4hmomwyo
I think my story will be a work in progress, but let me start as far back as possible. I'm 5ft. 2 inches tall and have been since 8th grade. I was a petite baby and all through Jr. High and High School I weighed 135 pounds. I always thought I was FAT!!! Some of that seems to be because I would compare myself to my slender peers--no muffin tops, no thunder thighs and I seemed to always have someone in my family telling me to "suck it in" or "you lost weight? Look behind you! Ha Ha!"
I have had asthma since kindergarten and subsequently could not do sports much or run in PE (back before we had good medications, when you just went along till you had an attack then you rushed to the ER to get an adrenaline shot or two!) I also had congenital hip dysplasia in both of my hips which started to flare up when I turned 15. I did ride horses alot and my "thunder thighs" were pure muscle if rather bulky looking.
So I started dieting in Jr High and High school--my mother was a big proponent of calorie counting, our whole family would go on restricted calorie diets together! After high school I put on the freshman 15 and then I met my husband. I went from 145 in July to 163 on my wedding day in March to 181 that July (yes, 38 pounds in one year--yikes!) when I started weight watchers for the first time. I was able to lose 20 pounds in one year of Weight watchers, and left that program to manage on my own. Two years later I got pregnant with my first child and weighed 190 pounds pre-pregnancy. Post pregnancy I got back down to 205 and got pregnant 4 months after my first child was born (there's a reason that they say only abstinence is 100% effective!!!) and topped the scales at 235. I did weight watchers again and only lost 16 pounds.
The weight it kept a creeping...Tried Xenacal--couldn't handle the side effects and lost NOTHING!!! Three hip surgeries later I could finally walk and work out, and joined Curves. Did the Curves diet and lost 21 pounds, kept it off for about 3 months before it started creeping up again.
My MIL comes to me in December and asks "ever heard of Lapband? My doctor said I should try it for my Diabetes." My husband asks me whether I've ever considered it and I said "yes, I was just waiting for your support!" It's been a journey and I am excited to be taking the next step....
