 |
| My journey with obesity didn't start until after my third child was born. I never had a weight problem while growing up, in fact, I was the type of kid that could eat whatever and however much I wanted and never gain an ounce. I guess I was fortunate because I wasn't athletic in school at all, the exercise I got was the ones we were made to do in P.E. When I married in '78, I weighed 105lbs at age 18. When I got pregnant with my first child, I gained probably 30 or so pounds. After he was born, I was able to lose down to the normal weight, of about 115 or 120 lbs. I gained about 50+ pounds with my second child because I was carrying twins. Of course I lost one of them at birth. Even after carrying twins, I was able to lose back down to about 130lbs. If you notice, each time I am about 10lbs heavier, but I still looked good. Finally with my third child, I gained about 50lbs and he was born in '88. I never really lost all of it. I think I weighed about 150lbs or so after he was born. I never really start putting on a lot of weight until I hit my late 30's early 40's. I have had a rough life, and you can read all about it on my site here. By reading it there, it will save me time and space here :) Anyways, in 2000 my 5th marriage was falling apart because of complications with one of my children, my husband and I seperated or split. I started chatting on the computer with an Aussie and we grew very close. I started feeling good about myself again, and I wanted to lose some weight because he wanted to meet me. At the time I weighed 245. I watched what I ate, walked each night after dinner and exercised in the house for weeks. I lost 20lbs but could lose no more. In Dec. 2000, I left from Texas on an airplane to Australia. When my Aussie guy first seen me, he thought I was a little chubby but not bad. I guess he thought I was good enough because he married me Feb. 14th 2001. Things went along great until for some reason I started gaining weight. I reallly did not like it, but I never thought it was going to be a huge issue because I loved him and he loved me...didn't he? Well, he started making comments when he got mad at me, calling me a beached whale, and a big fat America witch (but with a b). This crushed me because I knew then that things were going to fall a part if I did not do something about my weight. I enrolled in a lifetime membership to Jenny Craig, got a treadmill, walked a couple miles a day outside and watched what I ate, but nothing helped. In 2002, things were no better and my weight was up to a whopping 270lbs and I was only 5'3! Brenton acted like he still loved me I thought until he said one day "no wonder I don't want to touch you anymore". Again, the crack in my heart got bigger, but I trudged on. At Christmas, I got some money from my account in America and spent over $500.00 on him, because I truly loved him unconditionally. He didn't realize he had put on 30lbs himself, but that did not matter to me, nor did I make a comment to him about it. But when I knew it was really over, was when he said "no wonder I don't even want to kiss you anymore". I mean, what was left if the man not only didn't want to make love to you but didn't even want to kiss you? I told him I didn't understand why he was being so mean and he said he had an "aversion" to fat people!!!! I told him, for goodness sakes, why didn't he ever say anything before things got out of hand??? I decided then to come back to America. I guess breaking my heart and humiliating me was not enough, he had to get drunk and hit me with his fist in my face before I left. When I came back to America I was bruised, battered, stripped of my self worth, self esteem and self confidence, I felt I was worthless and ugly. I lived like that for awhile, I even gained up to 305lbs, then I got sick of it and wanted to do something about it. I knew I had no willpower and could not figure out why I was gaining anyway, so I looked into gastric bypass surgery. I researched this type of procedure for over a year. I knew it was a very risky surgery and I knew the pros and cons. I applied for Medicaid to pay for my medications because by then I was being treated for anxiety/panic disorder, depression, ibs, and angoraphobia. I got my Medicaid, and then I searched for a surgeon in Missouri that would accept it for weight loss surgery. I kept hitting a dead end. On my last attempt, I found out there were two new Dr's who had just opened a bariatric clinic in a city near me, and they accepted Medicaid!!!!! Anyways, after a lot of couseling, classes and seminars, I had my surgery June 14th, 2005. At the time of surgery, I weighed in at 285lbs. That's right, somewhere a long the way, I lost 20lbs?? After surgery, I weighed in at 270lbs. Today, February 21, 2006, I weigh in at 190 lbs, a total lost of 20lbs pre op and 95lbs post op = 115lbs total! I am averaging about a 20lbs weight loss a month. I am not going to recommend this surgery to anyone because it should be on a individual basis, but for me, it was the best thing I have ever done! I have started a Yahoo group called About Me and Obesity. And I have started two webrings called About Me and Obesity and you can find the rings to join on my home page. I have created these so people who are overweight or obese have a place to go for support and friendship without being judged. It is also for people who have been obese or overweight but have lost it through diet or surgery. No one knows what a fat person goes through in society but another fat person. Here are some links I hope you will find useful. Please feel free to email me if you want to talk or have any questions. I am also a member of obesityhelp.com and you can see my profile here. LINKS AMERICAN OBESITY ASSOCIATION CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION OBESITY RESEARCH NAASO THE OBESITY SOCIETY GASTRIC BYPASS WLS NATIONAL OBESITY FORUM OBESITYLAW.COM |
 |
 |
| Welcome to My Journey With Obesity |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Angelfirewithwings |
 |
 
|
 |
| Since I have dedicated this page to my journey with obesity, I have decided to add a photo journal with it also..some before and after pics. Now, if you look at my page About Me, you will see that I never had a weight problem until I hit my middle 30's or so. When I got married the first time, I weighed only 105lbs. Keep this in mind so I do not have to add all of those pictures to this page as a reference. :) The second picture is the one I am most famous for as Angelfirewithwings, and I weighed about 220 here. You will see a photo here of me at 270 which was taken 6 days after my gastric bypass. Remember, I lost 20lbs before I had surgery. My heaviest weight was 305. When I went into surgery, I weighed 285lbs. And here we go......................................................... |
| 220 lbs. Taken in 2000. |
 |
| About 230-240lbs. Taken in late 90's |
 |
| About 305lbs Taken in 2003 |
 |
 |
| 305lbs + Taken in 2003 |
 |
| June 2005 After Gastric Bypass |
 |
| Approx. 150-170 (not sure) Taken in the 90's |
| About 305lbs Taken in 2003 |
 |
| 212 lbs. November 2005 |
 |
| 208 lbs. December 2005 |
|
 |
| 174lbs May 2006 Only 29 more pounds to go to reach goal! |
 |
| Yeah, it's me!! This is the newest pic of me taken with my web cam on September 16th, 2006 at 155lbs!!!!!! It's been a long but great journey!! Thanks for taking it with me. |
| GRAPHIC INTENSE! Please wait for it to load, it is well worth the wait! Thank you!! |