Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.
I was a thin child. And active child and teenager. I ran track I was a very healthy young person. Then I graduated high school went to college and started slowly gaining weight. That freshmen 15 turned into Sophomore 25 and it just kept going. I didn't really pay attention to it because I was just so busy. No time to eat healthy or exercise I had things to do. I got a job after college at a law firm that provided a free lunch and also every time a lawyer would win a case we got free donuts and bagels. We won a lot. The weight just kept on creeping up. I noticed it but had no time to do anything about. By this time I became pregnant with my son and I got married and again I was so busy with everyone else where did I have time to think about me? Where did I fit into the equation. I didn't. Finally my son was 15 and I turned 40 years old and I no longer recognized myself. I had ballooned to 285 at my highest weight. I didn't know what to do. I tried losing weight on my own and I was successful at it. But keeping it off? No that was my Achilles Heel. I had to do something. I wasn't getting any younger and it was getting harder to get off. Much less keep it off. I prayed on it. I decided after a long long struggle that Gastric Bypass was an option that I needed to consider.
What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?
The worst thing about being overweight is being invisible. Being overlooked and not taken seriously by the normal weight people of this world. I was looked at like I was lazy or just couldn't control myself. It was embarrassing to travel by airplane because I had to ask for the seat extender. I would get that sympathetic look from the flight attendant. I hated that. Don't feel sorry for me. I am good. Or that is what I told myself. I was so tired of being invisible in a world full of people who were determined to find fault in who I was. When they didn't even know me. Not being able to walk long distances. The pain in my legs. My feet ached. My back hurt. It was just all too much.
If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?
Today since the surgery I no longer feel like I am invisible. People listen to me. They see who I am today and are amazed by my journey. I can run up the stairs again. I can work out and not feel like the whole room is looking at me. And if they are it is because of a whole other reason then prior to my surgery. I started my own business as a Jewelry consultant. I am no longer afraid to stand in front of people and speak. I try to inspire people with my story and to let them know that life does not have to stop because of your weight. You don't have to hide or not feel like you are fulfilled because you feel like you are being held back by a number on the scale. I have never felt better in my entire life. Not even when I was 112 in high school. I look good on the outside by now my insides match the outside and I couldn't be happier. The rest of my life is nothing but more opportunities to grow. My son is now 18 and he is so proud of me. Both of my parents died way too young at 69 and 70 years of age from preventable diseases. I wanted to give my son a better legacy then the one I received. I want to be here for my grand kids, I want them to have memories of me that my son doesn't have of his own grand parents. I owe that to him. I owe my life to my son because it is because of him I chose to live and not just exist.
Myfurtureisbright
