Erin Castillo
Although I have always been concerned about my weight and appearance I was not overweight until the age of 17. My high school sweet heart and I were married very young (I was 18 and he was 20). I ordered my beautiful wedding gown 7 months prior to the wedding. Finally the dress arrived, and I still remember the look of shock and the comments made by the man who sold me the dress about how much weight I had gained. He was of course correct because I had put on 40 lbs. in that short amount of time. I was mortified when the gown didn't fit. My parents had to pay an additional $300 for alterations to make it fit. From there life progressed as it seems to do. College, full time jobs, and finally babies. I was 22 when our first baby arrived. He was absolutely perfect, and truly a gift from God! Two years later our precious little girl joined the family. And finally, 22 months to the day later, our second baby boy was born. I cannot put words to the joy these 3 individuals have blessed my life with. I cannot say that being pregnant caused my weight to continue to increase, but without a doubt breastfeeding, or when I stopped breast feeding, definitely led to a dramatic weight increase. Anyone that has ever breastfed (sorry guys) can relate when I say that your appetite definitely increases. Well, lets just say that I didn't curb the eating habits once the babies were weaned. After each baby stopped breastfeeding I gained 20 pounds! As time continued I gained weight steadily through the years. I watched as my clothing size increased cursing each time I had to go shopping because apparently our clothes dryer was faulty and kept shrinking my clothing. Ha! Simultaneously my self esteem was plummeting. I hated my appearance. I had of course tried the myriad of diets and exercise routines through the years resulting in lower self esteem when each time I failed. I kept justifying my failure by saying "If I had any self control I wouldn't be in this shape to begin with". Fast forward to February 28th, 2012. I finally made an appointment with my doc for a check up, one that was at least 3 years overdue. I knew it wasn't going to be great because I had been feeling the effects of my weight for some time. Of course the first thing they did is weigh me. Shock is not a strong enough word for the feeling I felt when my weight was revealed. 246 pounds!!! I don't think I heard a whole lot during the first several minutes of my visit with the doc because my ears were ringing, my head was spinning, and I had to really concentrate on not falling over. After my sanity was regained we then moved into some of the issues I was having. By the the time I left that appointment I had a prescription for hypertension and antidepressant meds,a referral for a sleep study, and a referral for a cardiologist in hand. What??? I was 34 years old. How did I let things get so bad? I had been playing with the thought of weight loss surgery for a while, but until that moment I didn't really think I needed it. I just needed more discipline. My thinking radically changed. Just shortly before my doctor appointment I started seeing billboards around town for a new facility offering the surgery. I started hearing ads on the radio for the seminars. It was perfect timing. The combination of the two was what I needed to push me head first into my journey. My husband and I attended the seminar and met my surgeon for the first time. From there I launched myself into the process whole heartily. During my first appointment with the surgeon he gave my the guidelines for a very strict diet that he wanted me to begin. My husband and I decided that we were going to implement many of the changes for our whole family. We knew that our children also needed to learn better eating habits, and that we could use the tools given to me throughout this journey to undo the damage we had done by teaching our children bad dietary habits. Needless to say they did not embrace many of the changes with open arms. Our oldest son, who is now 12, made the comment to me "Why should we have to give up so much because you need to loose weight?" Ouch! I knew it would take time and education for them to understand that these changes were going to benefit all of us. During the first 10 days of the diet I felt like I was constantly on the verge of chewing my own arm off due to the hunger. But after those first 10 days I began to see and feel the transformation. I felt better each day. Needless to say the pounds began falling off. Over the next 2 months I lost 23 pounds! Once the kids started to see me loose weight and feel better they began to embrace the lifestyle changes. I now have an appointment for June 25th to undergo my weight loss surgery. My surgeon and I decided that the vertical gastric sleeve would be the best treatment option. As I think back to the old excuse I used to make "If I has any self control I wouldn't be in this shape" I think Bah! I do have the control and I am going to take back my life and use this opportunity to be a positive role model for my family. I am so excited and I am looking forward to my future and this great journey I am about to begin.