Ishkahara

I have battled with my weight for my whole life.  As a child, I was often bullied, and my mother was constantly trying to curb my eating, putting me on various diets, so my yo-yo dieting began very early.  Like most of us, I have always fallen into the trap of using food for comfort, followed by the self loathing and low self esteem brought about by the lack of will power to control the emotional eating.Over the last few months, I have had a number of health issues arise, I guess when you are in your 50's you can't get away with it anymore, so I tried to get my 'diet' back on track, but kept failing, and feeling very down.  Then I stumbled across some web sites, and then message boards etc., regarding lap band surgery, and I saw a glimmer of hope emerge...could this be what I need?  So I took myself off to my GP and got the referral to my surgeon.  I attended an information seminar on 25th August, had my initial consult with the surgeon on 27th August, and have had all the necessary tests etc done.  I have been on the optifast diet for just over 2 weeks, and have lost just under 7kg's (around 15 lbs).  I have been walking most days for around 30mins and I feel really good.  My skin and hair look fantastic (for a change) so it must be the lack of excess fat in the diet!  I go into hospital tomorrow morning (21st October), to be banded.  I don't feel nervous about the surgery really, as I've had several major abdominal ops in the past, but I am nervous about how I will cope with the major change in my eating patterns.  But I know this is the right choice for me, and I am looking forward to putting all my health issues to rights, and getting back to really enjoying life again.  I especially am looking forward to having a lot more energy, so I can keep up with the grand kids!Best wishes to all fellow bandits!Kerry