crystalLL
My Weight Loss Journey…. I have always been pretty athletic growing up I never had any weight issues. I had two older brothers and I lived on a street with mostly boys. I was such a tomboy! I was one of the “guys.” I loved sports and still do. It wasn’t until I got in my 30s that I started to see my body really change. I noticed that I could not move like I used to. I could not just eat anything and burn it off. The more I ate the bigger I got. At one time I reached over 375 pounds! From there I went up and down with my weight. At one time I had lost about 75 pounds in a year. I took diet pills that my doctor had prescribed to me and I was doing Weight Watchers. The one thing about me is I weighed more than people thought I did. I am about 5 feet 8 inches so I was able to hide it pretty well, but I knew I needed to do something as I was really overweight. I did not have high blood pressure or diabetes, illnesses that are very common in overweight people. However, I was heading in that direction; it was just a matter of time. It wasn’t until I got in my 40s that I was diagnosed with diabetes first and then later with high blood pressure. Moving forward I realized my health was not going to get any better unless I made some positive changes. In June of 2009, I weighed about 353 pounds. I made an appointment to see my doctor to discuss Weight Loss Surgery (WLS). Together we decided that the Lap Band surgery would be best for me. I had my surgery in November of 2009. I thought it would be very simple. Have the WLS and I would be good to go. Well, it does not work that way. You still have to be disciplined in your eating habits along with exercise. You have to actually lose weight before you have the surgery to prove you will be disciplined and use it as a tool. After the surgery you have to be even more disciplined. To date I have lost over 160 pounds. I have a few more pounds until I reach my goal weight. Since I have made these changes my future looks bright and healthy! I am proud to say I do not have diabetes or high blood pressure anymore! There are so many more things that I can do now. I can exercise, cross my legs; get into an airplane seat without being asked if I need an extension and not worrying if a chair is going to break on me. Yes these are some of things that I went through being overweight. I feel good about myself and I am still a little shy about my weight loss. So doing this story is kind of hard for me. I know what it’s like to be overweight and all of the struggles you go through. I feel very blessed that I had the WLS. I am fortunate to have great support from my husband, family, friends and my co-workers! Advice that I would like to share is….WLS may not be for everyone, but being healthy is! There is only one you…..take care of yourself. Like Nike motto says….JUST DO IT!
