Fill-Jill

In my younger days I was in good shape.  I even won a wet t-shirt contest once!  I loved gymnastics and came third in one Ottawa/Hull meet.  I taught gymnastics and dancing as well.  I loved to ski and became a Ski Patrol in my early 20's.  Then, I got married, had babies (4 of them!!) and traded in the active, single life for stay-at-home motherhood!  Don't get me wrong ... I love being a mom and I love being a housewife, but over the many years and years of staying at home I gained and gained and gained.  Now, my 55th birthday is around the corner and I am more than 100 pounds overweight.  I hate exercise and I'm addicted to eating!  I love food.  Hunger is not a factor in my eating habits.  I eat because I like eating, period.  I don't think I'm an emotional eater - happy, sad, frustrated, excited . . . whatever . . . food is great!   So here I am . . . after years and years of pledging that "this will be the year!!"  Ha!  I've finally come to the place that I am not going to fool myself any longer.  Enough is enough.  Me ... Miss Independent, Miss "I Can Handle it Myself" needs diet help!  I can't wait.  So far, I'm relatively healthy . . . but I'm playing with fire big time!  I will reap what I'm sowing if I don't do something about it now.  Originally, I went to my doctor because I wanted to have gastric bypass.  But, it turns out I'm not unhealthy enough for that procedure.  I don't have out-of-control hypertension, or sleep apnea, or arthritis, or heart disease, or lung disease, or diabetes ... so I can't get that help.  No gastric bypass for me.  How discouraged I was after that appointment!  That's when I seriously started considering lap banding - even though I had to pay quite a pretty penny for it.  It will be worth every cent if it brings the results I want. So I called a clinic in Toronto and - presto - I was scheduled for the surgery in just over a week!!  That's fast!  Wow!  My MasterCard has processed the payment faster than I've processed the fact that by next Friday I'll be a lap bander!  I'll be on my way.  I turn 55 two days after my surgery.  So this WILL be the year!  (I've been promising myself THAT since my 30th birthday!!)I'm hoping to meet people on this forum so that we can share our journeys together!