Jewel-in-the-rough

Hi I'm Julie, as in "Jules," or what I'm now saying is a "Jewel in the Rough" (at least for now!) I'm 45, a single mom, and self employed. I haven't always been overweight, but my weight has always been a struggle since I was about age 30. I lost all the weight after my 2nd child, but then managed to gain it all back (and then some) over a 10-year period. So far the health consequences have been only high blood pressure and sleep apnea, but I'm sure that diabetes, etc., is just around the corner. So the question for me became: Do I want to kill myself slowing, or finally start living a healthier life? And then there's the very real issue of not being able to live the day-to-day life I want to live. I cannot do the activities I used to enjoy, and I simply don't feel good inside my body.

So after a lot of on-again, off-again diet and exercise programs with limited and fleeting success, I started researching WLS. I had concerns about both gastric bypass and banding, and then learned about the "newer" sleeve gastrectomy. It had none of the things I didn't like about other procedures, and yet seemed to be the powerful tool that could help me get where I need to go.

My surgery date is unscheduled at this point, but will be some time before the end of 2011. I'm nervous, a little scared, but mostly very excited.

Let the journey to my inner gem begin!