Catmo

Like many people, I have always been on the heavy side.  Since I have large bones, I am able to carry a lot of weight and not look too heavy. About 6 years ago, while I was becoming pre-meopausal, I took a new job, moved and broke up from a (bad) relationship. This is when I started emotional eating. I tried many, many diets--Weight Watcher (a number of times), Atkins, South Beach, over the counter diet pills and liquids, and a Nutrionist. I have the most "success" with Weight Watchers, losing 25 lbs.  However, when I got bored and went back to regular eating, I gained that back and more. The Nutrionist was very promising and I lost 25 lbs. working with her and then my mother died.  I saw myself slip back into the old habits of eating to relieve the emotions I was feeling. I saw myself and couldn't stop. This was about 3 years ago. I have probably gained about 50-60 pounds since then. During that time I joined a gym but ended up with Plantar Fascitis and a torn meniscus.  After those surgerys, I gained more weight and again joined a new gym. I now have a torn meniscus in my other leg and some sort of elbow injury to my left arm.
That was the deciding factor.  Not so much the weight, which definitely bothered me, but the fact that I could do anything anymore. I had trouble walking up the stairs to my bedroom, trouble walking anywhere! I loved vacationing in Florida and Puerto Rico, but the trouble walking was putting a big damper on things.  I didn't even have the stamina to play with my grandchildren!
I had toyed with the idea of WL surgery in the past but my husband had been scared and made me scared, too.  I had met a number of people who had Gastric Bypass and looked wonderful! I also knew a lot of people who had gained back the weight with this method and had a lot of excess flab that they weren't able to get rid of. I was at my local hospital one day and saw a flyer for an informational session on LapBand surgery. I made a decision to go to find out about it. I asked my husband and my girlfriend to go with me. We learned a lot about the success of the surgery and how the weight loss was slower and more managable. I think the biggest thing that swayed me was that, if I ever wanted to, I could have it removed in a 20-minute procedure (hoping that I wouldn't).
I went through all of the insurance requirements--losing 14 lbs (which I gained back after I was approved), the nutrionist, cardio doctor, psychiatrist, etc. I had my surgery May 31, 2011 (yesterday from this writing). I'm looking forward to being able to lose a few pounds and utilize that gym membership that I'm paying for!