Why "Back to Basics?"
Someone made the post on another board on "Where I came from" and I added the post below to the thread. I decided to post mine here as well, as it really seems appropriate right now. As I re-dedicate myself to my health and fitness, this is good stuff to think about.
I would love for others to share their story as well...it's a good reminder of why we went for WLS to begin with and why we are NOT going to go back to the bad ol' days...
Where I came from...
I was dieting before I was fat...and before I could read. Mom made me her diet buddy when I was a pre-schooler and I began binging and starving with her back then. Of course, not learning how to eat, I did become chubby. I stayed on the binge and starve thing for decades and each time I gained, I gained more. I tried every program at least once, sometimes more than once, drugs legal and illegal - you name it.
After my first bout of sciatica, which went undiagnosed for years, I couldn't exercise without setting it off and just gained weight like crazy. My highest weight was 310 lbs; I'm five-foot-nothing. I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2004 and, much as I tried, I just couldn't drop the weight and I felt worse and worse. Also started having real troubles with my asthma at the same time.
I had gastric bypass October 31, 2006. By last summer, I was down to 142, just shy of my goal, but am up to 159 right now. It was a rough summer, as I was stricken by some illness, still undiagnosed, had some meds that put weight on, couldn't exercise right for awhile...I got off track. Made some mistakes and let my health become much less of a priority. I have rededicated myself to making it my top priority as of today. I am drinking my breakfast at the moment - a protein shake, and the kitchen is filled with all the right stuff. And so is my heart!
Lisa
I would love for others to share their story as well...it's a good reminder of why we went for WLS to begin with and why we are NOT going to go back to the bad ol' days...
Where I came from...
I was dieting before I was fat...and before I could read. Mom made me her diet buddy when I was a pre-schooler and I began binging and starving with her back then. Of course, not learning how to eat, I did become chubby. I stayed on the binge and starve thing for decades and each time I gained, I gained more. I tried every program at least once, sometimes more than once, drugs legal and illegal - you name it.
After my first bout of sciatica, which went undiagnosed for years, I couldn't exercise without setting it off and just gained weight like crazy. My highest weight was 310 lbs; I'm five-foot-nothing. I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2004 and, much as I tried, I just couldn't drop the weight and I felt worse and worse. Also started having real troubles with my asthma at the same time.
I had gastric bypass October 31, 2006. By last summer, I was down to 142, just shy of my goal, but am up to 159 right now. It was a rough summer, as I was stricken by some illness, still undiagnosed, had some meds that put weight on, couldn't exercise right for awhile...I got off track. Made some mistakes and let my health become much less of a priority. I have rededicated myself to making it my top priority as of today. I am drinking my breakfast at the moment - a protein shake, and the kitchen is filled with all the right stuff. And so is my heart!
Lisa
"The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."
Lisa - I too was my Mom's weight loss buddy. I was the only middle-schooler that I knew attending Jenny Craig meetings and bringing "cabbage soup" to lunch as part of a cabbage soup diet. I was eternally embarassed by the things that I had to eat for lunch at school but my friends knew and were always supportive. This all continued through high school. When I got to college I was on my own - no one could make me diet! I gained my "freshman 15" and a few other people's! When I transferred schools and moved back home I knew I needed to do something - MOm and I started South Beach - the "in" diet at the time, we both lost some weight.
OH I have to add that I come from huge Irish and Italian families and well we eat. We eat to celebrate, mourn, ponder, heck we eat just for the sake of getting everyone together and eating!
When I met my husband things started to get "comfortable" I wasn't looking for dates anymore, not that I ever really did, boys weren't interested in the "fluffy" girl so as a result I hardly dated. My husband is a big guy and made me feel special - still does - love him lots! When he proposed Mom and I decided that back on South Beach it would be, I lost about 20 pounds, bought my dress, fit perfectly! So no more need to diet right? Didn't want the dress to be too big afterall... When we got married things got more and more comfortable - the more I cooked the foods we loved, the more we ate. I got my5'7" self all the way up to 327 pounds before someone suggested WLS - I took it and ran with it. I had my initial consult on August 1, 2006 with Dr Alan Brader and decided that this was the route for me. January 30th, 2007 Dr Brader gave me my life back.
Today at 193 pounds I weigh less then I did at 16. I Feel great, I still have the problems with my back - but those are lifelong and mostly not weight related.
WLS gave me my life back - Dr Brader was a god send!
Now for those last 23 pounds...
Liz
OH I have to add that I come from huge Irish and Italian families and well we eat. We eat to celebrate, mourn, ponder, heck we eat just for the sake of getting everyone together and eating!
When I met my husband things started to get "comfortable" I wasn't looking for dates anymore, not that I ever really did, boys weren't interested in the "fluffy" girl so as a result I hardly dated. My husband is a big guy and made me feel special - still does - love him lots! When he proposed Mom and I decided that back on South Beach it would be, I lost about 20 pounds, bought my dress, fit perfectly! So no more need to diet right? Didn't want the dress to be too big afterall... When we got married things got more and more comfortable - the more I cooked the foods we loved, the more we ate. I got my5'7" self all the way up to 327 pounds before someone suggested WLS - I took it and ran with it. I had my initial consult on August 1, 2006 with Dr Alan Brader and decided that this was the route for me. January 30th, 2007 Dr Brader gave me my life back.
Today at 193 pounds I weigh less then I did at 16. I Feel great, I still have the problems with my back - but those are lifelong and mostly not weight related.
WLS gave me my life back - Dr Brader was a god send!
Now for those last 23 pounds...
Liz
Great post!
What is it with mom's and us being yo yo dieting buddies? Hmmm
I too was a yo yo dieter and in grammar school was doing my mom's "jane fonda step aerobics" tapes and getting up at like 5am to take walks with her when we were "on program" I never really learned how to eat healthy. I also remember "hiding" foods. I would eat my lunch at school and end up buying extra food there too. then I would go home and tell mom I didn't really like what I had gotten for lunch, so I would have a large snack. Most of the time dad would give us dinner...and I would tell him that I didn't have a snack and eat a huge dinner. We didn't have bed time snacks or desserts, so I guess that was a blessing in disguise.
In HS I started with stacker weight loss products, fit america, you name the pill I took it. Each time I would lose weight...and then of course gain it back. I didn't date much, if at all....was never one of the popular crown anyhow.
Went to college for a year...gained weight...came home....met my now current husband. At the time we were working long hours in a very physical job and I had trouble keeping up so we BOTH went on atkins. He dropped weight like there was no tomorrow. I dropped a few pounds, not as much as him. We moved in together and I started cooking and baking and eating. Hubby's parents never cooked and he LOVES my cooking and I felt worthwhile, so I continued it "for him" (although I got to eat it, too!!) Then I started working full time and going to school full time - and it was snacking all the unhealthy foods during class, grabbing drive through meals on my way from work to class and from class to home....
When he proposed and I found the dress I wanted, I went on a hard core atkins diet to where I was only eating meat and cheese. I wouldn't even allow myself the carbs from fruits and veggies. Lost about 20 pounds...got down to about 205. After the marriage...got REAL comfortable again and didn't pay much attention to it.
I got myself up to 235 pounds which for some is considered "light weight" but for me was a horrible horrible time. My back and knees constantly ached, I could do nothing more but come home from work and sit on the couch. I didn't want to go out with hubby or friends. I would stay home, cook, bake, eat, and sleep.
I had known a few friends who had RNY and always figured it wasn't for me...I wasn't heavy enough...whatever. Until someone told me I did qualify and if I was serious to do the research...so I did. I found barix and ended up having a consult on 1/30/07 After some trials and tribulations with family and personal life, I finally had surgery on 10/30/07.
I now hover between 125 and 130. I am much more active than I ever have been, I love who I am becoming. It's not been an easy road and the emotional adjustments have been huge, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Pam
What is it with mom's and us being yo yo dieting buddies? Hmmm
I too was a yo yo dieter and in grammar school was doing my mom's "jane fonda step aerobics" tapes and getting up at like 5am to take walks with her when we were "on program" I never really learned how to eat healthy. I also remember "hiding" foods. I would eat my lunch at school and end up buying extra food there too. then I would go home and tell mom I didn't really like what I had gotten for lunch, so I would have a large snack. Most of the time dad would give us dinner...and I would tell him that I didn't have a snack and eat a huge dinner. We didn't have bed time snacks or desserts, so I guess that was a blessing in disguise.
In HS I started with stacker weight loss products, fit america, you name the pill I took it. Each time I would lose weight...and then of course gain it back. I didn't date much, if at all....was never one of the popular crown anyhow.
Went to college for a year...gained weight...came home....met my now current husband. At the time we were working long hours in a very physical job and I had trouble keeping up so we BOTH went on atkins. He dropped weight like there was no tomorrow. I dropped a few pounds, not as much as him. We moved in together and I started cooking and baking and eating. Hubby's parents never cooked and he LOVES my cooking and I felt worthwhile, so I continued it "for him" (although I got to eat it, too!!) Then I started working full time and going to school full time - and it was snacking all the unhealthy foods during class, grabbing drive through meals on my way from work to class and from class to home....
When he proposed and I found the dress I wanted, I went on a hard core atkins diet to where I was only eating meat and cheese. I wouldn't even allow myself the carbs from fruits and veggies. Lost about 20 pounds...got down to about 205. After the marriage...got REAL comfortable again and didn't pay much attention to it.
I got myself up to 235 pounds which for some is considered "light weight" but for me was a horrible horrible time. My back and knees constantly ached, I could do nothing more but come home from work and sit on the couch. I didn't want to go out with hubby or friends. I would stay home, cook, bake, eat, and sleep.
I had known a few friends who had RNY and always figured it wasn't for me...I wasn't heavy enough...whatever. Until someone told me I did qualify and if I was serious to do the research...so I did. I found barix and ended up having a consult on 1/30/07 After some trials and tribulations with family and personal life, I finally had surgery on 10/30/07.
I now hover between 125 and 130. I am much more active than I ever have been, I love who I am becoming. It's not been an easy road and the emotional adjustments have been huge, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Pam
Instead of complaining that the rosebush has thorns, be happy that the thorn bush has roses. 
Had I found this site before that I would have come up and said hello! My consult was late in the afternoon - scheduled for 2:30 if I remember correctly but Dr. P got held up in surgery and I sat in the consult room until well after 4pm waiting for her.
Small world!
Pam
Small world!
Pam
Instead of complaining that the rosebush has thorns, be happy that the thorn bush has roses.
Hi Lisa,
Well, my mom was the opposite as far as dieting. She loved food, was overweight her whole life, and that trend continued when she had me. Yes, I was on a thousand diets that everyone else was, but it wasn't because my mom pushed it on me. I think it was me wanting to lose the weight. I was fluffy from the age of 5 right on up to age 34. My highest weight was 386. My mom never stressed that I needed to lose weight. I think because she was heavy herself and maybe I was a comfort to her being heavy. I don't know.
But anyway, I was a very active child even with being overweight. I was a cheerleader and a softball player...very good, I might add :) I was also involved with Girl Scouts and dance class, tumbling. I was a swimmer in high school and also a softball player. I was HUGE, but I still participated in sports and was actually good at them.
I NEVER, EVER dated. When I was 13 I had a boyfriend. He was 15 and was the bad boy in the neighborhood. I rebelled against my parents because they separated and I wanted to be with this boy that they didn't want me with. I spent two years with him off and on. It made me feel special that this cute boy wanted to be with me even though I was the fattest girl in the neighborhood. But really he was using me. Then I didn't have another boyfriend until I was like 25. He was a loser. I dated another boy for like a month. And then I met my husband and we have been together almost 11 years, though we're separated now.
My journey to WLS started at Temple about a year or two before Barix. They scared the living crap out of me and I was convinced that the surgery was not for me. Well, after gaining some more weight the next couple of years and reaching my highest of 386 my whole body hurt. I was a hermit crab that stayed in her shell hiding never to come out. Every time I went out I looked around who was looking at me. I cringed every time I had to go to a party and would only stay long enough to say hi and was ready to say goodbye. It got really bad.
My best friend told me about a girl at her work that went to Barix and said I should check it out. So after a month or so of thinking about it, I decided to call for a consult. My consult was June of 2007 and I had my surgery in October of 2007. And to date I have lost 225 pounds!!! And I actually have tears in my eyes right now thinking of everything that has happened to me this past year and a half. And how my life is forever changed. I am sooooooooooooo happy to be who I am right now and soooooooooo happy to be "thin". I put that in quotations because it's hard for me to say that I am thin, I think because of all the excess skin I have. But I will eventually get there and accept the "thin" word, because Lord knows I know I'm not the fluffy 386 pounds I was almost 15 months ago. And I thank Barix and Dr. Boe every day for giving me a life that I never knew before. And I will be forever grateful.
Well, my mom was the opposite as far as dieting. She loved food, was overweight her whole life, and that trend continued when she had me. Yes, I was on a thousand diets that everyone else was, but it wasn't because my mom pushed it on me. I think it was me wanting to lose the weight. I was fluffy from the age of 5 right on up to age 34. My highest weight was 386. My mom never stressed that I needed to lose weight. I think because she was heavy herself and maybe I was a comfort to her being heavy. I don't know.
But anyway, I was a very active child even with being overweight. I was a cheerleader and a softball player...very good, I might add :) I was also involved with Girl Scouts and dance class, tumbling. I was a swimmer in high school and also a softball player. I was HUGE, but I still participated in sports and was actually good at them.
I NEVER, EVER dated. When I was 13 I had a boyfriend. He was 15 and was the bad boy in the neighborhood. I rebelled against my parents because they separated and I wanted to be with this boy that they didn't want me with. I spent two years with him off and on. It made me feel special that this cute boy wanted to be with me even though I was the fattest girl in the neighborhood. But really he was using me. Then I didn't have another boyfriend until I was like 25. He was a loser. I dated another boy for like a month. And then I met my husband and we have been together almost 11 years, though we're separated now.
My journey to WLS started at Temple about a year or two before Barix. They scared the living crap out of me and I was convinced that the surgery was not for me. Well, after gaining some more weight the next couple of years and reaching my highest of 386 my whole body hurt. I was a hermit crab that stayed in her shell hiding never to come out. Every time I went out I looked around who was looking at me. I cringed every time I had to go to a party and would only stay long enough to say hi and was ready to say goodbye. It got really bad.
My best friend told me about a girl at her work that went to Barix and said I should check it out. So after a month or so of thinking about it, I decided to call for a consult. My consult was June of 2007 and I had my surgery in October of 2007. And to date I have lost 225 pounds!!! And I actually have tears in my eyes right now thinking of everything that has happened to me this past year and a half. And how my life is forever changed. I am sooooooooooooo happy to be who I am right now and soooooooooo happy to be "thin". I put that in quotations because it's hard for me to say that I am thin, I think because of all the excess skin I have. But I will eventually get there and accept the "thin" word, because Lord knows I know I'm not the fluffy 386 pounds I was almost 15 months ago. And I thank Barix and Dr. Boe every day for giving me a life that I never knew before. And I will be forever grateful.
Karen 
I started out as a scrawny kid - toncilitis kept me skinny - had them taken out at 6 and then the weight came on. I went thru phases thru-out my school years, but always leaning on the 'fluffier' side of life, but I was very out-going and very popular in school and with the boys (big boobs will do that for you), so I never wanted for friends or boyfriends.
When I was 19 I had an affair with my boss, a married man, and became pregnant - he quit his job and took off for home and his wife (we worked together in PA but his family was in Louisiana). I knew there was no way I could keep the baby at that point in my life - no job, no dad around for the baby, etc., so I gave her up for adoption right after my 20th birthday. I also went over 200 lbs when I got pregnant and never went back under that number.
The trauma of giving up a child scars very deeply, and as normal and happy as I tried to seem on the outside I know I was eating my way through my sorrow over the coming years - I was in one bad relationship after another (most of them being with married men), and thinking about my daughter every day.
When I met my husband he was the first man to treat me decently and love me for who I was - he also understood about my need to some day find my daughter and supported me fully in this. I guess that's when I went into my other comfort zone of finally having someone, being married, and the weight piled on and on. I did find my daughter and we have a wonderful relationship now - sadly the weight didn't fall off because of it.
On my 50th birthday I looked at a photo of myself and literally burst into tears - I knew I had kept gaining weight, but friends and family never said a negative word about it even tho I had bi-lateral knee replacements at 41, had asthma, couldn't walk around in a mall or any place else for that matter. They loved me for me. But I didn't love me anymore and knew I had to do something drastic, because like everyone else Weigh****chers, Atkins, Jenny Craig and every diet supplement known to man didn't help me.
I did a lot of research and had my initial consult with Dr Boe at Barix - telling my family and friends that I was having the surgery was an extremely emmotional time for me, but outside of a few negative remarks everyone was supportive and wanted only the best for me - two of my best friends and my husband went to the initial consult and felt 100% better afterwards knowing I would be in good hands.
I lost 50 lbs prior to surgery thru the insurance requirements I had to undergo and then Dr Boe's 10 day liquid diet pre-surgery - I have lost another 105 since February and am closing in on my first big goal of hitting 200, and then I'll go from there.
This website, the people at Barix, and my friends and family have been key in helping me get this far in my journey, and I know I will be able to reach my goal with this amazing tool.
Kathy
When I was 19 I had an affair with my boss, a married man, and became pregnant - he quit his job and took off for home and his wife (we worked together in PA but his family was in Louisiana). I knew there was no way I could keep the baby at that point in my life - no job, no dad around for the baby, etc., so I gave her up for adoption right after my 20th birthday. I also went over 200 lbs when I got pregnant and never went back under that number.
The trauma of giving up a child scars very deeply, and as normal and happy as I tried to seem on the outside I know I was eating my way through my sorrow over the coming years - I was in one bad relationship after another (most of them being with married men), and thinking about my daughter every day.
When I met my husband he was the first man to treat me decently and love me for who I was - he also understood about my need to some day find my daughter and supported me fully in this. I guess that's when I went into my other comfort zone of finally having someone, being married, and the weight piled on and on. I did find my daughter and we have a wonderful relationship now - sadly the weight didn't fall off because of it.
On my 50th birthday I looked at a photo of myself and literally burst into tears - I knew I had kept gaining weight, but friends and family never said a negative word about it even tho I had bi-lateral knee replacements at 41, had asthma, couldn't walk around in a mall or any place else for that matter. They loved me for me. But I didn't love me anymore and knew I had to do something drastic, because like everyone else Weigh****chers, Atkins, Jenny Craig and every diet supplement known to man didn't help me.
I did a lot of research and had my initial consult with Dr Boe at Barix - telling my family and friends that I was having the surgery was an extremely emmotional time for me, but outside of a few negative remarks everyone was supportive and wanted only the best for me - two of my best friends and my husband went to the initial consult and felt 100% better afterwards knowing I would be in good hands.
I lost 50 lbs prior to surgery thru the insurance requirements I had to undergo and then Dr Boe's 10 day liquid diet pre-surgery - I have lost another 105 since February and am closing in on my first big goal of hitting 200, and then I'll go from there.
This website, the people at Barix, and my friends and family have been key in helping me get this far in my journey, and I know I will be able to reach my goal with this amazing tool.
Kathy
'One shoe can change your life'...Cinderella
Most Active
Recent Topics
