Fibis
Umm, wow, my story. Where to even begin? I have been overweight or struggling with weight since I was in the fourth grade. I even remember my grandmother locking me out of the house to make me run laps before she would let me in to play with my sister (who was skinny so she got to watch cartoons). I would like to think that this was done out of concern for my health and what lay ahead for me, but who knows? This is when I realized that I was fat. My parents of course loved me no matter what and tried to teach me to love myself, but this took some time. I became anorexic for two and a half years in high school and probably would not be here today if my mother had not caught on and half-dragged me kicking and screaming to the doctor's, counselor's, etc. After I began eating normally again, the weight came on with a vengence. I was at least 180 when I was a senior in high school. Once my second year of college came around, I was living on the fourth floor with no elevator and my weight was back down to 145. Duh, I was DYING!! As soon as I moved to a new dorm, here came the weight again. I weighed 160 when I got married and started having a lot of problems that I found out later were linked to my PCOS. I gained weight steadily and no matter what I tried I couldn't lose it. I faithfully followed the Atkin's Diet even though it almost meant the loss of several lives, and did not lose a pound. The dr said I was metabolically resistive. I was thrilled with Weight Watchers and found it easy to stick with - unfortunately the weight still wanted to stick with me. I joined a gym and worked out faithfully 2 hours a day minimum and lost 4 lbs total. What in the world am I supposed to do? I could eat healthy or eat crap and my weight didn't choose. So, I gave up and just ate whatever I wanted to. Fastforward a year or two and say hello to my 255 lbs. (I should mention somewhere that I am only 5'1".)
I got pregnant in October 2006 and gestational diabetes set in. My feet and ankles swelled horribly and none of these things ever went away. My body had fallen apart. Sleep apnea reared it's head during all of this turmoil and I realized that if I wanted to give my son a happy childhood, I was going to have to do something drastic. A very good friend and co-worker of mine had RNY a year ago and she looks great. More importantly, she feels great. I looked into things and made my decision. Everything moved rapidly after that. I filled out paperwork to see if I was a candidate right after my 30th birthday at the end of March and was meeting my insurance requirements in April. I was approved in 24 hrs in May and had my surgery July 1st!
I am so excited to have made a decision that will see me through to my new dreams, which are running and chasing my son in our yard, playing ball with him, going to the park, and maybe even Dollywood!
