My story:

I was always a normal weight growing up. I got married young, and had my first daughter when I was only 17. I had nausea and vomiting for almost the whole nine months. I gained 50 lbs and almost had toxemia. I gave birth and continued with nausea and then abdominal pain.I lost the 50 lbs and went back to my usual weight of 140 lbs. I went to a Dr. and found out I had gall-bladder disease and over 20 stones. I was operated on with an exploratory surgery on Christmas Eve Day. I was very sick . I had a huge incision site, and buttons and staples , which was all new at that time.

This then was the beginning of my weight gaining problem . Within about three years, I gained about 40 lbs. Then I got pregnant with my son. I took such good care of myself that I lost a total of 34lbs at nine months pregnant. I had taken my pre-natal vitamins, ate healthfully and I swear to this day, out of four pregnancies I was never so healthy or felt so wonderful before or since, than when I was pregnant with my son who is now 34 years old.

After my 6 week check up I had lost a total of 48 lbs from the time I got pregnant, ten and a half months earlier. I was not that toned and healthy since high school...4 years earlier.

Over the next few years I gained back about 50lbs. I realize now why, and what I have done to myself after all of these years. I was never a binger or big over eater at all. But on hindsight I now know, I "starved" myself into gaining year after year, a little at a time. How I did that was I never ate breakfast, and mostly never ate lunch. MY nutritional intake consisted of coffee and cigarettes. For the past let's say 35 years. I always ate dinner, cooked for my family. ...and I always loved sweets since I was a little gir. So a bowl of ice cream, or a couple doughnuts, and those sort of things (candy bars), became my way of life. Don't get me wrong, I love a good meal. I became a terrific cook over the years, but I know now what I didn't know then. My metabolism was sleeping for a long time. The nicotine and caffiene I consumed for years and years didn't allow me to feel hunger, daily for years, up until maybe 3-5 pm everyday for the past thirty years. This has been my downfall.

In 1975 I broke up with my first husband. I lost wt and stayed on the healthy trim side for about three years. I think I just had youth and general good health on my side. In 1981 I went to nursing school . That year I gained wt. I went into a size 18. I ate alot of chocolate candy bars & coffee that year to get thru an intense year of study and raising my two children and all that motherhood is responsible for. I graduated with high grades, and was very proud of myself. Then I got remarried, and had my third and fourth children within a year and a half of eachother. Both of those pregnancies were very healthy. I lost 12 & 17 lbs over the nine months, once again. At nine months pregnant I was that much less than when I got pregnant. And so after giving birth I was like 55lbs less than 9 months before. It seems like , on hindsight, that my metabolism must have increased drastically during pregnancy, and I had consiously ate healthy, and took better care of myself than when I was not pregnant.

Of course, I tried all the diets that everyone else did. In 1997 I went on Jenny Craig. When they took my wt gain history, and asked what I normally eat in a day, I realised how terrible my eating habits were. How far away from "healthy" I had become. At 1700 calories a day, I lost 43 lbs in only 7 weeks. They told me you have to eat to loose wt. It was the truth. I never ate so much in one day as I did on Jenny, but it was the right foods. Needless to say , I stopped Jenny, and went right back to my old ways. And regained it all and more.

I am grateful I have decided to have WLS.My surgeon wants to do the RNY because that will resolve all of these co-morbitities I have.

I have all of my pre-ops done and nutrition classes out of the way. Right now I have to stop smoking and then my surgeon will give me a date.

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