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Testimonials: Jenny's Story

I had been overweight all my life, a fat child, fat teenager and fat adult. As a child about to start secondary school I was a size 16. I have no idea what I weighed as we had no scales but I do remember my size as I had to get my school skirt from the adult section in M&S. 

My first diet started when I was about 20 when I bought myself a calorie book and started to learn the calorific value of just about every food. I began a strict 1000 calorie a day diet and the weight soon came off, however as I got thinner and people started to comment on how well I looked I thought that maybe I had lost enough and that I really did look OK. The lowest weight I ever remember as an adult was 12 stone 8 and a size 16, and this was after dieting!

After the calorie controlled diet, I began piling on the pounds again as I believed I looked good and didn't need to continue dieting. I then joined weight watchers and remember being 15 stone 8. I followed their diet to the book but again, as soon as I started to loose weight and started receiving comments from people I gradually lost interest in dieting, and the weight soon went back on. I must have rejoned weight watchers 3 times in all, loosing and regaining weight each time. I also joined Slimmers World, tried the 'egg and grapefruit diet', Rosemary Connelly's diet, Fibre Diet and finally 'diet pills' from a so called doctor which made me really quite ill. The net result from all these Yo-Yo diets was that at the age of 36 I had fnally reached 20 stone and a size 26/28 and knew that I had to do something once and for all. I found it hard to walk very far, especially in the heat, and climbing stairs was very difficult.

It was at this time that I happend to see an article on the BBC Healthcheck programme about a woman (Janet) who had had some sort of gastric band surgery in France and had lost an amazing amount of weight. As soon as the programme had ended I went to the BBC website to see if I could find out more about this surgery and so started my six month research into gastric banding. What it meant, what it involved and if in fact it was the right thing for me.

Anyway, this is how, on December 1st, 2000 I came to be in Lyon about to undergo my life changing surgery. I was 127.7kgs, or 20 stone and half a pound, and only 5ft 3. I was also terrified and thought I would die!

My surgery was at 7am and before I knew what was happening I was back in the recovery room and remember looking at a clock and realising it wasn't yet 8am. Something had definitely gone wrong, my surgery hadn't taken place although I had had an anaesthetic as I was feeling very groggy At this point I decided to feel my stomach and was amazed to discover bandages there!!

By 9.30am I was back on the ward and I remember my husband being there and saying something about it all going really well and then I was asleep again. When I awoke properly later in the day I was visited by my surgeon who explained that everything had in fact gone extremey well, the operation had lasted only about 20 mins and that I would be up and out of bed later that evening! I did get up later and although I felt bruised - as if elephants had been dancing on my stomach - it didn't actually hurt very much, nothing like when I had my appendix removed years ealier or my 2 cesarian sections.

I had visits in the early evening from the dietician who explained what I would have to eat over the next few days and weeks and he gave me the relevant information sheets. The following morning I had to have a barium xray to check the gastric band was all ok and then I was discharged from hospital. My overwhelming memory was that the whole process was so quick, easy and relatively painless. The staff were all very kind and that nearly all of them spoke some english - remember I had my surgery in France.

I spent one extra day at a hotel before flying home and beginning my weight loss with my band. For the first few days, before I had m stiches or 'staples' removed, I was on just a liquid diet, but I had no appetite at all so this was not a problem. After a few days, I progressed to soft foods - thicker soups, mashed potato etc until after about 10 days I was back to eating normal food, however the quantity was a bit less than I would have eaten before. I remembered to chew my food much more and to eat more slowly. At first I was scared to eat as I thought I would damage my band but I soon became used to eating more carefully.

After six weeks I had my first appointment with my consultant in Lyon and I had a barium meal xray to check that the band was in the correct position - it was! I had actually lost only a small amont of weight and although I was initially dissappointed I was assured that this was OK and that my band was working correctly - I just needed my first fill. This took only a few moments, I didn't feel anything other than a small pin prick and I was soon on my home however I was told to be more careful over chewing my foods. My first meal at home was amazing as I could now tell that my band was restricting what I was eating - I was only able to eat about half the quantity that I had ever eaten before yet I felt full! I also stayed feeling full until my next meal and did not want to or could not snack in between meals - something I had always done before. I just didn't want to as there was no feeling of hunger at all! I was, and always have been, able to drink plenty, although I soon discovered that if I drank with my meal I couldn't eat as much food, so the trick was to drink before meals and only have a small drink, if any, with your food.

I was now loosing weight steadily, approximately 2.5 pounds per week although some weeks I lost up to 4 pounds but I don't know why. After several months, and about 4 stone in loss, my weight started to level out and I was finding it hard to loose any more although my eating was the same. Time for another 'fill'. This time my fill was much smaller but again it made a huge difference to me. I was now eating only about a quarter the quantity I had been eating prior to my surgery and with no sensation of feeling hungry in between! Hurray!! I was still drinking plenty but now found it difficult to eat meat no matter how much I chewed. Now was the time I got my recipe books out to see what to cook using fish and meals without meat. I love curry, as do my family, and I found a great way to still enjoy the same meal as them. I would often cook a curry, with meat, but add lentils or chickpeas as well. Both of these are a great source of protein and in the curries taste delicious! When I served up, I would give myself just the curry sauce with the chickpeas, leaving the meat part to my family - easy! The only downside is that my family, children included, now all love chickpeas as well so I have to add loads extra for them and not just me!!

Bread is also now a problem food for me, however crackers are delicious and easy to eat and I enjoy trying new ones and there are many different types available.

My weight loss has continued steadily at about 2 - 3 pounds per week. As my weight decreased I discovered that I could now excercise. I had been unable to do this before as I was jut too big and heavy and any form of excercise was extremely uncomfortable. I started out just walking - walking the kids to school instead of taking them in the car, then going for walks in the evening in the sumer months. We also got a dog which was something I had wanted for a very long time. Sam, our golden retriever, is a great addition to our family plus he is my excercise machine as he has to be walked at least twice per day. I love him to bits and I also love taking him for great long country walks.

My weight is now down to just under 11 stone. It took me about 18 months to loose and I have been the same for over a year now. I am slightly heavier (about a stone) than my ideal weight, but my size is 12/14 and more importantly, I feel comfortable at this size. I am able to buy clothes from just about any shop and am still amazed that 'the small sizes' fit me! I made a point of getting rid of all my 'big' clothes as I moved down a size however I did keep my biggest skirt, a denim skirt size 28, and a short sleeved top, to remind me of the size I was. My daughter and I can both get in the skirt at the same time! I have now also started to have 'unfills' and gradually increase the amount and types of food that I can eat, and still maintain my current weight.