One year today on MFP.......Pic

I have posted this in my weight loss group and finally have the courage to post it here, although I am nervous about posting it....



Reposting my story:

I am afraid to post it, because unlike what most might think, I did not take the easy way out.....I have always battled my weight since middle school. I've tried it all Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers, Topps....You name it. Back in 1999 I met the love of my life through the internet. When we married in 2002 I was close to 400 pounds. We made a commitment to each other to get healthy. We decided to try to get gastric bypass surgery. It wasn't an easy decision, but our health was in jeopardy. We ended up having our surgery within a month of each other in 2004 due to a change in insurance. I lost almost 160 pounds, and my husband lost over 300 pounds. I managed to keep most of it off until 2010 when my dad's cancer came back and it was determined to be terminal.....I dealt with my stress of his illness for the next two years by making the wrong food choices, and just eating crap. I gained back about 60 of those pounds over the two years. Last February my dad took a turn for the worse. I headed home, and spent his last week and a half with him, my mom, brother and sister. He passed away during the night after we had all fell asleep. About a month later, I was sitting there thinking about my dad, and I knew the one thing he always wanted for me was to be healthy and have a family of my own.....I want children of my own more than anything in the world. I love my nieces and nephews more than anything, but it is not the same...So I started searching for a tool to help me get back on track..... and I found Myfitnesspal.....I have been committed to it for 1 YEAR TODAY, logging my food and exercise every single day......Every time I think about giving up and going back to my old habits I think of my dad and how proud he would of been of me.....That's my story, I am afraid to share it because so many have negative feelings about gastric bypass..........But I am going to share and hope for the support I have already been shown.....Bottom line I want to be a mom, and I want to make my dad proud.......

On top of above I also found out in 2010 that my iron levels had dropped so low that I was severely anemic to the point where I had to get two units of blood. I am now followed by a hematologist and have my iron levels checked every two months. My body has a hard time absorbing iron orally, so about once a year I have to go in and get an iv iron infusion. I need to have my body as healthy as possible to be a mom, because I will already have one thing against me a battle with maintaining my iron......I will still be considered high risk for pregnancy, but a healthier weight will certainly help.

Don't think that people that do surgery take the easy way out, it is a hard and difficult path to take......... Here is my transformation from the day of my dad's funeral until today!