Finetnredbone

I sit in these lap band classes and listen to stories from other people that really make me feel  bad and wonder why people would treat others so horribly. I am ashamed to say that I have never been discriminated against because of weight and I've never felt pressured to lose weight because of the way that others treat me. I have always had very high regards for myself, but it may be in all the way that I was raised, and the fact that I have been very outgoing all of my life. The most convincing factor for me is that I am a health care professional and I started seeing an increase in obesity in the patient population and not to discount the fact that I had an uncle and aunt to drop dead from massive heart attacks. We seem to stay extremely small all of our young adult lives and then at about age 35 the weight starts to pack on. When I saw this starting to happen to me, I felt that I must do something about it. Because of the way that my body is shaped, I always said that as long as I was just gaining in my hips and buttocks and not in my abdomen then I wasn't really at risk for heart disease or diabetes. Just a few months ago I was diagnosed with hypertension and decided that this had to be the cut off point in addition to the fact that I started to experience some bone and joint problems. So even though I felt that I still looked good in my clothing, I need to lose the weight so that I can have a better chance at having a healthy long life, and be able to buy some of the designer clothing that they don't sell in my size. I am so excited. I am on the pre-op diet right now and it hasn't been easy but I just keep thinking about the benefits in the long run and the shopping sprees. I have started to exercise with friends for at least 30-45 minutes daily. I think the key to this thing is a strong support system.