joann V.
Hi Everyone -- my name is JoAnn and I am 40 years old (wow -- time flies!) and a proud mother of two of the best kids ever, DeeAna 18 and Angelina 15, and grandmother to the most adorable little girl, this side of the Missisippi River (inside joke) Mariah who just turned 1 Dec 30, 2006. I am married to a wonderful christian man by the name of Javier Valencia and we just celebrated our 2nd anniversary April 9th. In somewhat of a nutshell I've struggled with my weight for most my life. I was always "big boned" as a younger child and at the age of 13 started my first diet "The Beverely Hills diet" - all I ate was fruits, literally, and the day the diet allowed me to have a dessert I passed out and ended up in the E.R. and the Doctor told my mother and I, this will probably be the beginning of a lifetime of dieting -- he couldnt have been more right. Weight really became a problem for me after the birth of my first daughter, I gained over 50 lbs, and never lost any of it for long. A few years later her sister was born and although I only gained another 20, this too I didnt lose, in face I started severe dieting, quit smoking 2x and ended up settling in at around 215. I stayed at this weight for a few years but managed to lose a massive amount of weight with Atkins and had quit smoking my last time (I promise) and the end result of that was my weight skyrocketing to where I am now ... 259. The first time I allowed the doctors to weigh me for a actual doctors appointment and they told me "250" - I started to cry -- I came home and I cried and I've been so afraid of starting yet another diet and end up failing miserably as my past has already proven. Due to my age and my high weight gain I am really feeling this weight and am now on two medications. I really can't stand being this weight, am scared of dieting, and those two things brought me to consider a commercial I've been seeing as of lately, for the procedure called LapBand. It seems safer than Gastric Bypass -- although I am considering that too. I just want to be a normal weight and I want to live long enough to see more grandchildren and their children and have many more years with my family. It sure would be nice to look good too! Well -- this is my story, feel free to read up and see what happens on this journey of possible weight loss surgery. Thank you for reading my story.
