bbwgecko
I have always been overweight. Even as a child, I was chubby. I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting when I was 9 years old. It seems weird to think I was heavy enough to join Weight Watchers at 9. I was a dancer and a swimmer. I danced for 5 years and swam for I don't know how many years. Still I was heavy. I miss dancing. I look at dancers / ballarinas and wish it were me. I drool over ballet slippers and wish that I could slip my foot into a pointe shoe just once.
I gained a lot of weight when I went to boarding school for HS. I was able to eat whatever I wanted. There was a vending machine and pop machine. It was my rebellious child coming out.
The weight just blossomed. I was in denial for many years. A couple of years ago I switched doctors and was diagnosed with binge eating disorder. I was in therepy for over a year for the eating disorder. I met with a nutritionist and went to a class at U of Mich called "The Hunger Within". The class was amazing and I'm grateful that I had the class because it will come in handy after the surgery. I recommend the book.
This summer (2006), I hit rock bottom. I was above 400 lbs, embarrassed to go to my doctor because I hadn't lost any weight and I could't go to the amusement park with my sister and her kids because I couldn't walk around the park or ride in any of the rides.
I found the Barix center again. Turns out I had called there 7 years ago when I first started researching the surgery. So it took me 7 years to get back there. I made my consultation appointment for the next month as I had to change my insurance. My phone call came at a fortuitous time, it was open enrollment at my company and I was able to switch to a different insurance where I would have a better chance of having them accept my insurance.
And the rest is history... My surgery is scheduled for 11/27/06. I passed my P.A.T. with flying colors and I'm ready to go!
