After accepting that there was little I could do to permanently change my body shape through diet and exercise, I had made the decision to live as healthily as I could and forget about punishing fitness and eating regimes. I established a regular exercise routine, adopted a normalised eating pattern and enjoyed an active lifestyle. Over time, I learned to become comfortable as a larger woman.

Although comfortable within myself, the physical implications of my size were hard to ignore. I outgrew the clothes stocked by larger sized stores and had to learn to sew in order to be able to dress myself. I had difficulty fitting comfortably into many standard chairs and, of course, airline seats for any length of time. Whenever I was on holiday I had to carefully plan activities to ensure that my size would be accommodated. In many cases leisure activities couldn’t accommodate me and I had to accept the fact that I was unable to ride roller coasters, ride in a speed boat or sky-dive. It was the thought of being free of these physical limitations that initially attracted me to the band.

I was quite anxious about the procedure and how sore I might feel afterwards, but needn’t have worried.

I experienced only 48 hours of discomfort in the hospital and recovered quickly. Within four days of the surgery I was able to do a moderate 40 minutes on the treadmill and was back to my usual aerobic routine within six days. I had taken two and a half weeks off work, but I could easily have gone back within a week.

It would be fair to say that my life has changed dramatically since I decided to have Lapband surgery.

Obviously I have lost a substantial amount of weight and that has meant that I am now free of many of the physical limitations that I struggled with as a morbidly obese person prior to surgery. However, that loss has not come without effort and there have definitely been some challenges along the way.

One of the biggest challenges was learning to live with the restrictions imposed by the Lapband. I am luckier than most Lapbanders because I can still eat a wide variety of foods in normal-sized portions. However, there have been times when I found it difficult to digest natural, wholesome and fibrous food. Some mealtimes have felt like a battlefield as I struggle to get food down. During those times I've had to use Meal Replacement Supplements to try and maintain a healthy diet. I've also had to learn to deal with the fact that can no longer grab a quick bite to eat on the run and have to make the time to sit down and work through each meal. I've also had to learn to live with some discomfort and regurgitation. I was warned that I would probably have to deal with these after surgery but there are times when I still find it difficult dealing with both the physical reality and the frustration of losing a good nutritious meal.

Another challenge has been coming to terms with the fact that my weight stabilised after I had lost only two thirds of my excess weight. I remember being told that most patients can only expect to lose that amount of weight but I had met some Lapbanders who had lost more and reached 'normal' weights and there was a part of me that was hoping that I might be able to beat the odds too. I believe that I probably could lose more weight if I had another inflation to further restrict my intake or if I resorted to dieting but I'm basically comfortable at my new weight and am not considering doing either at the moment.

• Pre-Op Pureed Foods (3 weeks)
• Post-Op Fluids (2 weeks)
• Solid Foods (2 mls in band)
• Solid Foods (3.5mls in band)
• Solid Foods (3.75mls in band)

Exercise has been a really important part of my life for a number of years and continues to be important now that I have had the lapband operation.

I began exercising at the age of 25 when I hit rock-bottom in terms of my weight. At that young age I found it difficult to walk for any distance, I suffered in the heat and was distraught to find that I was unable to sit in restaurant chairs. I knew I needed to do something! Having already realised that dieting was not the answer, I turned to exercise.

I joined Les Mills in Auckland and found a wonderful trainer who helped me get started. I didn't experience a huge weight loss but my life changed forever. As I became fitter I was more active and reclaimed my life!

I guess I find it easier to keep active because exercise literally gave me back my life!!!

• The first month
• The second and third months
• The fourth, fifth and sixth months
• The seventh, eighth and ninth months

For what they are worth, these are the strategies that have helped me over the past few months:

• Eating 5-7 small meals per day. This not only helped to curb my hunger but also gave me more opportunities to optimise my nutritional intake. This definitely became more difficult after my inflation to 3.75mls.
• Recording EVERYTHING I ate. This not only helped me to balance my diet but also helped me keep things in perspective when I thought I had "blown it".
• Having Ensure meal replacement supplements on hand at all times for times when I was either in too much of a hurry to manage a real meal or to replace a meal that I had vomited up.
• Beginning each day that I could with at least 40mins exercise. This not only helped me to burn fat and build lean muscle mass but also gave me a good mental boost and helped to keep me on track for the rest of the day.
• Having regular consultations with my Dietician, Cathy Khouri from Hamilton. Cathy analysed what I was eating and was able to tell me what vitamins, minerals and other nutrients my diet was lacking and ways of increasing my intake.

After struggling with reflux, the associated sleepless nights and substantial weight gain (44kgs), I have had my lapband removed and taken the brave step of converting to a gastric bypass. I'm very aware of the risks associated with this procedure and did not undertake my conversion lightly. I'm hopeful that it will allow me to enjoy the benefits of a lower weight over the long term without the complications of reflux! If you want to see how I am doing you can join the New Zealand Bypassers Discussion List where I actively post.