artdecade

Hello! My name is Anna. I am 29 years old and a proud wife and mother to a smart, energetic, amazing two year old boy. I am OVER being fat, and am determined to finally get back to the person I am inside.

My weight has been a huge problem for me since I was about 21 years old. I was a Junior in college and suddenly I just started to balloon up! I went from a size 10/12 to an 18 in a single semester. From there, things just got progressively worse. Several years later, I'm wearing a size 24/26 and tried nearly every diet out there to no avail. I'm not saying the diets don't work, I've had some small successes, but nothing stuck. I'd see the weight coming off, but it would be so slow and my weight would fluctuate so much, and eventually I'd give up.

Growing up, even though both my mother and father are overweight, I remember constantly being reminded to not let myself get fat. I was thin as a child, and very active all the time, but it seemed like everyone in my family just expected that eventually I would be fat. I remember being about 14 or 15, I weighed probably about 130 or so (maybe a teensy bit overweight as I was 5'3" with a large frame). I had been a dancer since the age of 4, so I also carried a lot of muscle. Anyway, my grandmother decided at that point that I needed to go to weight watchers meetings. I remember thinking "maybe I'm really fat and I'm not seeing it" and I started to question how other people saw me. By the time I was 16, I quit dancing because I felt I was so much bigger than all the other girls. Looking back, I wasn't. I would do anything to be 130 lbs again.

So, I'm opting to have bariatric surgery. I want to have the Sleeve Gastrectomy procedure, as I feel it is the safest. I've met with my surgeon, and my insurance does require that I complete a six month supervised diet. I'm 2.5 months in, and more anxious every day. I can't wait to have my surgery, but I'm so so nervous that something is going to go wrong and for some reason I won't be able to have it. My insurance requirements are the six month supervised diet, I have to lose 5%-10% of my body weight, and I have to have my GP validate my obesity for the past 5 years. My GP has prescribed me Phentermine to take while I am on a low-calorie diet, and the combination of the two is working well, so I'm not worried about losing the 5%-10%. I probably shouldn't be worried really, but I'm a worrier.

I just really want to have my surgery, and am super excited about it. I'm on my way!