Pankakes25
Well, here it is. As most people on here I have struggled with being overweight since I was a preteen. I was actually a thin child. I was born and raised in Taylor, Michigan. My mother and I moved to NC when I was 7. I had a pretty normal childhood until I hit about 12 or 13. We didn't have much, but I always had a roof over my head and of course, food in my belly. I started to gain weight and kept on gaining. Everyone said that it was just baby fat and that I would drop it the older I got. Well I will tell you that it didn't. Baby fat doesn't just show up after about 14 years. I have continued to gain weight throughout mylife. There were a few rough patches in my childhood that didn't help with my weight gain. My mother married a man that was very abusive to me and her physically and mentally. He would make fun of my size and call me a "Fat F***" all the time, and tell me that I wasn't worth anything. That didn't help me to lose any weight. He died about 5 years or so ago. He was a terrible alcoholic and died of liver cerosis. I have moved on from what he could have turned me into. He did ask me for forgivness before he died, and I told him that I do forgive him because I knew that it was alcohol that was leading him. Anyway, enough sad stuff. I am 25 years old and have a wonderful wife, Renee, and adorable 19 month old daughter. We have been married for 3 years in August. Our daughter, Nora, is one of the best things to ever happen to us. She is the main reason that I have considered RNY surgery. I know that her genetics might not work in her favor when she gets older, that is why I want to make sure that she has good eating habits instilled in her early and that we try to teach her the healthy way of life. Of course, she will get to cheat every now and then, but I want her to be healthy nonetheless. I decided that I would try to get approved for RNY last year. In July of 07, my wife and I went to a wedding in Durham, which was outside. Very uptight kind of gig. We had to walk about a 1/4 mile to the site of the ceremony and then back 1/4 to the reception. It was a Vietnamese and American wedding mix. You had to walk with the groom to the bride and ask her parents for her hand. It was nice, but it was about 90 degrees. I was 415 lbs then. We were miserable. We were the only "big" people there. Which made for some sad comparing when we sat to take a little breather on the way back to the reception. That is when I told my wife that I was going to do something about my weight. I just couldn't live like that anymore. My wife and I are both obese and are now both trying to have surgery. We are the same height and weigh the same. Crazy, huh! We know that this will change our lives completely. I have lost about 60 lbs since then, but it hasn't been easy. I had to complete a 6 month supervised diet for insurance predetermination. I did, and lost weight, but it has been difficult. The hardest part was trying to find the time to exercise and not lose out on time with my wife and daughter. I haven't really done well with the exercise part, but done exceptionally well with the food control. I changed the way that I ate and dropped the drinks, and sweet tea and juices. I started to just drink water, eat half of what I ate before and added fruit and fiber to my diet. That was actually really simple. I learned all kinds of stuff from my dietician. She helped me learn what foods were and how to eat a balanced meal. All together I feel that I can take this "tool" and reach my goal, living life without restriction, and being there for my family. I hope that anyone who reads this has the opportunity to tell their story one day and if surgery is what you want then do what you have to do to get it.
Ed
