For the month of December, I’ll be participating in Reverb 10. Each day gives a new
prompt, which is a chance to reflect on 2010 and manifest what’s
next in 2011. 
December 29 –
Defining Moment Describe a defining moment or series of events that
has affected your life this year. (Author: Kathryn Fitzmaurice)
2010 brought many defining moments: getting Lulu, deciding to move,
and choosing to apply for lap band surgery. Each of these actions
had positive ripple effects that will last into 2011 and beyond.
For this post, I’ll focus on the 3rd item – lap band surgery. In
late June of 2010 I finally decided to take my doctor’s advice and
look into lap band surgery. And that decision allowed me to move
away from the thought that wls was the easy way out. Far from it,
it’s a tool that aids in weight loss, but it only works if the
person is 100% committed. I feel strongly that lap band surgery is
going to be exactly what I need to finally take this weight off.
It’s not magic, it’s a method. One of the requirements of the
surgery is to lose 30 lbs (for me, everyone has individual goals
set by their surgeons). Faced with this seemingly daunting
challenge I started tracking in LoseIt and cut my daily calories to
Kaiser’s recommended 1200. I had lots of stops & starts,
but decided to eat frozen entrees for dinner as a way to control
portions. That, coupled with finding my “sweet spot” of 1400
calories helped me finally figure out how to start losing weight. I
can confidently write that I will have all 30 pounds off by March
2011. The most significant moment came when the surgeon told me I
had to quit smoking or he wouldn’t operate. Before that, I’d wanted to quit but wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to. That was the only impetus needed. I’ve been smoke free for 143 days!!!
And here’s that moment of definition: I proved to myself that if I put my mind to something and completely commit to it, I can do anything.
Bella on the Beach 