2BHealthyShelly
My struggle with my weight began at a young age. I began my first pediatrician-supervised diet when I was 9 years old. I attained my goal weight, only to gain it back a year later and begin the next program - Fat Fighters - a dietician-led group for heavy children. One of my worst memories stemmed from this program. All of the Fat Fighters kids were in a commercial for milk, where we were making "healthy" shakes with non-fat milk. This commercial repeatedly aired during "The Muppets" which many of my 5th grade classmates watched. Hence began the endless Ms. Piggy cracks. The yo-yo continued another couple of decades with a mix of healthy diets, fasting, exercise marathons, etc. By the time I was 33, I weighed nearly 240 pounds, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, was borderline Type II, had PCOS, acid reflux, etc. I'd go to bet at night with my heart beating so fast I would be unsure I'd wake up the following morning. I was emotionally dead and the physical body was following the same course. April 5, 2002 was the day I started living again. Six months later I was 100 pounds lighter and almost illness free (my PCOS remained). I am approximately 6 years out from my surgery. I have stayed very close to my lowest weight. I have had my moments of struggle (typically when I don't stay connected to the weight loss surgery community), over which I believe I have prevailed. I can honestly say I'm happy with myself and my "right-size" body.
