Becca B.
Someone suggested I write my story, not exactly sure what all I am supposed to write so I guess I'll just start at the beginning.
I am a 26 year old female currently living in Cincinnati, OH. I had Lap-Band surgery on 6-18-07. I have been considering weight loss surgery for about the last 3 years. At first I considered RNY, but after watching my mother's journey I decided that wasn't the path for me. By no means am I saying that her journey with RNY was bad but just wasn't for me.
So I have been overweight my entire life. I remember being 5 years old and this kid in my class teasing me because I was overweight. I dealt with it all through elementry school and even into middle school. My weight and all the teasing took a total hit to my self esteem which just made things worse. I was always the kid in gym class who couldn't do the same things as all the other kids. I tried but got winded so easily that it was ridiculous. Somewhere between middle school and high school I decided that I wasn't going to take the teasing anymore. I decided that I was going to make fun of myself before anyone else could. It hurt a whole lot less to tease myself and when everyone saw that I did it to myself it was less fun for them to do it to me. I went most of the way through college with this same mentality. When I graduated high school I moved 500 miles from home where I knew no one. The teasing for the most part ended except for a few immature jocks. I met a lot of people and made tons of friends. After 4 years I moved back to Cincy with my family. I had no friends left from high school so I turned to the internet to find new ones. I found BBW (Big Beautiful Women) chat groups and hooked up with them. I was shy at first and then one day realized that I really shouldn't give a rats behind what anyone thinks of me and that I should just be me no matter what. I lived by that theory and become the outspoken one and was quick to tell people the honest truth about what I thought.
In October 2006 I decided to go to a seminar on Lap-Band surgery. I knew this was the route I wanted to go. I knew I had to do 6 months of weight loss to get approved by my insurance. So in November 2006 I started that process. In March 2007 I submitted all my paperwork to the Jewish Weight Management Center. They scheduled me for a psych eval, doctor visit and pre-op classes. In mid-April 2007 I was approved for Lap-Band surgery. In late April 2007 I met with Dr. Fegelman and discussed everything I had ever thought of. In May 2007 I started my pre-op classes and pre-op diet. And then on June 18 2007 I had my surgery.
Here I am 3 months later and I have lost 49 pounds. It has not been an easy road but now more than ever I have confidence that I can do whatever I want to do. I am not puting up this facade that I am really okay with being overweight. I know that I am not going to settle for being overweight. I have a skinny chic inside me who is dying to get out and I'm ready to release her.
