machre
My story - well, where does one start...
I was always the "plump" child - never really "obese" as a child, but always "chubby" - in my teen years, the same thing - but I was very self-conscience of it. I am short (5ft 1 in) so that was going against me as well. My Mom had always struggled with her weight, and as an impressionable teen, that is what I saw -My Mom not being happy with her weight. When I was in high school, Mom worked for Weight Watchers as a receptionist - I would go with her every week, and watch her strip down to her underwear to weigh in - with Weight Watchers - to work there, you have to be at goal. On the way home, we would stop at a fast food restaurant, have a "last supper" and start again on the "diet" the next day. So as an impressionable teen these are the games I saw.
Fastforward to college - I didn't gain the "freshman fifteen" - by this time, I was a fanatic about exercise and was able to keep my weight under control - but not healthy - I would say, at that time, I was borderline bulimic - but couldn't throw-up - so I exercised.
I got married - Don and I had dated since I was a junior in high school so he had seen me at all weights and loved me for me - that was very comforting. I had 3 children in 8 years - but Ican't blame my weight gain on them - I would go to Weight Watchers after each child and get all the weight off.
As life started getting busier, and busier with 3 children, a husband deployed, working, activities, I started getting OCD about things - and I felt like the only thing I could control was my weight - so, I was "thin-ish" with a bad body image, but the rest of my life was unravaling.
I decided to to to therapy - and through 3 years of therapy, I discovered that I used "food" to "control" my life. I started not using food - or lack of food, to and started to deal with the rest of life - and the weight started to pile on. My life was turning around, but I was gaining weight - I wasn't beeing OCD about my weight anymore, and I turned 35 and the next thing I knew I was 210 and 90 lbs overweight. My husband still loves me, the kids are doing well - but my health was not. As a nurse, I walk (sometimes run) on my feet - 12 hours a day - and my feet were killing me.
When I was around 190 - 195 - I started thinking of WLS - but I didn't qualify. I remember having a talk with a "skinny" friend and saying to her - it would be so easy to gain 15 lbs than to loose 75 lbs - than I would qualify for WLS - she laughed at me and said not to think that way - But she has always been skinny and beautiful - she just doesn't get it!!
Well, I finally got to where I was "obese" enough to qualify - and with my foot problems and slightly elevated Cholesterol - I qualified.
We had moved to Fort Gordon and I found out that the Army Hospital here was a specialty site for Bariatric Surgery for military - I looked into it - and as you say - The rest is history. I had my surgery on 12/19/07.
