I am Melissa. I am married to a very loving and supportive husband and we have three children together.

Most of my life I have struggled with my weight. I'd say in middle and high school I was probably usually 30-50 lbs overweight. My weight really started skyrocketing around the time I was in college and then after I got married the first time.

My highest weight several years ago was 287. For years I stayed off the scale because I was too scared to get on it. I felt about sick when I did finally decide to weigh myself and realized I was so close to 300 lbs. I had no idea. I was pretty ashamed of myself at that time. However, I did decide the very next day to eat better and I ended up losing about 15 lbs then I got pregnant. I always lose weight during pregnancy and so I was glad I would be losing even more weight. 

Even though I have been overweight much of my life, I luckily carry it somewhat well. Also, I have had a pretty decent self-esteem even though I am overweight. I have suffered from depression many times but usually, it isn't weight related.

After we had our second child, I actually got down to 220 lbs just from having her and also breastfeeding. It didn't last long, unfortunately. This is me right after I got down to around 220 lbs:

JUNE 2012
June 2012

Once I stopped breastfeeding my weight slowly crept back up. Since 2012 I have been anywhere from 245 lbs to 270 lbs.

I started looking into bariatric surgery in January of 2016. A friend I had just met was telling me about the surgery she had and how it was the best decision she ever made. I then started researching some and also looking on YouTube for inspiration from others who have gone through it. It is absolutely amazing to see the transformations people make after undergoing different surgeries. I also watched a gastric sleeve surgery (well, several of them) and it didn't look too bad. I have had three c-sections and those were hard recoveries. Not that I don't think bariatric surgery would be hard to recover from but I don't think the pain will be as bad.

So far here is the timeline of my journey to this surgery thus far:

02/04/16 WLS Seminar at Tennova Turkey Creek in Knoxville TN (New Life Bariatric Center)

02/18/16 My first consultation with the bariatric surgeon and initial weigh in/stats

02/24/16 The fun psych evaluation visit :) I must have passed with flying colors haha

02/26/16 First PCP weight loss visit (for insurance purposes)

03/01/16 My first support group meeting. I haven't had a chance to go to anymore as Knoxville is an hour away from us but I do plan to try and go often after surgery.

07/26/16 My last  (6th) PCP weight loss visit (for insurance purposes)

I had some insurance issues with my primary insurance and they will not cover it, but luckily my secondary insurance has approved it. 

Also in February2016 I bought an at-home elliptical which I have used almost every other day since the middle of February. I also started swimming twice a week in June 2016. However, once summer was over I sort of got into a depressed mood because I wasn't able to go swimming any longer and didn't work out much at all from the end of September until October 20th. I think at my first weight loss visit I started around 255 and got down to 238 by the end of the summer. In a couple of months, I have already gained back everything I lost. It is pretty depressing and I shouldn't have let it happen but all I can do is start trying again. 

I started back on the elliptical this week and I am thinking of taking some indoor water aerobics classes four times before my surgery. Then I may have to wait til December/January sometime before I can start taking them again. I love swimming though and so I am looking forward to going if I can get a babysitter.

So right now its pretty much a waiting game until my surgery date. I have a few weeks left. I know it will fly by and be here soon. I stay pretty busy even though I am a stay at home mom. I do a lot of cooking and cleaning (definitely not lazy!) and still having one child at home and not in school takes up a lot of my time. Hopefully, I can stay pretty busy while on my 800 calorie diet for 3 weeks. 

This is the most current body shot of me from August 20, 2016. I was probably 244 here.

August 20, 2016

About Me
35.5
BMI
VSG
Surgery
11/16/2016
Surgery Date
Oct 25, 2016
Member Since

Before & After
rollover to see after photo
Not the most flattering picture at all. Ugh. Gotta start somewhere right?
260lbs
3 Months Post-Op VSG
203lbs

Friends 11

Latest Blog 26

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