layne729

Until middle school, I was a fairly thin child. I developed the tendency to gain weight when puberty hit, and that began the cycle of yo-yo dieting, with my Mom putting me on SlimFast in middle school. Years later, when I graduated from college, I had varied back and forth from a size 7 to size 20. I was a size 16 when I got married at age 22, then by age 24 I was a size 28. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 24 and had my thyroid removed. It became increasingly difficult to lose or maintain after that so for ten years I struggled through depression and anxiety, including a move out of state to a small town in Alabama with no gym and I ate my way through...till I got pregnant with my daughter and hit my highest weight of 356. After a move back to Florida when she was born, and four years of adjusting to living with extended family, job changes, a young child, mounting debt, lost business and lost homes, and marriage on the rocks...In August 2012, I met some inspirational angels who had gastric bypass and had been successful for 5 + years. I had often thought about weight loss surgery but continued to live in denial and tell myself if I could not do it without surgery then why would I do it after surgery? Suddenly it came to me that this was a life or death decision. I had RNY gastric bypass on February 6, 2013. The first day of the rest of my life. It was the absolute best decisions I have made in my life, as it literally saved my life. This journey is truly a one day at a time journey, and a lot of living in the moment and mindfulness techniques have helped. I have not been perfect, but by the grace of God I have been successful. Unfortunately I still see a giant fat person in the mirror. I struggle with that every single moment of every single day. But, one day at a time...recovery takes time. I didn't get huge in a day and I won't adjust to life as a healthier person in a day, either!