Rose1up!

A little about me, for starters - I wasn't always overweight. I played soccer for 26 years. During that time, if I did not play, I would have been the heavy one. I was one of the bigger kids out on the soccer field. Always chubby but with muscle if that makes any sense?  When I was in 8th grade, I weighed 145 lbs. That was a lot of muscle but I was still a bit on the heavy side. When I graduated high school, I weighed 178 lbs. The weight started climbing. I never really knew about food and nutrition and really didn't have to because whatever I ate I burned it off. Earlier in my 20's, my weight started going up and down. It would go up at times because of eating and drinking alcohol late at night and on the weekends. I still didn't think I had a weight problem. Never dieted during this time. Then in my late 20's and first husband, the highest weight I was at 210 lb. I thought that was pretty big for me. I divorced my ex husband back in 2003 and dropped about 43 lbs. but it was from stress. I thought stress was the greatest diet. I became pregnant in 2004. Gained a total of 49 lbs with my daughter. I went to a weight loss clinic to lose the baby weight. I lost 36 lbs. That was with the diet plan and the pills they supply you with. I had to stop taking them because the pills were making me so jittery. I dropped all the baby weight and got back down to 208 lb weigh in. Then I had a bunch of female problems and had to go in for a Total Hysterectomy in 2013. After the Total Hysterectomy, my weight just kept climbing and climbing. Now, today - I am weighing 258 lbs. I have tried many diets from right before I became pregnant and many after. I always felt hungry and felt like I was starving. My line of work is very sedentary and very stressful. There comes the cortisol around the belly. Well, as I mentioned before that I have always been the chubby kid and if I didn't play soccer or sports, I would have always been over weight. I have obesity on my mothers side of the family and my father's side. Both my aunt and my uncle on my dad's side have had the gastric by pass done. This is where I began to think that this was for me. I have problems with my knees crunching, breathe heavy after a short burst of energy, and completely feel like I am blowing up in my weight. I am choosing to do the gastric sleeve for a better way of life for me. I want to do this as it is permanent. No more pills or diets that make me starve. I also want to get this done before I start menopause. I think I will have a harder time losing weight if I am in menopause. I joined this group for support as well as education for me. I look forward to my new journey and the support from everyone. Thank you.