Losing the band

In other news, I will be parting ways with my lap band three weeks from today.  It's something I've been wanting to do for a while now, and I finally made the call to a bariatric surgeon that was referred by my PCP in order to schedule a consult and surgery to have it removed.  I'm almost as excited to lose it as I was to get it, although it did give me some great journaling via my original blog, Who Hid the Donuts. 

It was fun while it lasted, but it's time for it to go.

That said, I did keep some real weight off for the 12 years I've had the band.  I started my original weight loss journey just shy of 300 pounds, and my "stable norm" was anywhere between about 225 and 235.  The following photos reflect my before lapband and before Optavia:

 

These were taken my first day of Optavia:

So, yes, I've come a long way.  I'm almost 100 pounds down from my high.  Heck, for all I know, I already am.  Needless to say, I never, EVER got on the scale, so I don't know if 290 on surgery day was my absolute highest.

Anyway, bye-bye band!  Your days are numbered!