Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.
I had a love/hate/love relationship with food. Food always made me feel good. When I was stressed I would reach for the worst possible food to chew on and I wasn't even hungry. I would look in the mirror and curse myself out. No matter what I did the fat would not leave my body. I could not get a full nights sleep I was always getting up multiple times to use the bathroom because all of the fat on my organs would be pushing on my bladder. I could not sneeze, cough, or laugh my bladder would let go. This was very embarrassing. I would cry, I would hate to go shopping because people would look at me and I can only imagine what they were thinking in their heads about me. Children would stare at me. I would feel horrible and what did I do, I turned to the most comforting thing available to me. FOOD! My self esteem was terribly low. I did not choose healthy foods and I did not make healthy choices. I have an exercise room with wonderful equipment, I'd use it and it seemed nothing was happening, no results and it broke me down and I figured what's the use. I'm never going to loose this ugly fat, this horrible weight that is keeping me from being the best I could be.
What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?
The worst thing for me being overweight was with my job. I traveled alot and lets face it, I was not going to fit into those tiny airplane seats at all and I would always have to ask for an extender for my seat belt. One time I was coming back home from a trip and the plane was not a direct flight, so when the plane pulled in to let the passengers off I got up and moved to the emergency exit seats. The stewardess was so rude and talked very loudly and said, "You have an extender belt you can't sit there." I was so embarrassed. Then one passenger asked what an extender belt was and the rude stewardess said the the other passenger, "Its a belt to extend the seat belt because you are to overweight and the regular seat belt will not fit you." I wanted to just die at that point. The other things about being overweight is the type 2 diabetes I developed, the high blood pressure, my feet even grew wider with my body. Clothes were harder to find.
If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?
I had weight loss surgery November 2, 2011. I am so glad I had the surgery. I am able to now go hiking, take long walks, walk fast, run, swim for 2 hrs at a time without stopping. The airplane seat belt fits me and I can fit in their tiny seats. I can sleep thru the night and not constantly wake up to use the bathroom. I love to exercise now because I can see the results and I can enjoy buying smaller size clothes. I like looking at myself in the mirror. My self esteem is up through the roof. I do not over eat now. I choose healthy foods and make healthy choices now. Now I do not use food as a comforting warm fuzzy feeling. I now use exercise and it relieves all of my stress and I feel so wonderful and free. I am the most happiest I have been in a very long time. I was coming home from a trip and I stopped at a gas station. When I was walking thru I seen out of the corner of my eye these men looking at my backside as I was walking by. That felt so good that someone was looking at me in a flirty way. I tell everyone about the wonderful results of my RNY and share my labs with others as proof of this wonderful lifesaving surgery.
debgore
