(By Linda Doty)

I went to high school with a guy named Joey.  I don’t remember his last name.  He was in my German class, I do remember that.  I’ve not stayed in touch with him or anything, but he goes to my YMCA so I see him there at the gym.  I’m tempted to say “Ich heisse Linda.  Ich bin fünfzehn jahre alt.” but it’s sort of weird to tell someone you are fifteen years old when you’re really 45.  The problem is I don’t know how to say 45 in German.

Let me back up a little.

Hi, I’m Linda.  And it’s true – I am 45 years old.  This is not remarkable.  We all age at the steady rate of one year, well, per year.  Duh.  If you are looking for remarkable numbers (and let’s assume you are, or else my whole premise here loses steam), probably the most notable thing in that regard is that in a matter of days, my scale will reflect that I have achieved a weight loss of 100 pounds. Now THAT’S remarkable.  

Nearly a year ago, I had a procedure whereby a surgeon installed a rubber band device on my stomach.  Oh, it’s not really a rubber band, but it operates much the same way.  Probably, you’ve heard of this procedure – it’s called the LapBand procedure, which stands for laparoscopic banding.  It truly is a band which can be adjusted to create the right amount of tightness, or restriction, around the stomach of an obese person to aid in losing weight.
 
Some people call this the easy way.

Many on my LapBand support board (an online message board) get very upset over this.  “The easy way?” they protest.  “There is nothing easy about this way!”  They get all fired up and go on and on about how hard it is. 

And, truly, it is.

I cannot, however, join them in their righteous indignation.  I just can’t.  Because for more than 25 years, I’d been fighting this weight battle with only short term successes that seemed to slip away as quickly as my children when it’s time to unload groceries from my car.  To me, that was the hard way – the way I was doing it before.  In both cases, I have strived for a healthy weight – but now, I’m actually achieving it and holding on to my success.

 My LapBand was installed in May of 2009 and I’ve had tremendous success in my weight loss efforts since then.  I am the same person as I was before the procedure with the same desire to lose the weight and the same willingness to do the work – but now I have this aid in the form of my rubber band and it makes all the difference.  Truly, this is the easy way. 

Can I get a hallelujah for the easy way?

I think, though, that some people unfamiliar with this type of approach may not truly understand what I mean by that.  It doesn’t mean that when the rubber band goes on, the weight comes off auto-magically.  Oh no – that’s not all there is to it.   I still watch every bite and count every calorie.  I still work hard to move my body and burn more than I eat, creating a daily deficit between intake and output.  I still have to be responsible to do all those things.  Now, the difference is that I have a device which impacts my appetite and satiety.  I eat less frequently, I eat less in volume, I feel full sooner, and yet I still feel satisfied with what I eat.  I feel normal. 

I log many hours at my YMCA.  I face my nemesis, The Elliptical Trainer as well as her fraternal twin, The Adaptive Motion Trainer.  I do the circuit of strength equipment.  Every week, I use the assisted pull-up machine and I adjust the assistance setting at lower and lower levels.  I sweat and I grunt and I push myself harder.

I even get down on the floor mats and, though I’m tempted to, I never take that opportunity to nap.  Each time, I challenge myself to do 100 stomach crunches and 100 leg lifts and lots of stretches and girl push-ups and, well, OK I do sometimes meditate a little but that’s not the same as a nap!

Joey sees me there.  Joey from high school, I mean.  Remember him?  I mentioned him way back at the beginning of this article.  Joey and I weren’t buds in school or anything, but he knows who I am.  At 286 pounds, early in this journey, I made a concerted effort not to make eye contact with Joey or anyone else at the gym.  I think I was like a 2-year-old who believed if I couldn’t see them, then they surely could not see me.

Somewhere along the line, I’ve dropped that silliness.  Even though I am a sweaty mess – maybe because I am a sweaty mess – I now make eye contact, I nod my hellos.  I smile at my fellow gym rats.  I wonder if Joey is thinking “Ich heisse Joey.  Ich bin fünfzehn jahre alt.”  Probably not.

I think about telling him “Hallo, Joey.  Ich heisse Linda.  Ich wiege 188 Pfund.” 
Instead, I’ll tell you:  Hi, my name is Linda.  I weigh 188 pounds.

I’m there at the gym week after week, month after month.  I am working my ass off, literally. 

 This easy way is hard work.  Joey knows.

Linda Doty wears many hats: wife, mom, sister, friend, daughter, boss, employee, jester (because jester hats are cool!). She’s been married for 25 years (to two different men – but wants credit for all the time served!) and has five daughters who range in age from 5 to 26. She works full time out of the house (she tells everyone she’s an astronaut, but that is simply not true) and travels quite a bit for her job. She writes because she enjoys it, and while she has been published in several local publications, her personal website is where she does most of her writing. (http://www.justlinda.net) Find her on Twitter at @JustLindaSTL.