Karen E.
*** My Weight History ***
A little intro here: I am a 50 year old wife; mother; and granddmother. I am a Registered Nurse, and have been in this profession for 20 years now, you'd think I would have some answers to preventing me becoming morbidly obese. Alas, I don't! I figured I should make an attempt to look at my 'Weight History'... Very hard have been on and off diets now for the past 30 years! I will only be able to provide you with an estimated timeline though because I have never kept track...
I basically became above average in weight when I hit puberty. My weight during the years 1968 through 1974 fluctuated between 140 and 150... I did get despirate enough around 1973 to take 'Speed' (don't know what they were actually) and my weight did go down to 115 lbs I maintained this for several months but as a I stopped taking the pills (didn't like how they made me feel) my weight started climbing again back up to around 150lbs.
After my children were born and while they were young my weight averaged between 160 and 200lbs. When my youngest was about 2 years old I went through a divorce, I joined a 'T.O.P.S Club', strictly counted my calories (averaged about 800 per day to start) and lost 50 lbs quite rapidly. I stayed diligent with this routine for several years and then gradually let it fall to the wayside. By the mid 1980's my weight had ballooned to around 220lbs, (This is when I truely started the 'Dieting Rollercoster') First I went with trying any 'Fad Diet' that I would hear about like: The Grapefuit Diet; The Cabbage Soup Diet; Slimfast; The nothing white diet; Overeaters Annonymous; Atkins Diet; Richard Simmons; Susan Powder; Dexatrim and other over the counter diet aids; Diuretics; Doctor precribled diet pills, one which caused terribly oily bowel movements and lack of control. These all were effective for some weight loss which would last as long as I was able to maintain the diet then the weight would pile back on and them some. I also intermittently though continually tried exercising at a gym but as my weight climbed I became too embarraced I did Elle McPherson's Sports Illustrated and Richard Simmons' "Move to Loose", as well as several other exercise programs. These worked as long as I continued them though non of this was long lived I found too many excuses not to proceed. My weight the last couple of years has been going between 235 to around 275lbs.
About a year and a half ago when I had a Gall Bladder Attack and required surgery to remove it I was informed I was Diabetic and needed guidence from a Dietitian to modify my diet and was required (and still do) to take Insulin and oral medication to aid in controlling my blood sugar. This put a scare into me! I began researching WLS options.... So my Journey Begins...
