TeriLyn
I have been battling obesity for almost 20 years. But the story begins before that...
Looking back on my high school years, it is now clear to me that I had some sort of eating disorder. I used to eat very poorly, if at all. I am 5'7'' and at one point only weighed 118 pounds. Even though I got a lot of attention from the opposite sex, I was very insecure and TRULY saw myself as "overweight".
I put on some weight as soon as I was in a stable relationship. I was actually much healthier. He started teasing me about my weight and I decided to join a weight loss clinic. I remember attending that first and only meeting noticing how the others looked at me. I was 18 and weighed about 150 pounds! (I can only imagine now what those women were thinking). I really did feel like I was huge!
College began and true to the rumor...I put on about 40 pounds. My boyfriend did as well so we literally "grew together". However, this was not an emotionally healthy time in my life...with him or my family. I turned to food as comfort. For the rest of the college years, I continued gaining weight until I weighed about 220 pounds.
Well, I got rid of the boyfriend and some of the weight. I was feeling much better about myself for the most part. Some of my new friends and I decided to leave Iowa for Houston, Texas after graduation. We all got teaching jobs and "lived up" our early twenties. Needless to say, I put on some more weight with all of my "living" in Texas!
I decided to get a grip and join a gym. I had always been an athletic person when I was younger but found that being a "grown-up" doesn't lend itself to the level of activity I used to do! My best friend and I joined World Gym and began eating everything "fat-free". At this point in my life, I had no idea how much I weighed because I refused to look at a scale. After a month or two at the gym, my doctor noticed that I had lost 14 lbs.! I was very motivated because I really wasn't dieting...only buying the fat-free stuff but still eating the same amount as always. I was on my way to a normal weight!
During this time, I decided to move back to Iowa. I am a midwestern girl through and through and needed to get back to those roots. This was a very stressful time for me and I am sure I put on some weight (remember...I never looked at a scale!). Right after I started my new job and moved into my new apartment, I met this sweet guy. After about two weeks, I knew he was the one. And...he was! We got married seven months later! I looked at a scale for the first time in years...240 pounds! I was so depressed!
My new hubby, Eric, also was a bit chubby and loved to eat even more than I did! He didn't care about my excess weight...he just wanted to enjoy going out to eat, etc. Two months after our wedding, I discovered that I was pregnant! We were shocked and unbelievably happy. I loved being pregnant...but I packed on the pounds unlike I had ever done before. By the end of my pregnancy, I weighed 298 pounds.
I ended up having a c-section and really felt in a rut. Once I got my life together I joined Weight Watchers for the first time. I lost 26 pounds only to put it back on. This was the beginning of my first battle with the "put it on-take it off-put it back on" cycle. I tried so many different things, only to feel like a failure.
Big news...I was pregnant again! This time...I was sick! At one of my early check-ups, I remember that I had lost about 20 pounds. I don't remember how much I weighed at the end of this pregnancy, but it wasn't 298. I remember I weighed 257 at my 6 weeks check-up. I joined WW the next day!
WW did not work for me...again. I tried so many different diets, plans, meds, etc. During this time period, my family went through some very hard times. My oldest son was diagnosed with autism, I had a couple of health scares and my dad was basically dying. Needless to say, I had a breakdown and was put on Lexapro, an anti-anxiety drug. Lexapro probably saved me...but guess what one of the side effects is? Weight gain! And I did! I hit the 300 pound mark!
Now, it is a few years later and I am in a place where I am happy and believe it or not...pretty healthy! I have a few co-morbidities, but nothing too bad. I know a few people who have had weight loss surgery and saw the remarkable progress they have made. I have always been a strong person...and have been through a lot...but weight is the demon that I have never been able to beat. With the tool of surgery and the support of others, I am convinced that this will work for me!
I ready to start living the rest of my life!
