A New Life, A Day at a Time

A year ago today I was sitting in a hospital bed recovering for a surgery that would forever change my life. Today I celebrate a new life Thanks to Dr Warnock. He gave me back my life by giving me the opportunity to have the Lapband Surgery. When I sit back and think about what I was like a year ago it's hard to believe that I was happy. In all reality I wasn't happy! I was miserable! I weighed in at 255 pds the day I walked into his office to have surgery. 255 pds of unhappiness and the start of a life I didn't want to have. Tons of medicines, ton of medical problems for years to come. Years of wasted time not being happy and enjoying my life and family. At first I didn't want anyone to know that I had the surgery. I was embarrassed that I sought out help to loose the weight. But that day I sat in Dr. Warnock's office talking with him, I realized that I was sick. I had a diesase that is crippling America today. Obseity! Alot of people just look at that word and not really think about it. The most shocking thing to me was that I wasn't just OBESE I was MORBIDLY OBESE! How could I let myself get this far out of control? How could I just let everything go? I am still searching for those answers today.


As I have journeyed down this road of weight loss and getting my life back it's been a wonderful discover for me. I always tell people if you would have asked me a year ago if I exercised, I would tell you that it makes me sick. LOL I laugh now because it was just an excuse that I gave to not get serious with myself. Alot of people think that having surgery is just a quick fix to the problem, but unfortunely it's not. You still have the emotions that attach you to this person you were. You still have the feelings that go with being over weight. Over the past year I have found out that I am an Emotional Eater. 99% of America is Emotional Eaters. This past week, I made a self discover, I eat emotional because it can't hurt me. It can't tease me, It can't call me names, It can't get upset or angry or whatever at me! But in all reality it does hurt me! It hurts me more than the just dealing with the emotions that I have. As many of you know my life now is not all that easy. It's emotional roller coaster but I am dealing with it better than I thought I would. Since Michael has been gone I have stayed even. I haven't gained or lost anything. Which in my books says I am on the right path. I think if I wouldn't have had this surgery my guess would be that I would be much heavier when this was all said and done. But I am glad that I am in this journey at this time.

One of my biggest reasons for having this surgery was to be an example to my kids. I have always been heavy. I had those people in school tease me. I had those boys not look at you because you were over weight. It SUCKS! I don't want my kids to ever experience those moments! So for me the number one reason was for my kids. ALthough I am not the best at it but we are getting there. I have watched the Biggest Loser for years. They kept saying it's a life style change. Which is so true! It's not only a lifestyle change for me but your my whole family. I see my kids choosing fruits and veggies over the sweets and unhealtly foods. My kids rather get a home cooked meal that run through some fast food resturant. It also helps when you make those options not a option anymore. I won't lie we do eat out still and we still pick up the bag of candy but not as often as we did.

So you all are probably wondering how much I have lost in this year. Well here is a picture of what I looked like before my surgery. In this picture I weighed in at 240 pds. It was taken one year ago today!

I am proud to say that I have lost 85 pds so far.

I am so happy with the progress that I have made. When I started my journey I wore a szie 22W. Today I wear a size 12 pants and a Medium Shirt. I can't remember the last time I wore those sizes. It's so fun to go shopping now! Before, I didnt' exercise at all. Today, I run 1 to 4 miles a day, yoga and walk. I am getting in to lifting weights, toning, and looking to running my first ever 5K race next month. I am so excited for the years to come. I am excited to take my kids to an amusement park and not feel embarrassed that I can't fit in the seat. I look forward to keeping up with my kids!