Daily Post--2/17/08

I know from childhood pictures that I have been obese at least since I started school (age 5 or so). I believe that my obesity was originally due to a combination of my personality and my parents' inability to acknowledge and address my problem. And no, I don't blame them for the fact that my obesity continued into my adulthood. I have battled it my entire life and I feel that I am finally starting to win the battle.

I've been overweight since I was 6, so it has always been an issue. But the pounds really starting packing on when my sister died. I just didn't care anymore, and the only comfort I had was from food. Of course it wasn't much comfort, but it was there. Cheers!

I'm not entirely sure. I just know that I really like food. It's FUN to eat and the heavier I got the more fun it was...because I wasn't going out and having real fun. Does that make sense? I'm really shy too, and I never know what to say in social settings, so I'm happier at home with ice cream and a good book. I'm definitely a binge eater...I just like to eat, and eat, and eat.

OMG! I was all of the above. I had and have severe back problems, I binged too much and I was an emotional eater also. I needed this wls, but more then anything I've needed to learn a different way of dealing with all those issues instead of food, and it's still hard to do at times even with wls.

Emotional eating. I tend to stuff down all the hurts and pains and then eat. But my therapist and I are working on changing that. I ate when I was sad, happy, lonely, bored, tired, angry, etc...

Genetically predisposed from birth. Stressful family environment growing up (extremely high expectations/critical/mental and physical abuse from my father/working 12 hour days since age 9). A painful childhood... I wasn't able to be a child... I didn't have a childhood. I believe I turned to food as my coping mechanism, it was allowed in my family as everyone was large. It's amazing to me what one carries into adulthood. I'm glad I know what was at the root now. I could never pinpoint it until this year. This surgery really opened my eyes. I'm a different person now.

Good question...I was always "overweight" and I can never remember a time that I didn't LOVE food...meat, poultry, veggies, fruit, cookies, pie, chips...It all tasted so good. Often times it was paired with social events which made it that much more fun. As I got older, I started to recognize that I ate far more than my friends, but that didn't deter me. I just became a "closet or car" eater, consuming food on my way home from work, only to get home and make / eat dinner with my husband. I tried everything...Gloria Marshall, Jenny Craig, Nutri-System, Curves, Women's Workout World, Hypnosis (3 sessions), Scent Therapy, Weigh****chers, Atkins, Cabbage Soup, Slimfast, Prism, Ripped Fuel, Metabolife, Hydroxycut, Xenadrine, Dexatrim, herbal products, Optifast, Phen-Fen, and Meridia...horrifying isn't it?! To this day, I still battle the food demons but wouldn't trade my new lifestyle for anything! Christy 235/158/165/145

Love of food! I have always eat for taste, even as a kid. I remember eating a whole fried chicken at the age of 9. My entire family is large. We all eat large quanities of food. All of my friends that have stayed with my mom have gained at least 20 lbs while staying. (She will take anyone in and has a good heart.) Before surgery I loved to eat and ate socially. My family ate socially. We ate out daily and ate big meals with rich foods - high in sugar, salt, flavor and fat. I remember bringing my husband home to momma's for dinner and introductions. It was Thanksgiving. He said he had never seen such food! So much and so many different kinds. Keep in mind I think many of us have large Turkey day dinners but unless you are a pleasure eater, surrounded by other pleasure eaters who have ate that way for generations, you probabally can't imagine. My great grandmother was over 400 lbs in the 1800's. That is about 600 lbs now I would say. Anyways we ate it all on Turkey day. Many multiple trips until you felt like you were going to be ill. My husband had one plate and weighs 145 lbs. Christmas after surgery was great! I had 3 oz and every one else piled it on, all the while comenting that they could not believe my weight loss and they felt bad for eating in front of me because I must be hungery. I can honestly say I do not remember ever in my life, being hungery. I felt stuffed after 3 oz. Now it is a chore to eat. There is really very little pleasure in it. I do still like to sit with a group of people socially to eat. I find it is the people I enjoy now and not the food. I love my family members big and small(there is 1 small person thatis blood related but wish the ones with health issues related to obesity could and would have surgery. I know what it has done for my life and that is priceless. (And I am still at 400 lbs and not 4 months out.) I do not push the issue but answer all of there questions with candor and let them know, if they are thinking about it I will be there for them.

WOW..what a loaded question! I started gaining weight in about the 4th grade...my mom became severly depressed dealing with the death of my sister...she basically would come home from work and go to sleep...I was taking care of my little sister and feeling very stressed out..food became my way of dealing with stress and sadness...over the years thru my first marriage that was very physically abusive and my ex-husband who was addicted to all kinds of drugs food continued to be my best friend..the one I confided in when I could tell no one else about the beatings or the scary moments where I would wake up and find him hovering over me at 3am threating me for $$...Food was comfort when there was no comfort to be found elsewhere (or so I thought) and right now I am morning the loss of my friend food...being one month post op I am down from my original surgery high..feeling sad, missing my friend food, questioning what I have done to my body...so many emotions I am struggling with right now...of course it doesn't help that my period is lasting ridiculously long this month...goind on week #2 and I am battling a nasty head cold with ear ache and I haven't lost any weight for two plus weeks..still battling all the old demons...will for the rest of my life I am sure...it doesn't go away - at least not for me.

I was one hundred percent a boredom eater. I would eat when I didn't have a lot to do. The sad part is, I really did eat very healthy food...just too much of it.