RuthieG64

Looking back on childhood photos I realize I started gaining weight when I was about 9 years old---right about the time that my parents lost our family business and uprooted us from the only school I had ever gone to, and moved us approximately 5 times in 4 years. Yep--2 different 4th grades and 2 different 6th grades can be devastating on an overweight, four-eyed only child that had better social skills with her parent's adult friends than she ever possessed when dealing with her peers! In High school I finally found myself--I became popular with my crowd (the brains that also got along with the jocks..Student Goverment, Honor Society, etc.) and I was happy with myself--even though I didn't meet the qualifications of a "fox" in 1982, I was okay with it. The next sevral years saw me trying college (no) and a couple of careers before settling in public service.I became a very confident adult, and always had the "take me the weigh I am" attitude! I dressed nice and never let my weight and larger frame keep me from doing anything that I wantedl I travelled extensively, made dozens friends, and have been in a very successful marriage with my best friend and soulmate for 21+ years. I also bore and raised the most beautiful daughter in the world--seriously, she is gorgeous, which I always joke about saying, "She doesn't look like me, right?!". But then, I hit my 40's. Things started aching (knees, hips, heart)--my blood pressure was no longer borderline and I had to go on meds; and I started dreading those airline flights cause they are making those seats SO much narrower! (Right?!?) My epiphany happened on Dec. 16, 2009...while on a beautiful cruise with my hubby, I planned to go ziplining onboard--at sea! What a fantastic experience! No..I was turned away in line, in front of numerous other guests, because I was 3 lbs over the weight limit of 275. The crew member compounded my embarrassment by having to call over another crewmember because "this had never happened before!". I begged my husband to complete his adventure and I went into my cabin and placed a very expensive ship-to-shore call to my best friend, who is a gastric bypass (and lap band) patient. I cried on her shoulder and made up my mind that something needed to change. After retiring from my civil service job with 30 years in the system, I knew what my #1 priority was going to be--to LIVE.