Gingergl
My story is similar to so many others listed here already. I'm 31 years old and have been obese my whole life. I come from a family of big eaters. My mother and my brother also struggle with their weight. My father was overweight as a child, but got involved in sports and then joined the Marines. This cured his weight problem and he has been a fitness/health food junkie ever since. It's strange that my parents have been together for 42 years, yet they are like Jack Sprat and his wife.
Anyway, I have tried weight watchers, Adkins, South Beach, the cabbage soup diet- and many others. The most weight I lost at one time was 38 lbs in six months. I lost motivation and promptly gained that weight back plus an additional 40 lbs. I'd developed hypertension, arthritis in both knees and my back.
I finally decided that I'd had enough and went to my doctor for a referral to Dr. Edwards and a nutritionist. That was back in October 2006. I weighed in at 423 lbs. I started following the eating plan I set up with the nutritionist and began seeing results. By April 2007 I was down to 391. My insurance approved my surgery on 4/12/07. I had my second consultation with Dr. Edwards on 04/24/07 and got scheduled for surgery 05/09/07.
My mother was diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer 4/5/07. This was another wake up call for me to do something about my weight. My mom is disabled due to health problems caused by her excess weight. In order to do the hysterectomy they had to remove her 'apron.' All the excess skin and abdominal fat was removed. Her surgery was 05/04/07. I went ahead with my surgery as planned at her request. I had my band put in 5-9-07 - I weighed in at 381 lbs.
My family, friends, and my partner have been extremely supportive throughout this process. I'm really excited about what the rest of my life holds for me from here. :)
