Half The Man I Use To Be!!!! Next stop 300 lbs. Lost!!!

Congratulations! I am a canidate for surgery but believe the same thing you do about fixing the mental part....but can't seem to identify any past trauma or why I have choosen to be large. Do you work with a therapist or do you have any words of advice about the mental journey you have gone on?

My weight wasn't a problem til the late 90's. In 1995ish my mother had gotten COPD and Emphysema, My father had an Aortic aneurysm and also contract Emphysema (both was on Oxygen machines, My wife mother had a stroke and was paralyzed on her right side, and Her father was dealing with heart problems too. From 1995 til 2000 we ran 3 houses (groceries, doctor appt. , cleaning, etc, etc... and worked full time jobs.) I coped with the stress with food and gradually put on weight. In 2000 we lost my wife mother, 9 months later my mother past, 6 months to the day my father past, and 7 months later we found my wife father dead of a massive heart attack. The loss of life was to much for me to deal with and I completely shut down. I figured if I stopping loving and caring then I could no longer hurt if I lost another family member. That was the beginning of my depression decade and not a year after we lost them all I had an accident at work that tore all the cartilage and meniscus in my right knee and I tried for several months to get back to work but could no longer do my job (at that time I was driving delivery truck for Budweiser throwing 700-1000 cases a beer a day... So that was the final nail in the coffin for me.. Somehow I did manage to refocus enough to go and get a 2yr. degree in IT networking but I was just existing by then, well over 400lbs. and if you have read my other post it was all downhill after that. When I finally had that Aha moment my first priority was to get therapy, and I have been in therapy ever since and will be for quite sometime. I have reread my post on here and I don't want to paint a rosy picture that this was easy and everything just worked perfectly and boom I have lost 281 lbs., etc, etc... This journey has tested every ounce of my being and it has redefined everything about me from my physical appearance but it has completely transformed the man inside. I am as I say a work in progress, You just have to admit that you have a problem (I went through the 12 step program that drug addicts and alcoholics go through my drug of choice was food) and work towards conquering those events that caused it me to feed my addiction. The 12th step in the program is about paying it forward and that is what I am most interested in doing and one of the reason I have let my guard down and posted on this site. This is WAY OUT of my comfort zone doing this but it is part of my healing process and my way of hopefully helping others realize that you can do this with a little hard work and dedication. You just have to be willing to take that first step and keep moving forward........