You have heard of Yo-yo dieting...that has been the story of my life, but no more! My struggle with weight began at puberty. I remember being little and hearing my parents fight about whose fault it was that I was overweight. My dad tried to be supportive to help me lose weight and said that he would give me $5 for each pound that I lost, but I just never could buckle down and lose it. At the age of 11, I took my allowance bought dexa-trim (this was before the stores put the mandates that diet drugs couldn't be bought by people under the age of 18.)... it was a tablet that dissolved in water and was supposed to help people lose weight. I got the berry flavor and as a result, I still HATE that flavor to this day.
At the age of 14, I battled some with eating disorders where I wouldn't eat, would eat only a little and when my friends mom discovered this and made a big deal about me eating, then I tried using laxatives. That didn't last long either before my brother-in-law had me come over and showed me a book and what could happen as a result if I continued doing this. I was never really successful in any weight loss endeavor until I was 17.
I was in the 11th grade and I saw that my weight was at 161. I couldn't believe I had gotten that big. My friend invited me to the prom and I picked out a dress and vow I would wear it. I ate healthier and excercised more. I walked a lot and I would wake up and do Abs of Steel 2000 ( I did that a couple times a day). I remember watching my own versions of "Thinspo" before it became popular. I watched the making of the 1992 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and I watched videos of Aerosmith that featured Alicia Silverstone. I did fit in that dress. I lost 20 pounds in two weeks and I continued to lose another 20. This was the first time in my life, I could wear tighter pants and not have any kind of a fat roll appear. That felt nice.
I was able to keep it off for two years. During this time, I had a lot of unwanted male attention that peaked when I was sexually assaulted and things haven't been the same since. My weight began to creep back up from 120 to 160 by the time I got pregnant with my first child. During that first pregnancy, my weight soared from 160 up to 255. On the day I found out I was pregnant with my 2nd child I had lost 55 pounds and had gotten down to 200 pounds. I gained 65 pounds in that pregnancy taking me up to 265 in my pregnancy with him. By the time he was 6 months old, I had lost 70 pounds and was down to 195. About a year and a half later, I got a really bad kidney infection, almost died and was in the hospital for a few days and I gained about 30 pounds back. Right after that I found out I was pregnant with my third child and gained another 70 pounds. I weighed 294 about 6 days after she was born. I lost 86 pounds (down to 208) and then my best friend died instantly in a car accident. My weight began to creep back up. (I remember being discouraged and thinking "What is the purpose. She was so beautiful alive and when she died, she wasn't nearly as beautiful lying in the casket.") I went through a divorce and was remarried.
By the time I was officially diagnosed with Chronic Hypertension and Hypothyroidism I was back up to 275. I lost about 20 pounds being on my Levothyroxine (thyroid hormone) and then found out I was pregnant with my youngest child. My highest weight in my pregnancy with him was 308. I didn't gain nearly as much with him because I did water aerobics and swam a lot during that pregnancy. The lowest point after his birth was about 240 (which was about a 68 pound weight loss) when my husband got his Immigrant Visa and was able to come and live with us permanently. I have had tremendously stressful things in my life since then and have not been able to lose weight. I was diagnosed with Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome about 9 months ago and was put on medication for that as well.
With my health issues, weight loss and exercise will be difficult for me. I tried to walk about a mile and a half and it killed me how difficult it was for me. My age and health really became very apparent to me. Then a week ago Sunday something was said to me that really triggered me to where I am today. I am going to lose weight. I might have to do things more drastically than I did in the past. I do want the yo-yo affects of my weight to quit... but if I don't do something drastic, I will die young.
I am 35 years old. I am 5 foot 5 inches tall and today I weighed myself and I about cried. I topped the scales at 302.5 pounds. That is my highest weight ever except for when I was pregnant with my youngest son, but I am only 3.5 pounds less than I was then (with a baby inside me).
My daughter wants to lose weight and we are going to do it together. Her health is better than mine so she is able to be more physically active than I can, but there is no turning back... we are going to change our lives. We haven't figured out all the hows yet for her. I plan to eat 6 small meals a day. I want to attempt to have it be drastic to shrink my stomach without surgery. I want to keep my metabolism stimulated. We are taking vitamins to ensure that we are getting all our nutrients. In fact my daughter and I were talking and whatever we do will be healthier than we were when we were just eating a few bowls of ramen a day without vitamins.
So here is to us! If any of you want to go on this journey with us, we welcome you.
No comments:
Post a Comment