DebbieinVA
Hi. I'm Debbie.
When I graduated high school I was 138 lbs. When I went to college, I gained the usual freshman fifteen. Unfortunately, by the time I was 22, I had gotten up to 189 lbs. I tried several diets until I started Nutri-System and lost down to 147 lbs. I kept it off until I got pregnant 5 years later and then I ballooned up to 232 lbs. From then on I tried every diet under the sun. (Dealing with a divorce right there in the middle didn't help much either.) Although it was bad enough going to my 20 yr class reunion weighing over 100 lbs more than when I graduated and being embarassed because people didn't recognize me, I later climbed to my all time high of 267 lbs. At this point I no longer felt good enough to do my normal activities. My back hurt, my knees and feet hurt and I was tired ALL the time. I was embarassed to see people I knew way back when and I was embarassed to go to my daughter's school because I felt like I was always the biggest person in the room. During the summer of 2007, one of my daughter's friends had Gastric Bypass and was doing so well that I was inspired to seriously pursue Lap-Band. Since I'm a single parent and my daughter was only 13 at the time, the risks of Gastric Bypass scared me. By Oct 2007 I had made my first appointments and was on my way to a better life. I completed the 6 month diet plan as required by my insurance but was denied the first go 'round. I was later approved after the first appeal and was thrilled to find out in Sept '08 that I was approved! Towards the end of the Sept. I got my date and was scheduled for surgery on Nov. 5, '08. I was elated!
