bjlepera
I grew up of average height and weight. My mom referred to me as a string bean (tall & skinny). It wasn't till after the birth of my first child that my body drastically changed. I know, alot of womens bodies changed I mean you replicated another human being for gosh sake! So, this site is my journey and battle with obesity and I hope somehow you can find what your looking for on yours.
I was born in a small town in Texas. My parents are both from Texas as well. Both sides of my family had lots of children, of course this also meant lots of gatherings and family holidays together. I remember them well and can say I still enjoy the holidays now with my kids. I also recall, with so many family members, lots of food to boot... need I say more?? With a southern heritage also came the recipes for all those "southern comforts" as far as food is concerned. You got to admit the southern charm for foods are even booming now in restaraunts across our great nation.
There is just something to be said for fried chicken with biscuts and gravy or mash potatoes(not instant) with that pure butter slathered over it all. Or how bout that good old fashion bar-b-q-you know, those pork or beef briskets rubbed with all those secret family spices & herbs and slow cooked outside on the grill. Not to mention that smokey mesquite flavor (that stuff grows every where n Texas). Dont get me started on thoses sauces...and after all that -just drifting off onto a carbohydrate coma afterwards, with that stuffed belly WAS, umm... no- no, IS satisfying.
"Grown up" wasn't so bad, however, "grown out" was. For me this started a couple years after high school. With the birth of each child (4, to be exact) came about a 30 lb weight gain. Not being as active in my adult life as I was in my youth had a great part on this too. Chasing after children, working full time and keeping up a home was draining at times and I often felt I had no time to "work out".
I learned about WLS in my early 20's I was about 80lbs. over weight and was interested in doing this. At the time I was seeing commercials for Dr. Ross Fox, on tv in the Puget Sound area. I went to a seminar and afterwards thought geez, an egg shaped tummy. My honest first reaction was no one can live after that, thats crazy! But then I saw someone I recognized. A girl I used to work at Mcdonalds with, from my high school days. She used to be a bit heavier and I said hi. Of course I told her she looked great. She told me she had WLS done and feels great. That planted the seed for me. So I applied and no insurance would approve it, or they would bury it with lots of paper work.
I tried alot of diets and would apply for WLS couple more times over the years. I was shut down each time. My fears came true with my last child (#4). I wanted to use WLS as preventative measures, to avoid health issues. Well, I had gestational diabetis, Cardiac SVT , gall bladder & sleep apnea issues throughout out the whole pregnancy. I am amazed that my angel survived, you see he was a fertility baby to start with. I had actually lost 40lbs. in that 9 months. So i was determined to apply for WLS again.
When the recession hit my husband lost solid work for 18 months. It was a miricle that he landed a job as a civil service employee on a military base in the Northwest. Low and behold all 12 of the insuances they offered us covered WLS. I mean all of them!! I did notice that none of them would support weight loss services unless you were Morbidly over weight. That is disappointing because prevention is cheaper?? Isnt that what the medical societies preach??
So I will keep you posted with my progress and I will most likely blog them. please feel free to comment or respond. We all need each other for this right? We all have our needs and sharing though this site , I think, can really help us all through this amazing chance we have been given for a better quality of life! God Bless!
~B
