Still day 52- One time at Band Camp...

Okay everyone I have transcribed the whole article from today's The Sunday Age M magazine (page 17)

One Time at Band Camp…
From Mr Morbidly Obese to Personal Fitness Trainer.

The overseas trip had been phenomenal. New places, new sites, the best thing he’d ever done. Then it was time to look at the photos. But when 26 year old Andy Spalding couldn’t bear to look at himself and recall his great memories, he knew it was time to explore an option he’d been wary of. “Laparoscopic Gastric Banding”, an adjustable surgical band placed around the stomach via key hole surgery, aimed at achieving weight loss by inducing a sense of fullness and restricting the capacity of the stomach. Two years and 50 kilograms later, not only does Andy proudly yield his camera wherever he goes, but he is a qualified gym instructor and personal fitness trainer and now he’s gearing up to help other “gastric bandsters” through their weight loss journey.

“As soon as I had my gastric banding surgery and saw how successful it had been for me, I knew I wanted to help others experience the confidence that comes with being in control of your weight,” says Andy.

“People who’ve never been overweight can’t fully appreciate the decisions that overweight people have to deal with on a daily basis. Like, is this chair strong enough to hold me? Can I fit onto the roller coaster? Will I fit into the plane seat? They know they need to address their problem but hey don’t really know where to start. They know that exercise will work, but they don’t want to see a personal trainer who’s always been healthy, fit and thin.”

Andy’s weight issues began in childhood. Bt it wasn’t until he was 18 years old that his weight started to pile on. “I had moved out of home, was in a sedentary office job that involved shift work and I started to make poor food choices. It was just easy to eat convenient, fast food and I was very inactive.” Andy had tried to lose weight through self- regulated exercise, medication and had even participated in weight loss programs. “Nothing really seemed to work for me. Everything would go smoothly for the first six weeks, but I’d only ever lose a few kilos and my motivation would just plummet.”

Andy underwent gastric banding surgery in August 2005. A relative had just had the procedure and Andy decided to attend an information night held by the local surgeon. “The clincher for me was finding out that the operation was reversible because I had always assumed this was not the case.” Three weeks after the operation he had already lost 12 kilograms and was urged by the surgeon to slow down because he was losing weight too quickly. A year later, Andy managed to attain his lowest weight of 99kg. “It was my goal to reach a weight under 100 kg. Now, with all the exercise that I am doing, the running, boxing with clients and competing in sporting events, I have a controlled and regulated set weight at about 104 kilograms.”

Before and after laparoscopic gastric banding surgery, patients are generally managed by a team of health professionals who assist with the weight loss process. Doctors monitor a person’s suitability for the operation, the post-operative care and manage weight loss. Because the weight loss requirements differ from person to person, one of the major benefits of gastric banding, is hat the band can be adjusted by injecting or withdrawing fluid through an access port placed under the skin of the abdomen. This helps adjust the rate of weight loss and can be done in just a few minutes by the surgeon.

Gastric banding is also minimally invasive, it involves a simple laparoscopy, and is fully reversible. There is no permanent change to the stomach and if people change their mind the band can be taken out. There have been more than 14,000 banding procedures performed in Australia alone and weight loss with gastric banding has also been shown to help resolve and/or improve obesity-related conditions such as type II diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obstructive sleep apnoea. Dieticians help with food intake assessment and nutritional monitoring before and after the operation and tailored exercise programs are recommended.

According to Andy, exercise and being active are just as important as dietary intake in weight loss after the operation. “In order to drop the kilos, you have to get moving and expend energy.”

Having the surgery has also opened Andy up to other challenges including horse ridding – in the past most horses couldn’t carry his weight – and surfing, and he is now totally addicted to running, something he hated passionately before his operation. But best of all, there’s the enlivening feeling of liking what you see.” For about five years I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror. I used to squint to distort my image whenever I had to brush my teeth or put my tie on.”

“When it came to buying clothes, I would walk into shops and ask, what have you got in my size? Now I walk into shops I choose what I want to wear, not what is chosen for me. I have no issues with my confidence now. I certainly don’t mind stealing that extra glance in the mirror.”

Soon after gaining qualifications from the Australian Institute of Fitness, Andy started working as a gym instructor and eventually opened his own fitness business, Active Balance Personal Training. Late last year Andy trained a small group of women with gastric bands to run in the Melbourne Marathon. “There were four of us who ended up running on the day. It took us just over four hours, which is quite a remarkable achievement given that this was the first time that any of us had ever competed in a running event. It was inspiring to be involved in that sort of activity and to hear the crowd cheer you on and we gained so much enjoyment from knowing that we could do something like this now.”

‘I knew I wanted to help others experience the confidence that comes with being in control of your weight.”

This year, Andy is planing to compete in the full Melbourne Marathon. But for Andy it’s really about being able to do simple, little things that every one else takes for granted. “Taking that seat on the plane, going to that party, tearing through the countryside on that horse that you’ve always wanted to ride, that’s what’s so fantastic now.”