HollyS

When I was a kid I was always the skinniest kid in my class, however when I hit puberty I gained weight quickly as I had undiagnosed PCOS. At age 19 I became pregnant and had the worst morning sickness which caused me to lose 20 pounds--but by the end of the pregnancy I weighed 70 more than I started.  7 years later in my second pregnancy I gained 80 pounds that did not come off after the baby came. I had gained weight so fast that people whom I had known for years would either not recognize me at all or had a look of shock on their faces when they saw me.  
 
     Over the next 18 years I tried not to let my weight slow me down. At 210 pounds I was wilderness hiking on the PCT; kayaking, and at 230 pounds I hauled my butt to the top of a mountain on a 6 mile round trip hike.  I never lost a single pound while training for these outings or for any of the smaller goals I set for myself.
 
     I was a fan of Little Debbies snack cakes (so lovingly referred to by my family as "Big Debra's) and I drank nothing but regular sugared cola for years and years.  
 
     It wasn't until I was 44 that I tore my ACL and was sitting on the couch for 3 months that I gained 40 more pounds. I no longer could outrun my weight and along with the injury it finally limited my activities to that of an 80 year-old.   I tried to watch the kinds of foods I ate and switched to diet soda but in truth none of that made a difference. I found that the sugar my body was seeking from the soda was being replaced by uncontrollable urges to eat sugary snacks. I was never a big eater, but sometimes I could eat 3-4 doughnuts at a sitting or a box of chocolate cherries in one day.
 
     I finally realized that the weight gain was becoming beyond my control and I needed to make a drastic change before my new pre-diabetes, hypertension, and super-high cholesterol became something more serious.