lucky2bLAURA

I hope you can, because that's one of my goals. I want to be able to ride all the rollercoasters at Six Flags again. I have a million little things on my "skinny list". :-)

I think a lot of why I'm fat is genetics. On my mother's side of the family everyone is HUGE! On my father's side everyone has that hollow leg thing, they eat all the time and never gain a pound. I look just like my mother, in body at least.

That's not an excuse though. When I was younger I was skinny. Then I started to get the depo-prevara (sp?) birthcontrol injections, and gained 40 lbs in a about 3 months. I was so hungry all the time. Then I gained the rest of it after working the night shift and eating to keep my energy level up. I get next to no exercise.

I'm just ready for a change. I want to change everything. I want to start eating for the taste not the quantity. I want to be able to walk more than a few blocks before I have to sit down. I want to go shopping and buy pretty clothes instead of just ordering clothing that is SO not flattering.

I'm willing and ready to do whatever I have to do to be healthy again.

So happy for you!!! Congrats....

I'm so happy for you!! A year... That's what inspires me to get the surgery. To think in a year or so I can reverse everything I've done wrong the last 12+ years... I know there is going to be some hard work ahead, but knowing that it works is wonderful. Reading other peoples success stories is really helping me get thru the waiting period required by my insurance (monitered weight loss program).

YIPPIE!!!! I'm happy for you! I've still got 4 more months of weigh-ins before I find out if I'll be approved... but hopefully it will pass in a blur. :-)

I came across the post and thought I could add my own two cents. :-)

I have had psoriasis (a bad skin condition) since I was 8 yrs old, and when I was 18-20 and I started dating where there was a possibility of the realtionships becoming intimate, I was scared that my skin would be a major turn off. But I always dated great guys, and I waited until I knew them and was pretty confident that they wouldn't freak out when I told them. And I always told them that my skin was scarred and blotchy before they ever saw me naked. It gave me a sense of power and control over my own reaction when I knew that they could handle it. And I never had a boyfriend that was grossed out or anything. They loved me and wanted to be with me.

Hello everyone! My name is Laura, and I from Denison, TX... born and raised. I've been preparing for my lap-band journey for a couple of months now, and just had my first one-on-one visit with the doctor. 6 months or so from now I will be ready to have the surgery. I am 5'8.5 inches and weigh in at a whopping 299 lbs. My goal weight is 150 lbs, but if I lose more that's fine too. But I will be happy with 150.

I haven't been really fat my entire life, I was a chubby little kid but after I started growing taller I lost the baby fat. When I graduated high school I was slim, but I started gaining weight, about 20 lbs in college then 30 after I had to drop out. I gained a lot of weight after I started getting Depo-Provera birth control shots in 1998. I gained about 40 lbs in 4 months. Then I started working a night shift a couple of years later and that's where I've gained the last 60 or so lbs. I kept thinking I'll get around to it... join a gym, start eating better... but all of a sudden I looked up and 11 years have passed by in the blink of an eye. Sure I've done all kinds of diets, but I'm very headstrong. I'm a grown woman if I want to eat cheesecake or a cheeseburger Imma gon' do it, no matter what the consequences may be. So I don't stick to diets for very long. I don't hold myself accountable when it comes to food. But I'm ready to start, and I know that I will need the help that the lap-band and the doctors office will provide me. I'm ready to eat whatever they tell me to eat and not eat what they tell me not to eat. I'm ready to start getting the exericse I need. I'm actually looking forward to that part, I love to excercise. I'm going to start that during the next six months. It's been awhile since I've actually exercised on a regular basis. I have psoriatic arthritis. I've had psoriasis for most of my life, and the arthritis started about 8 yrs ago. I was diagnosed 6 yrs ago, and have been on medication for it since then. My rheumatologist is almost as excited about this as I am, he says I'm carrying an extra person around with me with all this extra weight. He thinks I might be able to stop the meds or at least lower the dosages when I get healthy.

I'm glad this forum is here, I've learned a lot just reading the posts. I hope to get to know more people soon...

See ya,

Laura