wendyvanosdell
I was thin all of my life until I had children. With my first son I gained 60 pounds during pregnancy, but lost all of it very quickly. My second son I gained 60 pounds again, but only lost 40. With my third son I gained 40 pounds, and kept about 20. With my fourth and fifth son, I kept 10 - 15 pounds each time. I thought we were not having any more children, so I put real effort into dieting and exercising. I took prescription diet pills and OTC ones also. I exercised a lot. Through all of this I lost about 20 pounds or so. I tried Weight Watchers, but I ran out of points at noon the first day, and ate green beans with boiled crawfish ( this was only about 2 points) until I wanted to throw up, and then gave up. The tracking made me absolutely crazy.
I developed heart problems during the diet pill/ exercise phase. I still see a cardiologist every six months, but as long as I stay on my heart pills I am fine. I believe the diet pills caused my heart problem (right ventricular outflow tachycardia). The heart problem is serious, but if you have to have a heart problem it is a good one to have. It is not that bad at all.
I am not completely sure of my weight history; in my mind I was thin until suddenly I realized I was not thin. 
I wasn't sure what happened, and only lately has it really sunk in that I am fat. I tallied my weight up a couple days ago, and that is when I discovered I now weigh 45 
pounds more than I did when I was doing the diet/exercise thing. I weighed 175 then, and was about a size 14/16 I think. I did have shoulder surgery, which set me back about 10 pounds, and then with my sixth son I added another 10 pounds, and my beautiful, 
most precious, 
wonderful beyond words, 
daughter 
contributed 18 more pounds. She is seven months old now, and I desperately don't want to lead her into unhealthy living. Just today I was eating a piece of cake, and what did I do but give her a few crumbs to eat also.
I don't think I am really having any emotional issues, but I physically cannot do the things I want to do anymore. Several of my boys got rip sticks for Christmas. I want to bring them to the skate park to ride them, and I would like to ride one with them but I can't. I want to run in the yard, but sometimes I trip now. I am clumsy. It is the extra weight. I get tired really easy. I am too young for all of this. It scares me that I keep gaining a little weight each year, where will it end? I don't want to wait too long before I become proactive and actually do something that will make a difference. My asthma acts up now. I hate to think what shape my heart and lungs are in. I want to be healthy!
