A little info about me. As of right now.
Age: 32
Height: 5’7″
Weight: 245 lbs
Yep, there ya go. Oh, wait, but I’m “big boned”. I swear!
I’ve struggled with my weight all my life. One time I had someone ask me what I “used to weigh”.
I looked at her, confused. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…what did you weigh back when you were thinner? What did you used to weigh back then?”
“You mean…like… when I was a freshman in high school??”
If that’s the question, the answer is about 145lbs. So, even then, I was “thick”. I’ve never had the ass/hips/thighs of a big girl, though. I carry all my weight in the middle. As my mom would say, I’m “barrel-chested”. Built like a brick shit house!
If we’re being politically correct… I’m “apple-shaped”.
Oh, how I’ve always longed to be pear-shaped. Or hour-glass shaped! It’s just not my lot in life.
When I was younger, I develped high cholesterol and triglycerides. I was always tall and heavy for my age. Looking back at pictures from elementary school and junior high, I was not “fat”. My parents sent me to dieticians and cut out most of the fat from my diet. They tried to get me into sports. My siblings never had these problems. They’ve always been pretty thin.
By the time I graduated high school, my cholesterol was still high, but much better than it had been. My triglycerides were still off the charts. My weight was about 175. Looking back, that doesn’t sound too shabby.
I went to college my freshman year in south central PA. Can you say “no sun for 4 months”? Yeah, that’s winter in the valley. I hid indoors and ate. And ate. And ate.
By the end of my freshman year, I was over 210lbs. I moved back to FL to be with my family. I soaked up the sunshine, I swam, I worked. I lost weight.
I got into kickboxing and yoga! I loved it! I got down to a svelt 190lbs. Yep. 190. I looked, good, though – I have to admit. I was toned and flexible. I felt amazing.
Then work and school and life drowned out the exercise routine. I was young and enjoying the bar scene, smoking weed, eating whatever I felt like at the moment. I dated and had a blast.
I moved to Texas in 2001 to be closer to family. For a while, I lived the “cheapest shit I can find” diet. I don’t even want to think about the junk I ate during that first year or so. I was smoking, too. Then I’d quit. Start again. You know the drill.
In 2003, I got engaged. He was overseas during most of our engagement and I decided I wanted to look awesome for the wedding. I started the South Beach Diet. A friend of mine pointed out that it was originally written for people with high triglycerides, among other things. It was a heart-healthy diet. I read up on it and it was a sound concept, so I started my first ever real diet.
I got down to 185lbs. I was so excited. I have friends that could never even fathom being “excited” about weighing that much.
My SBD friends, however, were very happy for me. We jokingly called any weight under 200lbs “one-derland”. (Get it? Because your weight starts with a 1. Yeah…it’s all making sense now, right?)
It didn’t last. Stress of my fiance getting home, wedding planning, working too much, etc… it all caught up to me. When I got married in May 2004, I was back up around 210lbs.
I’ve never weighed less than 200lbs since. After 8 years of trying (and don’t blame me having a baby – that was almost SIX YEARS AGO), I’ve never gotten there again. The lightest I’ve been since my kiddo was born is 214lbs. That was right after I got married to my current husband. We then went to Jamaica on an all-inclusive honeymoon trip and blew that shit RIGHT out of the water!
A little about my husband. He’s 41 (just had a birthday!) and about 6’1″. When we met in June 2010, he weighed about 375lbs. He’s now 250lbs. (Six months before we met, he was 426lbs.)
In July 2010, he had the Lap-Band procedure.
Mind you, I’ve dated guys before that had gone through that procedure…and expected it to just work magic. They still ate shit 24/7 and forced things down (usually only to throw them back up again). When my husband told me he had been working towards this surgery, I told him I was behind him 100%..as long as he used it as a tool and made other changes in his lifestyle as well. He did.
We have a gym membership and – while we take some breaks here and there – we both use it fairly regularly. I cook healthy meals for us (most days!) and we have stopped eating out as much. A little over a year ago, I thought about getting Lap-Band, too. But…I chickened out. I tried phentermine instead. (That’s how I got down to 214!) As soon as I went off it, I gained the weight back.
About 3 months ago, I decided it was time to do something else. Type 2 diabetes runs in my family. I’m built in a way that I carry my fat in the most unhealthy parts of my body – putting me at risk for stroke, heart disease, etc. I’ve tried my entire adult life to get things under control and it just hasn’t worked. You can say I’m weak, you can say I should try harder… say whatever you want. I’ve decided to get the Lap-Band procedure. My first appointment was a month ago. I’m going to the same doc my husband goes to.
Today I made my psychologist and nutritionist appointments (required by insurance). My 2nd weight loss appointment is tomorrow. At this pace, I should be ready and approved for surgery by July.
I might make it to One-derland by New Years.
Eye on "One"derland 