It’s hard to write this story for me because I have been overweight for as long as I remember.  Every member in my family has had a weight issue at some point. My three sisters have all been successful at dieting, including my younger sister who was able to lose 120lbs on her own and maintain it over the last 5 years. My mother however is an enabler who is also overweight with high cholesterol and high blood pressure. For me being overweight was something that I always was and accepted. I’ve learned to live with it and even defend my size. I have had my ups and downs with different dieting programs but now I am at the heaviest I have ever been.

The last 30lbs I gained within the last year. It’s only been recently that I have begun experiencing restrictions on my lifestyle.  Prior to that, I have been pretty active as far as being social and trying new things, traveling, theme parks, and horseback riding.  But now it’s hard to stand for long periods of time, I can’t fit into seats on roller coasters, I need a seatbelt extension when I fly and can no longer ride horses because I am too heavy.

As far as my health my weight was my only issue, I didn’t have sleep problems, high cholesterol, or most systems people experience from being overweight. It was last year after my physical that I found out that I had high blood pressure and putting myself at risk for heart disease and with diabetes being prominent in my family I was also putting myself at a high risk for that as well. A few months later my Ob/Gyn suggested I have a sonogram to see if I had PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome) which can cause infertility and is also linked to high blood pressure and obesity;  which, I have not done, because I am honestly scared and don’t even want to know.

I just turned 29 and will have completed my master’s degree next month; I bought my first home last October and have traveled internationally. My next step in life or so I thought was to start a family. My weight is standing in the way and it sucks!  I have to do this, I need to be healthy, I want to be healthy.