Aracay
Hello and welcome! I am 50 years old, married, and the mom to one wonderful 12 year old son. I used to work as an Informations Systems professional, but after 25 years of that, I felt it was time to move on. I have done all kinds of things since then. I went back to school and became certified in Deaf Studies and learned American Sign Language. I worked on a grant funded study to look at the maternal stresses of moms with deaf babies, and researched their language development. I started a business teaching ASL to parents who wanted to sign with their babies, but ended up closing the business because the timing wasn't right for my business partner. Since then, I have been a stay at home mom, and am currently enrolled in the URI Master Gardener program. I manage to stay very busy.
My battle with my weight began when I attended my first Weight Watchers meeting at age 16. From then on, it has been years of dieting, using the Atkins diet back in the 70's (lost 50 pounds and gained back 60), Weight Watchers twice more (lost 55 pounds each time, gained back more), Phen-fen (lost 35, gained back 50) and Xenical (maybe lost 15, and gained it back as well). I have always exercised, and truly enjoy it. I currently belong to the gym, and I work out 5 days a week, doing the eliptical, treadmill, and using the weights. I feel better when I work out, I sleep better, and my clothes fit better. But I seem to be stuck at this weight. Menopause seems to have made losing even more difficult.
I know I eat large portions, and hope the Lap-Band will help me control this. I have researched the surgery for a while, and I understand it is no magic bullet. I know that I need to do the work, and the surgery is a tool. But that's what I need. I have the big 3 - type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. This is the main reason I want to have the surgery. I feel the risks of doing the surgery override the risk of not doing it. In my little nuclear family, there are only the 3 of us, and anyone who goes missing will be sorely missed by the other two. It's time to get my weight under control. I also know that by changing my life to accomodate this surgical change, I will be helping my family to eat healthier, make better choices, and will be a better example to my son.
So let the journey begin! Namaste.
