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The top 5 ways to measure your Lap Band journey - without the scale!!

By Jodie Flynn

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 16Aug2009 Word count: 638 Viewed: 344 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Those of us on the Lap Band journey generally measure our success through the scale - this can sometimes be deceiving. We can be retaining fluid at certain times of the month or building muscle and because muscle takes up less space than fat, we have lost inches but no weight on the scale - this can be frustrating! Some of us even get obsessed with the scales and the numbers that show up, but there are other ways to measure your success on the Lap Band journey - here are our top 5!!

1. Your clothes

For most of us who have been obese, we have a wardrobe chock full of different sizes - when I started my Lap Band journey, I had at least 7 different sizes of clothing in my wardrobes. I have used this to great effect on my journey. I started off in the largest size and I had a pair of pants in the next size down hanging behind my bedroom door. Every week I would try on this pair of pants and when they fit, I started wearing them and threw out the old, larger pair. I am down 4 pants sizes since the beginning of my Lap Band journey and I have my eye on the next size down which is hanging on my bedroom door!

2. How long it takes you to walk a mile

For many of us who have had a gastric band fitted, exercise is an alien concept (or more like alien torture!). Exercise can be one of the best indicators of fitness and weight loss! Walking or any form of exercise becomes easier and easier the more weight that you lose because you're not hauling around so much weight. Work your way up to walking a mile starting with 10mins of walking if that's all you can do. Once you are walking a mile, write down the time that it takes you to complete the distance. Repeat this measure each week and see how quickly your body responds to consistent exercise and weight loss.

3. Monthly photos

You might not notice the differences that are happening every day when you look in the mirror but a picture is worth a thousand words! Take photos of yourself from the front, side and back at the same time each month and watch the changes take place! This also serves as a great record of where you have come from. If you are feeling frustrated with your journey - take out these pictures and compare where you were at the start to your latest photos, generally this will cheer you up straight away!

4. Compliments from family and friends

It's really lovely when we receive compliments from friends, family or even colleagues and this is a great way to see how you're going on your journey. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time for people to notice the weight that you have lost if you have quite a bit to lose but then generally the compliments will come thick and fast!

5. Your own measure

For many of us, there are some great personal measurements that we can take. Some people like to measure the reduction in the number of medications that they are taking, some will measure it by the pain (or lack thereof) in their backs when they are in bed. For me, I have a strange measuring system and that is the bathtub! I like to have baths for a treat and each time I get in, I check to see how far my thighs are from the edges. In the beginning, both thighs hit either side of the bath, now I they are nowhere near it and I can get my whole fist between my thigh and the bath - now I am aiming for 2 fists! What is your personal measure?

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