Melin71
I grew up in a home filled with music and inappropriate laughter, which is the best, if you ask me. I have a very close relationship with my family. I'm #3 of 7 kiddos, and, I'd like to think, the favorite. I know this is true, but my parents, being compassionate people, don't want to hurt the feelings of my sweet siblings! I can recall being self conscious about my weight at the age of 11. At almost every point in my life, I can mark every occasion with a number on the scale. Sadly, if I had been more open with the people who cared about me, I may have found a different way to cope with my emotions....good and bad, without turning to food like I always did. In reality, I was never really more than 20 or 30 pounds overweight, just supremely hard on myself. It wasn't until I was a single mother, ill equipped to handle the stigma of a failed marriage, but hiding behind a very sharp witt and a "pretty face"...I hate that saying, by the way....that I found myself well into the 200 pound range. Over the next few years, I tried diet pills, powders, I even exercised my ass off (well, obviously not completely), only to find myself right back where I was. Finally, when I was around 32 years old, I went to a bariatric surgeon for a consultation regarding weight loss surgery. I was pumped! FINALLY, a solution. In reality, what wound up happening was that I was not approved for the surgery. While I was overweight, I wasn't at risk for anything because I had no health issues, ie high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Instead, I joined Weight Watchers, and over the next year and a half, I lost 70 pounds, was working out with weights and doing cardio 6 days a week, and never felt better, I think I was able to keep the weight off for about 3 years, but was never able to reach my goal, which would have been another 40 or so pounds. Fast forward through the past 5 or so years, and my weight not only crept right back up to 253 pounds, but I now had high blood pressure and was at risk for becoming a diabetic. In December, a dear friend of mine told me about Dr. Barnes, and I met him for a consultation. Thank God for wonderful insurance, because I met him on February 2nd and had my surgery on March 3rd. It's been an experience, but I would do it all over again. As I type this, I have been married to a very supportive, great guy, who could really care less about anything other than my happiness. The irony of it, is that he's the same jerk I divorced all those years ago! We have 4 kids, our oldest just turned 15 and is our only son, and our girls are 10 in May, 8 on the 31st of March, and a surprise 2 year old who rules the roost! We also have THE best 4 legged daughter, our 2 year old English Mastiff, Lovey. I have so many goals and so much hope for the future. It's truly a miracle for me. I look forward to developing friendships and learning from many through this tool. Oh....about the "pretty face" comment.....I love compliments, but I wish that people would pay attention to how they speak to each other. The day I hear someone tell a thin person that they have a pretty face, I'll descend from my soapbox! Wake up, people! Either you're pretty, or you aren't! If this weren't the case, people would be raving about my dainty elbows! Now...I'm done. Thanks for checking me out, and as soon as I can figure out how to upload pics, I'll be doing that as well.
