At goal! Love my band!

   As of this week, I am at goal. I truly can't believe it....  
I started my LapBand journey at 304.5 miserable pounds. I was hurting everywhere, many sprained ankles, a hard time breathing, PCOS, and a lot of hopelessness. I tried every which way to lose weight and nothing worked. I always regained motivation, but could never lose more than 20lbs. I've been big since about 11 years old so I don't ever recall feeling thin, feeling bones, feeling NORMAL... any of that. 

I am about 2 weeks away from my two year bandiversary.... and I have lost 130lbs... weighing in at 173.8lbs. I weighed more than this in eighth grade!  My initial goal was 180lbs... but I decided for 174lbs because it puts me at a BMI of 29.9.... which FINALLY puts me in the "overweight" category! Woohoo!

I cannot begin to tell you all the WOW moments I've had.... if you sift through my blog and my vlog, you can see a lot of them there.... I can do pretty much anything now... and have tried so many new things because of my new-found health. I have really come to recognize how much of a relationship I had with food. It was always a way to celebrate for me... and always a highlight of my day. I used to live to eat. Now I eat to live. Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels... it's so true!

I guess the next step is to set a new goal.... living in South Korea means lots of walking and healthy food.. but I also have extreme determination so I've cut out a lot of no-no foods and exercise a lot! I love being healthy, but having a little fun once in a while too.

When I get to my 2-year anniversary, I will make sure to post some really good before and afters, but I did take one AFTER two days ago in front of the mirror in my apartment. Not amazing quality, but I am proud of the photo... I sent it to my mother and her reaction made me cry. I don't think I've made my mom prouder my whole life. It's a great feeling.

Here is a BEFORE: 






Here is my recent AFTER: 

WOW....  CONGRATS on reaching your goal..

You look fantastic.. what a difference.. You have made a great accomplishment.. I am so happy for you.. 130lbs  that is so good.. I bet you have had a lot of wow moments..

Setting a new goal is great.. you really seem to have the motivation.. you can do anything with motivation and our great tools from surgery..


Happy 2 year Anniversary.. a little early...

huggs..

OMG YOU LOOK AMAZING SWEETY CONGRATS TO YOU AND I HOPE YOUR HAVING A BLAST AND AGAIN CONGRATS

Congrats Elena! You should be the poster girl for the LapBand!

I've enjoyed hearing about your journey and your time in S.K. it's made me realize that I want to achieve my lifelong dream of joining the Peace Corps.

Nothings gunna stop us now! Keep doing amazing things gurl!!!

Congratulations, Elena!  That's wonderful.  You look great!

Way to go, Elena! You look terrific and it's obvious you're feeling that way too! You've done tremendous work with the help of your tool; that lil band has sure been effective but it's taken discipline and effort on your part too, of course...

Enjoy the upcoming Summer of '10...and btw, I commend your career choice at this point in your life, very admirable and rewarding, I bet!

~Linda

You have done great, Elena!   Congratulations on all your challenges and successes.  You are rockin' that tool in so many ways.

All the best to you and your continued success.

Elena,

What a difference, you look wonderful!

  You rock! Thanks for sharing.

Oh Elena, I am so happy for you!!  What an amazing accomplishment!  And I love what you said about eating to live now.  It's a goal for myself too!  You're an inspiration!!  Thanks for sharing those photos!  They're very high impact!  connie