Debra Monahan
I guess I'm one of those people who can honestly say my weight has been a problem all of my life. My earliest recollection of someone commenting on my weight was when I was six years old. I remember we were at the lake and I was wearing a pink one piece swim suit... my mom made a comment to one of my aunt's about being worried about my weight and my aunt replied, "Don't worry, it's just baby-fat, she will lose it." (42 yrs later...I'm still waiting!)
At 9, my parents took me to a doctor because they were concerned about my weight. The doctor started giving me injections to speed up my growth so that I would get taller faster... that was his answer to my weight problem.
Over the years, I've dieted and, at times, been very successful at losing weight, but not so good at keeping it off... a true yo~yo dieter. And each time I gained my weight back, I gained a little extra...
Finally, this summer I decided I don't want to spend the rest of my life having people "stare" at me. I don't want to avoid old friends so they won't see how big I've gotten, I don't want to worry about what relatives say about me...
I do want to start living my life again. I want to re-build my self confidence. I want to enjoy Horseback riding, training/showing dogs in obedience, gardening, and I want to be comfortable in public places...
So, now I've had lap-band surgery (12/01/06) and I hope the band will help me take back my life once again.
