I had been married for 18 years at that time, and had gradually put on 8-10 lbs a year. I had tried gyms, personal trainers, nutritionist, walking, joined Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, NutraSystem, been to diet Dr.’s.

I could go on and on. I so desperately wanted to get back down to 155 (what I weighed when I got married).

My weight yo-yo’d so frequently, I’m surprised my health is as good as it is today. I was so depressed, my marriage was falling apart, I had no life except work. I began hearing about a weight loss surgery…Lap Band.

So I began searching all I could find on the internet. I finally located a Dr. with credentials that was to my satisfaction. Dr. Jaime Ponce in Dalton, GA. I contacted them to set up an appointment for consultation.

After I met him, I left with a different attitude. He offered me something nothing else had, a life time change, not a quick fix. I scheduled my surgery for November 6, 2006, by that time my weight was 246.

It has been 21 months I am down to 142 and a BMI of 21, (which had been 36). I don’t regularly exercise, but I must say I’m healthier today than I’ve ever been. My marriage has been restored and I thank God for this opportunity.

Insurance did not cover this, we had to dish out $20,000.00, but I’d probably spent that much over my life time of trying to lose weight anyway, so what was another 20???? This may not be everyone’s answer, but it was mine.

I follow a general routine, eating 2-3 small meals a day, sometimes I snack, but I love that feeling of being full. I had never had that before, just hunger.

Needless to say, my puppies have also lost weight since my surgery. Sometimes I think they feel like I don’t love them anymore, because when I eat, they don’t get anything, cause I eat all my small portion!

As of now, I have lost 44 lbs and continue to reduce. Swimming has helped.

My husband and I swim three times a week at our local Swimming Center which has an Olympic size pool with 10 lanes for lap swimming.

The Jenny Craig diet was very easy to follow. I was never hungry and the food was good. The entries were supplemented with fresh fruit and veggies.

Soon, I will be gradually reducing the amount of Jenny Craig food and following their menus.

The food was so appetizing that my children wanted some of my dinner. No way!!

This was all I was going to get and there will be No Sharing. I look forward to being able to touch my toes again and to get on the scale and not be embarrassed.

Buying clothes was a nightmare. In my twenty something days, I wore a size 6. No more. But I am on my way. I was on the men’s diabetic diet as I am hypoglycemic.

The men’s diabetic diet allowed my sugars to stabilize while still losing 2 lbs a week. I would recommend Jenny Craig to anyone who wants to lose weight, not be hungry and learn how to eat a healthy diet.

On this plan you purchase their food (about $130.00 a week for each of us) and then integrate your own foods into the plan.

The diet was easy to follow because it is extremely structured. We tried to do a walking plan as well and stuck to it for about 3 months.

We both lost the weight that we wanted to but my husband’s weight came off quicker. He had great success in cutting most of the sugar out his diet (in coffee, soda, etc.) and I am still trying to follow his lead on this for myself.

I feel that this is the key in long-lasting weight loss.