NatalieW.
My battle with my weight began when I was 8 yrs old. My parents say they noticed a change in my weight after I stopped ordering Happy Meals, and started eating Big Macs instead. Funny, because I don't particularly like Big Macs now. Any who, I started packing on weight when I was in the 3rd grade. My weight continued to increase from then on. I grew up with a lot of love, support, and encouragement. I remember having a trampoline, a treadmill, and a basketball goal in my home. All of the exercise helped, but my eating habits weren't significantly changed. Over the years, I've tried the Scarsdale diet (loved the ice cream everyday!), Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Metabolife, Phentermine, eDiets (lost 40 lbs, but gained it back plus some), and good ole "eat right and exercise diet." In high school I vowed never to go past 250 lbs. I did. In college I vowed never to go past 300 lbs. I did. Now I'm up to 359 lbs, and I can't believe it! Something has got to give. I now have Sleep Apnea, PCOS, high blood pressure, knee pain, and back pain. After much debate with my family and husband, I decided to have WLS. I researched surgeons on my own. I narrowed it down to three here in the Metro-Atlanta area. I found that two of the doctors had staff that were very unpleasant to deal with. The last thing I need is to be in the hospital recuperating, and dealing with somebody that has an attitude! I decided to go with Dr. Champion. His staff is great, and I have heard a lot of good things about him. I can't wait to meet him. Right now I have a surgery date of July 17, 2007. I'll keep you posted on how things go. God Bless!
