Kimbalee661
So I guess I grew up in a family where we had to finish everything on our plate and I think that where it ALL started. Although I didn't grow up with junk food, the portions were way out of control. That combined with a lack of an active lifestyle created an overweight adolescent that has been overweight ever since. In junior high I weighed about 135 and was mad fun of for being fat.....boy what I wouldn't give to weigh 135 now! LOL! In 9th grade I went on Weight Watchers with my Mom and lost about 30 lbs.....which is nothing compared to my Mom's 75 lbs.! Because of the drastic weight loss, she was able to feel a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 14 (So proud of my strong mom and her 17+ years of survival from cancer).
After a couple more attempts at Weight Watchers, I graduated high school in 1996 at a weight of 225. At 19 years old I was in a relationship with someone I "loved" and became very active by dancing. I danced 5 days a week and got down to about 180. When this relationship ended, I shot right back up...200.....225.....and by the time I was 25, I weighed 250.
At 26 I ended up falling in love with my son's father and got into a long term relationship. I got pregnant with my son at 29 and weighed a whopping 270 lbs. During my pregnancy, I did pretty much EVERYTHING by the book. I ate right 99% of the time and ended up weight 225 after I delivered my son. After the birth of my son, my relationship fell apart and I became very depressed. So depressed and inactive that I got up to 302 pounds just before my 31st birthday! (JUST SHOOT ME!) During that time I was going through classes required by my HMO for the bariatric surgery. I was absolutely devastated!!!!! Although I was at a dead end, I still wasn't quite ready for the procedure.
In November of 2009, I separated from my son's father, which was the healthiest things that I could have done. Once things settled a little, I started on track to get my health in order. I had checked in with a woman that I had gone through the classes with to see how she was doing and she told me that she had a newer procedure called the vertical sleeve. At that time I had no idea what that was and started to do my research. By May 2010, I knew that this was the procedure I wanted to have and began taking the necessary steps to get this done!
I had my surgery on August 17th, 2010 and couldn't be more proud of myself, especially after surviving a 2 week liquid diet before my surgery. I started my liquid diet weighing approximately 300 lbs and on the day of surgery I weighed 278 lbs. and have been changing my life daily. I cannot wait to see what this journey has in store for me.
I look forward to sharing thoughts, experience, frustrations, photos, progress, etc. with all of you.
Blessings!
