I have always been overweight - ever since I can remember. I was always the one one at school with the uniform that didn't quite fit properly, the one that dreaded doing any kind of sport - you know the kind of person - we all know one.

I tried every diet under the sun. I spent forever at Weight Watchers Meetings, adding up points for every morsel that went into my mouth, decided which foods were red or green with Slimming World, and even tried to shake my booty off with Rosemary Connelly. Of course, they all worked - temporarily. I have one problem though. I LOVE FOOD! Once I had lost a few pounds the food cravings would return and my portion sizes would increase. There came a point when I thought there was nothing left to try. Then I saw a feature on the net on Weight Loss Surgery. I investigated Gastric Bypass but thought that, for me, it was too intrusive. I then saw the Gastric Band of Laparoscopic Bypass procedure. I thought that this was for me. A small band is used to reduce the passage of the food to your stomach. It means you have to eat food slowly, cuts down the dramatically the amount you can eat, but doesnt give you the side effects of some of the other surgeries. Of course, there are some obstacles to overcome at first. The biggest shock was waking up to a liquid diet for the first 4 weeks! That said, it somehow made me feel more righteous, more like this was it really felt like to be a "normal" human being and feel full with much smaller amounts of food. The fact is, I never felt hungry in those initial weeks. Next came the puree stage for another 4 weeks. After 4 weeks of fruit and vegetable juice, the first taste of yogurt was heaven! I was suprised at how quickly I became full and how long it sustained me. It was like I was someone totally new! My biggest fear was starting to eat normally again. After 2 months of not chewing I was quite apprehensive of things like meat and vegetables. I just had to keep telling myself of the rules - CHEW, CHEW, CHEW!. Its amazing how boring any meal can become when its sits in front of you going cold whilst you chew every last mouthful. I was starting to lose weight and felt great! For the first time in absolutely years I had experienced the sensation of actually being full! This was something I had to get used to! The band was gradually adjusted by adding saline to the fixed port approximately every 6 - 8 weeks in my case. Each time I had the adjustment I had to return to a liquid diet for a week followed by a week of purees. It was a blessing really - gave my jaws a rest from all that chewing! After about six months I really started to notice the weight loss. I was buying clothes in smaller sizes and trying new styles. For the first time I actually enjoyed shopping for clothes. I had my surgery 3 years ago and have never looked back. I have lost 140lbs and still going strong. I still have some way to go, but, in all that time, despite numerous celebrations, dinner parties and the like, I have never so much as put on an ounce. That, for me, is nothing short of a miracle.
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