Lap Band for a Soap Actress

In the performing arts, appearance is not everything, it’s the only thing. Well, that and some acting ability anyhow.

As many more thousands of people tackle their weight via the Lap Band, more well-known, semi-famous and high profile people are reporting their how delighted they are with the pounds that melt away.

Recently speaking openly about her Lap Band procedure is Caitlin Van Zandt, a now 23-year-old actress on the “daytime drama” – a soap opera to the rest of us – Guiding Light.

Caitlin was tipping the scales “well over” over 200 pounds – she didn’t want to say exactly how much over 200 – but her physician advised Caitlin she was flirting with diabetes; he also found her cholesterol was far too high.

On the show, Caitlin’s wardrobe changes were getting to be a pain because she constantly needed larger sizes. And her doctor was ready to prescribe cholesterol medicine.

Caitlin says she’s been overweight since she was a child and has tried every diet under the sun.

So weight loss surgery was a definite possibility for her.

She heard about the procedure from a Lap Band doctor in New York City and liked it for a couple of reasons, including:

“    No cutting or rerouting of the stomach and other organs
Other bariatric surgery requires the stomach to be blocked off with stitches or staples. Some surgery reroutes the stomach into the intestines.

“    The Lap Band’s adjustable feature

Every Lap Band patient has a small internal port near his or her stomach; the Lap Band doctor can inject salt water into that port to make the Lap Band tighter or looser

Long story short? Since February of 2008, Caitlin has gone from a size 22 dress to a size 10 and is flirting with a size 8 which she can sometimes wear.

She has now lost 92 pounds and wants to drop eight more so that she’s a permanent size 8.

Caitlin reports eating small meals, along with a just a few bites of desert. Since her weight loss surgery, her cholesterol levels are normal and her Body Mass Index is within normal limits.

And she loves shopping at Victoria’s Secret!