My Fitness Story... - Laura W

This week's story is a bit hot off the press! On Tuesday night, one of my Twitter friends, Laura, tweeted about her weight loss. I don't think it was just me that said "Wow!" when she said she'd lost ten stone. Laura then sent me a DM to tell me how she did it and I told her she should write her story. She was a bit reticent to do so but I talked her into it.

The reason for her reticence is that she had gastric band surgery which has helped her to lose weight. This is a controversial area; many people think that it is the lazy route to weight loss and she was worried of the reaction to her story. I hope that her story, which takes her from a weight of 301lbs and BMI of 42.14 to a weight of 160lbs and BMI of 22.40, demonstrates that it is far from an easy option, and you will give her your full support because it is an incredible achievement whichever way you look at it. 

Before - side view

Last night was the first time that I had weighed myself in a year. Sheer stupidity forced me to tweet about my weight loss but after a little natter with the lovely Kate, I agreed to share my story and dark secret…

At 28 years old, a mother of three, 6ft and weighing 300lbs, I was often referred to as 'the big one', ‘Hagrid’, 'fatty', 'gibblet' and 'her that looks like a rugby player’. At the age of 16, I thought I was sexy and had confidence in my body. I was never skinny but I was toned from playing football and had a great shape. However, this all buggered off when, aged 16, I became pregnant. I couldn’t decide what was worse; no football, getting fat, or both!

After my son was born, I managed to stick at Slimming World for many years, my weight yo-yoing up and down until I got married in 2004. After the wedding, I gave up; child number two came along and before long, number three too. I ignored what I looked like and never looked in the mirror. My confidence was low and paranoia developed every time I left the house. I tried to look for a new job to be closer to home but I felt that I was being penalised at interview for being fat. My husband suggested I speak to the GP about weight loss surgery, he had been reading up on it. The GP recommended the local Spire hospital as a good starting point. My hubby decided to foot the bill (he wanted a sexy wife, he said) and next thing you know, I was in for a consultation.

Before - front view 

The consultant wanted me to opt for a gastric bypass, but hearing so many horror stories, I opted for the gastric band. If Anne Diamond and Sharon Osbourne could do it, then so could I. I started the pre-op diet pretty quickly, which consisted of drinking Bovril, Bovril and oh, more Bovril for 14 days. The band was fitted under general anaesthetic using keyhole surgery so they had to ensure that the fat around the liver was non-existent, hence a liquid pre-op diet.

On 19th April 2008, I went into the Spire at Macclesfield not knowing what to expect. I was a scared young girl who just wanted to be thin. I awoke, still a fat person who wanted to be thin, with the additional bonus of being in absolute agony. I didn’t realise that they ‘jack’ your liver up out of the way while they stitch the band to your stomach. Gas is also used to inflate the chest cavity…painful. For days, I was walking like Nelson Mandela through pain and burping for Britain from the gas. Since the pre-op diet started, I had lost 16 pounds but I was still a fat person wanting to be thin. Two weeks after having the band fitted, I had lost 2 stone!I felt amazing, clothes were falling off me and I felt so confident and sexy; even at meal times when eating my baby food tubs of puree chicken and veg.

Since then, I have lost a whopping ten stone. Trust me, this was not easy. There have been days where I have cried over food, days where I have been so sick with every mouthful and days where I have just refused to eat. I guess the key to having a gastric band is to not rely on it to do the work for you. It took me over a year to work this out, maybe longer. Instead of building my repertoire of foods up from puree to more solid balanced meals, I was eating rice pudding, melted chocolate and angel delight. Well it was sloppy wasn’t it - the band won’t stop those foods getting through!

I went for regular band fills at the hospital and lied to the dietitian about the band not working. I wanted it tighter and tighter. Each time, they would pump more saline solution in to tighten it up (through a port under my skin) and each time, I would complain that it wasn’t working. It was only when I realised that I was cheating myself and not them that I kicked myself into gear and started eating a healthier, more ‘solid’ meal.

Doing the midnight walk

I also began to exercise. That first day when I mounted my new bike, I felt so proud. That was until I rode off the drive, big grin on my face, got past next door's drive then collapsed in a heap from exhaustion, turned around and hid the bike away. I told myself off. £300 on a bike and I wasn’t going to use it. The next day, I cycled for 5 whole minutes! The day after, 15! Two weeks later, I was cycling nearly 20 miles a day and loving being on the open road, the baby behind me in his seat and the biggest grin on my face ever.

If I couldn’t cycle, I would walk. I entered myself into the St Luke's Hospice Midnight Walk in June 2009 which was 13.1miles through Crewe and Nantwich starting at midnight. I could do that. I remember training for it, tweeting my friend Richard as I was walking through town night after night. I was so proud of myself. I raised over £400 and walked the 13.1 miles in under 2 hours (1hour 59 to be precise!). Unfortunately, due to illness, I couldn’t do the walk last year but I have signed up again this June. I’ve been advised to take it steady so I won’t be breaking the 2 hour barrier this time.

You see, it’s not that band that does the work. It’s the person inside. Mind over matter. Some days, I still cry when food makes me sick. I get angry when I’ve cooked Christmas dinner and can’t eat a forkful of it without dashing to the toilet to bring it back up. But what I remember is that at least I am eating ‘something’ and that ‘something’ is healthy (shhhh, don’t tell Kate I’m eating a Twix right now). I have days where I eat chocolate and nothing else, I am still human after all. But those days, I get up and get out and, rain or shine, I will walk the dog briskly or hop on the bike. I even bought myself a cross trainer last year that is fantastic for hanging clothes on (though I do use it at times).

After

Another thing I keep in mind is that everyone is different and that goes for band wearers too. I had a lovely message from Anne Diamond once (I was a regular on her website) telling me to stick with it and not give up. She said that what works for her might not work for me. It was these words from Anne that snapped me back into shape last year when I became ill. I couldn’t exercise as much as I wanted to and the weight was piling back on. If I wasn’t starving myself, I was making myself sick after every bite of food. It wasn’t good. I remembered Anne’s words and not only do I still believe that we are all different, but I also believe that for a band wearer, every day is different. Yesterday, I ate a party sized sausage roll; tonight, I tried one and it made me sick. Last week, an apple made me sick; today, it went down fine. It’s trial and error, like weaning really. Just stay relaxed and don’t worry if you have excess food left over - you can always feed it to the dog!

I've stopped fighting against food now and just accept that I can only eat what I can eat without making myself sick. If my children want a McDonalds, I no longer look longingly at the cheeseburger, instead I take a bite and feel satisfied that I've had a bite. OK, perhaps it's not the way that we've been taught to live with the band but it's worked for me - sometimes that bite is enough for my lunch and that suits me fine.

I'll leave you with my golden rules, none of which are any massive secrets.

- don’t drink for at least half an hour after eating
- chew food thoroughly
- drink plenty of water
- don’t skip breakfast

I hope you'll agree that Laura has been brave and honest in writing this post. I think that it demonstrates that it's not just a case of getting a gastric band and you'll be slim without effort. Like everything, you need to learn how to make it work for you. And work at it, you will - it still demands a healthy lifestyle to get the best results. 

Whatever you think of gastric bands and other forms of weight loss surgery, and whether it's for you or not, Laura's achievement is incredible. She's worked hard and is still recovering from illness, whilst trying to complete a degree as well as being a wife and mother. I wish her all the best with her recovery and at maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you're interested, Laura has recently started a blog called Daydreams and Diaries, which is worth a visit too. 

As usual, please do comment to show your support or share similar experiences in the comments below. If you would like to share your fitness story, then please contact me on Twitter or email me on the address on the About Me page. Posts can be partly or fully anonymous, or if you are happy to be named, I will link back to your blog. All contributions are really appreciated and do get in touch, even if you feel yours is not a worthwhile story. If it's a personal experience, it is. And I mean that even if you have failed at something, because it is still YOUR fitness story. 

Thanks for reading and do come back for another guest post next week. 

My Fitness Story... - Corinne

Today's story is a truly inspiring one. It's by Corinne Ellison, who decided she wanted to do an Ironman, started training, but was then diagnosed with a heart condition requiring open heart surgery which she underwent in June 2010. When I first read the post, I was struck by how positive Corinne has remained throughout, even when she has been experiencing tough times. Over to Corinne to tell her story, which she has chosen to call..

Heart Surgery to Ironman

My story starts with a desire to complete an Ironman. To those who have not heard of Ironman, it is a long distance triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles bike and 26.2 run (a marathon) – one after another!

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not an experienced triathlete. In fact, when I entered my first race, I could only swim 2 lengths and bike round the block! I finished my first triathlon in 2009 and came third….from last! I had been ‘keeping fit’ for a couple of years but I didn’t seem to be improving as I should. I began to become suspicious that something was wrong but put this niggle to the back of my mind. Eventually, I went to see my doctor, complaining of shortness of breath and chest pain - within two weeks I was diagnosed with a large hole in my heart.

This leads me to the motivation behind finishing an Ironman. Facing the prospect of never being able to exercise again scared me immensely. Doctors warned me that I would never be an elite athlete (I wasn’t planning on this!), that I wouldn’t be able to take up my marathon place that year and I facing open heart surgery.

As a woman in my twenties, I felt like the natural concern should be the physical aspects of the surgery – pain, the anaesthetic and the scar. Open heart surgery usually means a vertical scar of around 12 inches down the centre of the chest. This did not concern me, my only focus became ensuring I got back to health as soon as possible. After getting over the initial shock of diagnosis, I had to stop exercising completely as my heart was at the beginning of failure. Whilst I had my long term fitness dreams still burning away inside, I felt unsure about the timescales for achieving them. Over the next few weeks, I began to switch off from sport – I couldn’t talk about it with friends, I stopped going to my club and couldn’t read magazines. The pain of not being able to exercise meant that I had to shut off for a while, focusing only on the here and now.

I was feeling pretty vulnerable whilst waiting to have the surgery and initially afterwards. I was frustrated at not being able to exercise. Doubts started to set in and I was concerned about my ability to ever run again. I needed a positive boost of confidence. This is where the Ironman goal came in. My fixation with achieving of the ultimate physical challenge was cemented. My journey from heart surgery to Ironman began; I fully committed to this goal and used it as a distraction from my fear.

Obstacles in recovery were overcoming the post-operative pain to get out for my first shuffle round the block – a miniscule 7 minutes on my first day! Mentally and physically, I felt fragile but was determined to keep up with the training prescribed by the physiotherapists. Everyday, I pushed myself a little further and soon was walking up to 4 miles a day. My love of exercise began to return and I soon felt the benefit of the fresh air.

What I learnt from the experience was that when something is taken away from you (in my case the ability to exercise and potential ability to race in the future), you want it even more. Scarcity is powerful and I found my determination grew. Ironman became a possibility after a discussion with my cardiologist. He inadvertently told me that as my heart was so ineffective pre-surgery, I should be able to achieve much faster times with my fixed heart. An hour off my best marathon time was jokingly mentioned – I committed this to memory and set my goal then and there. The benefit of having heart surgery, aside from improved health, was that I now appreciate the true value of exercise and how it improves your emotional and physical well-being. Going through a test of character and coming out the other side has given me confidence in myself.

So, where I am today? Almost 8 months after my surgery, I am back to all the sport I love and getting ready for my first race – the Brighton half marathon. A succession of races follows for the rest of the year, with the ultimate challenge of Ironman in November 2012 – the month I turn 30!


Huge thanks to Corinne for sharing her story with us, and good luck for all the races she's running - the Brighton half marathon is actually this Sunday so I will be thinking of her then. Corinne also has a Just Giving page to raise money for GUCH (Grown Up Congenital Heart Patients Association) when she runs the London Marathon for the third time in April. You can also find her on twitter here.

If you'd like to tell your fitness story, please get in touch with me, either on Twitter or via the email address on the About Me page.