going2Bthin
I was born and raised in a small community now called Temiskaming Shores. I started my life off trim and slim, was involved in track and field and was always active. Fell in love and married in 1975 (35 years ago in May) at a young age - I was around 125 lbs. (5 ft. 6in) the day I got married. Didn't have much trouble maintaining that weight for the first few years. My daughter was born in 1980 and my son was born in 1981. Was sick through both pregnancies, so there wasn't a huge weight gain there. I did "balloon" up to 145 lbs. (boy, what I would give to be 145 lbs and to start over) so decided to loose a few pounds. That was when all of my troubles began!! So, yes, I could lose 20 lbs. without any difficulty, but then when I gained it back I would gain it, plus 5 more lbs. Well, as most of you know, loose a few = gain more!! I tried them all - Diet Center, TOPS, Atkins, Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, South Beach. The weight would stay off for a little while, not too long though, and then I would gain it back, and more! The heavier I got, the harder it was to stay active. Hips, knees and all joints work harder and harder the heavier I got. It is a vicious circle really - we need to get the exercise in order to get fit and healthy which ultimately leads to some weight loss, but how do you exercise to loose the weight with all of the aches and pains and shortness of breath? My most successful weight loss program was the low GI eating. I found that it was fairly easy to follow - lost 33 lbs and maintained it for two years. Then I had my gall bladder out. There were complications - the Dr. didn't realise that it was so big... he should have probably done a full surgery instead of lapriscopic. 7 days later I was flown to Toronto to have the rest of it, plus all the sludge and crap that was left inside of me sucked out. 7 days on IV is one way to loose weight! That certainly triggered my old metabolism to SLOWWWW down. Gained back the 33 lbs that I had been maintaining plus 10 more. So, now what?? Two years ago my brother had WLS in the States. He lost 180 lbs. and could finally do some of the things that he has always wanted to do - got himself a motorcycle! I was in awe of how quickly his weight came off - he was a different person, both physically and mentally. I didn't even think at the time that WLS was an option for me - I had not done any research on it then. Thankfully my doctor went to a workshop down at Harvard and it compared yo-yo dieting to weight loss surgery and the effects on our body. He came back all enthuisiatic about weight loss surgery - weighed me, measured my height, calculated my BMI at 40 and sent in my referral noting that I had high blood pressure plus high cholesterol and history of heart disease in the family. My brother had been the only other person that he had referred to WLS before me - I bet you he will refer a lot more of his patients now! So, that is how my story goes.... Orientation is on April 12th and hopefully it will be a straightforward ride for me from here to a slim and trim me!! I look forward to being able to ride my horses again and being able to keep up with my three grandchildren who are 10, 4 and almost 3!
