weight was 350 lbs. My next doctor's visit is the 15th. I hope to be down at least 10 lbs. by then.