tharris158
My name is Tamera (Tami) and I live in a small town. I have been big just about all my life. I do remember losing 80 lbs in High School because I was riding a bike to work 2 miles a day. But once I had saved up enough money and bought a car the pounds came back on.
Then I got married and (my ex husband was a big eater and I joined in) we had 3 sons and I put weight on with each pregnancy and I never lost any of the weight… So I got bigger and bigger and bigger… I went through a horrible separation and divorce and nothing makes you feel better than a bowl of ice cream or a big glass of milk and cookies…So I ate my blues away….And eat and eat… I am an emotional eater. When I am happy (I eat), when I am sad (I eat), When I am just around anyone (I eat), or when I am lonely (I eat)… in other words I eat no matter what the occasion.. I like to eat….
All family outings were around eating, you went to your aunt’s house you ate… went to your parents house and mom put out the food for the grandkids, but I always seemed to eat it for the kids.
Anyway, I have been a single parent to 3 boys for 12 years and I finally said enough when I hit 340 lbs and could not breathe and had high blood pressure. I hit rock bottom thinking that I was going to die and never see my sons get older and go on with their lives. I climbed a flight of stairs and would think I would die of a heart attack before getting to the top…
So after years of researching the lap band and the gastric bypass surgery I choose to do one. My insurance would only pay for the gastric bypass surgery…So I found a doctor and on
I had a few rough months… where I could not eat and I could only suck on ice… so I went to the hospital for dehydration and they check to make sure my pouch was okay.. I finally was able to drink protein and eat the pureed protein food… And suddenly the weight started coming off.. Yeah!!! I finally reached a weight I was happy with.
I managed to lose to 170 lbs… Wahoo!! I was looking good and loving putting on size 16 jeans and size 8-10 tops… I was Ms. Hot thing… I wanted to loose more weight and do the skin removal but insurance would not pay for it because it was not medically necessary.
I put an ad on Yahoo personals and met several people but only dated one man. Richard who two and half years later I married… So, here I am again realizing that I am still the emotional eater... and that my pouch (my tool) is not working as good as it did. My husband and I like to go out and I would order a dinner and he would eat what I could not eat… (He was getting seconds...)ha ha
But then I noticed I started eating more and more. And I was no longer losing weight.
So I have gained weight and am looking into getting a revision or trying to find more information on this new procedure. I have learned that nothing is permanent and that you have to fight daily to keep your weight under control. The older you get the slower your body loses weight (in my opinion).
If you can learn one thing from my journey, then note this: Stay away from candy, cookies, desserts and popcorn… I started baking for my sons and husband and realized what I was buying and making.. I was the one eating the majority of it… My sons would say, “Hey where is the cake… ummm… I don’t know… but I did know… I had eaten the last piece…
Good Luck to everyone who is going down the weight lost road or who is thinking of walking down this road. This is not a quick fix... It is a lifelong journey that you have to take seriously.
Tamera
