Catherine K.
I have been overweight from early childhood. I was tall as a child so my doctor thought my weight would even out -- nope, I stopped growing at 5'4" at age 10 or 11. At that age, I was about 120 lbs. and because I had already developed, I basically had a woman's body. The stress from the attention I received from boys thinking I was older caused me to eat more. I wore a juniors size 14 in junior high and weighed about 160 lbs by the time I got to high school. Not significantly overweight but enough to stick out in a crowd. Thanks to a required semester of swimming class, I dropped my extra weight ... and maintained the weight loss by eating very little and walking 1-2 hours a day.
Of course that wasn't a manageable diet and during my college years, my weight crossed 200 lbs for the first time. Thanks to Weight Watchers, I eventually got down to roughly 150 lbs but couldn't seem to get any lower. By the time I got married when I was 23, my weight was up to about 220 lbs., and I was on antidepressants for the first time. For the next several years, my weight bounced up and down, but I haven't been below 200 lbs.
In December of last year, I stepped on the scale and realized I had not only regained the 25 lbs I lost at Weight Watchers that summer, I gained an additional 20 lbs. I am now at the highest weight I have ever been at and decided that the time is right to have gastric bypass. Aside from being overweight, my health is good, but I am tired of being tired, feeling slow and rundown, and not looking my best.
My family is very supportive -- my hospital requires a "support person" and my mom is taking her job very seriously! -- as are my friends. Several colleagues and acquaintances have had the surgery, with varying results, and seeing their successes helped me realize that I can do this too. My goal isn't to look great in a bikini (though I can't remember if I have ever worn a bikini in my life LOL) but to be fit and healthy and able to enjoy life and do whatever I want to do physically.
