Vanessaandgirls
Welcome & Thank you For reading...
My Story:
Let me start by saying I was never a "skinny girl" From the age of 10 on I have struggled with my weight. I didn't realize through the next 16 years of yo-yo dieting was that each time I came off a diet, it would get worse. Through High School I was a size 12/14. Junior and Senior year I worked hard to get myself down to 9's and 11's. I still saw myself as being quite heavy. I then began a serious relationship which brought alot of fast food & Restaurants into our lives. I gained 25 lbs by the end of my senior year. A month after graduation I was very ill and found out I was pregnant. SURPRISE!! I went in for my first prenatal appointment the end of July 2000 and weighed in at 171 lbs. I just about died seeing those numbers. I practically apologized to the nurse and was humiliated that someone had to see me at that kind of weight. I'm only 5'2". I told her I promise I won't ever get over 200lbs. The day I went into labor I weighed 197 lbs. I thought to myself at that point that I was quite the LARGE MARGE! I worked my tail off and tried everything on the market to lose the weight. After all I wanted to be the "cute thin Mom." I did manage to get myself down to 180 lbs but I was stuck there. I tried everything from Xenadrine, Herbalife, Slim Fast, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Starlight etc. I still couldn't break that big 180 mark. I became pregnant 18 mos after having my first daughter and gave up at that point. I ended up at 220lbs by the time I delivered Baby # 2. Whew! In the past 5 years I maintained in the 220's for a while.. and this past year the weight piled on.
For my 26th Birthday which was Feb 10th, my Grandmother told me at cake time that I didn't belong having dessert or I wouldn't live long enough to watch my children grow up. Let me tell you it absolutely destroyed me. I walked out and was quite upset with her. Over the next couple of weeks following that many family members made comments about my weight to me. I began to notice that my weight affected everyone around me. Nobody was happy with me. Yet, I was what I "thought" happy with myself. My endocrinologist told me in October 2007 that I should have weight loss surgery to help aid my thyroid condition. He told me I would never be able to lose the weight on my own at this point. I disagreed.
Well on March 27th I jumped on the scale and saw a WHOPPING 260 lbs. I was uncomfortable with myself with a huge "fat" tire around me. Sitting down, my arms would have to push out on my sides as my ROLL was in the way. Walking around a department store would make my back and legs ache so badly. I couldn't understand why at the age of 26. There were alot of things I began to realize. I could no longer find sneakers that fit my width so I opted for Crocs, Flip Flops or Uggz as they were what fit me comfortably. I always enjoyed shopping for shoes because it wasn't the humiliation of walking into the "PLUS SIZE" department or the "Fat Lady Store." Now I couldn't even shop for shoes. I ended up quite depressed.
March 27, 2008 was my turning point. I attended my weight Loss Surgery Seminar and spoke with a beautiful young lady who had Lap Band Surgery. She looks like she never ever could have been heavy in her life. She was beautiful and wearing a business suit with heels and was attractive with the sexy business look to her. I thought to myself... WOW maybe that could be me down the road!? At that moment I realized "Sexy" no longer was any part of me. I made it a point to go up to her to speak with her after the seminar. She was a happy, bubbly girl who was so inspiring and motivational. At that point I began scheduling appointments for surgery. I can honestly say that meeting her is what gave me my push. I realized I'm a beautiful girl hidden under many layers of fat & blubber.
I completed all of my pre-op appointments by the end of April (Yes I did it all in ONE month!) My surgeon's office put in for my approval with Oxford Insurance Company and within 2-3 hours I had my APPROVAL! I was the happiest girl alive!! I was given the surgery date of May 9, 2008.
I will post a blog with all the details of my surgery day for those of you who are interested.
I'm now 10 weeks out from surgery and I'm down a bit over 40 lbs.
To those of you thinking about having this surgery... DO IT!! It's honestly the best thing I have ever done. Feel free to message me or e-mail me... [email protected]
