navywife_amanda
I am 32 and the wife of a US Navy sailor. I have been overweight most of my life. I began dieting about 12 years ago but have never been able to obtain significant weight loss or even keep off whatever I did end up losing. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) in 2003, which finally shed light on the reason why I never ended up pregnant despite rarely taking precautions during my previous marriage. I married the love of my life in October 2004 and promptly moved overseas for a 3 year tour. While in England I made the decision to try for WLS. Unfortunately Tricare overseas is a lot more strict when it comes to approval for WLS and to have the surgery under the National Health System would have meant being put on a very long wait list. Since we were in the middle of our tour already, that wasn't an option. After attending some classes and nutrition/fitness consultations, I decided to go ahead and give losing weight "the old fashioned way" one more try. I busted my butt in the gym and started Weight Watchers but couldn't take off more than 15 lbs in six months. Many women with PCOS also suffer with insulin resistance (which I didn't know until 3 years after being diagnosed with PCOS) and this makes losing weight very difficult. At this point, we didn't have much longer before returning stateside. So I decided that upon returning to the US, I would again approach losing weight through surgery. So here I am.
