Putting Myself Out There - Pre-Surgery, Female, 29 years old

[BigTexasMandy 60]

Hi everyone,

I'm sure I'm not unique in sharing all of this. I'm 29 years old and I live in the Austin, Texas area. I've recently started the process to get bariatric surgery. I have chosen the gastric sleeve as my surgery choice and I have my first appointments to begin my required 6-month pre-surgery stuff.

I grew up thin and have only struggled with my weight in the past 7 years (give or take). I gained 120 lbs in that time and there seems to be no going back. After marrying my husband, I tried to gain control and even participated in my first half-marathon, but things were not getting better no matter what I tried. I'm married with no children (just a crazy and wild dog).

My mom had gastric bypass surgery and it changed her life. I was looking for answers to help me with my journey, but I didn't find exactly what I was looking for so I decided to start a blog. I'm hoping to help people like me and find support along the way.

If you're interested, the website is www.bigtexasgirl.com. I have only shared this with one other person. I hope you'll come connect with me.

Mandy

[Hiraeth 515]

Welcome, Mandy!

You sound so much like me; I grew up thin.

I started high school weighing 115 pounds. Well, over the years, I slowly gained about 10-15 pounds each year (probably from taking Lexapro). When I was a Senior in high school, I went from 150 pounds to 199 pounds (size 7 pants, to a size 12). I gained almost 50 pounds in 3 months! My mom said I blew up so quickly that she thought I was having a severe allergic reaction. Well, I kinda did. I was put on oral steroids for my horrible sinuses, and they made me retain Water and eat like I was starving. They also had other horrible side effects; they made my knees feel like they were breaking and made my face turn red. Worst thing I ever did! The steroids convinced me that I was hungry even when I felt full. I downed a whole Red Baron pizza by myself in one day! Normally, I used to only be able to eat 2-3 slices in one night. Now, after I gained so much weight, I can down 5 slices in one night! That's enough for 2 people!

Before the WLS, I was the biggest I'd ever been, weighing 255 pounds. My doctor said, since my stature is so small, I shouldn't weigh more than 125. Even at 130 I'm overweight! Now that is disheartening, lol. So, my goal is 120. I hope I can even get back down to 115. With my stature, I should be between 98-125 pounds. I can't believe I was almost 3 times bigger than I should be!

But, when you eat a lot, your stomach stretches. Once you stretch your stomach out that much, it doesn't go back to normal. So, even if you lose weight on your own, there's a very high chance that you will gain the weight back because there is still an empty void. That's why we eat so much; we are trying to fill the empty void that overeating created in the first place. This is why WLS is so successful. It allows people to start over on a clean slate. Though, many have to remember that, if you're an emotional eater, you have to be extra careful not to fall into old habits.

Good luck on your journey!

Edited August 16, 2016 by Hiraeth