tinamarie_125
I am 36 years old, grew up part Navy brat, then my dad retired and we moved to Louisiana. I think this is where I found my LOVE of food. Theres not much food that I don't like or haven't tried. Food network is definitely an invention of satan now that I have had surgery. I will eat my fingernails watching that stuff!
I have been married for 18 years to my highschool sweetheart who is currently serving in Afgahnastan. I was 150# when we met and got married. Over the years my love of food and learning to cook had gotten me to my highest of 245. I would diet, and lose diet and lose. I actually love working out and pushing myself but could never keep weight off.
I had thought many times about having gastric bypass, but I was terrified. Of the changes, of something happening during surgery, of dieing from complications.
It was in May of last year that my father died from complications of diabetes and heart disease, and then my brother died suddently of a heart attack 6 months to the day later. This scared me worse than all the "what ifs" about surgery. I had high blood pressure (was on the max dosage of my medication), diabetes, sleep apnea, PCOS, neuropathy and a few other things.
I got a referral in December 2008 and was put on a waiting list through the military hospital. I finally had my surgery on August 17, 2009. At first I had major food withdraws. I cried at pizza hut commercials. Im not kidding. Every time I couldn't do something "normally" like swallow a pill, I cried. I was constantly asking myself, WHY did I do this? WHY didn't I try harder to lose weight on my own? I didn't try EVERY single diet out there.
Thankfully through the support of my counselor, husband, children and friends...I overcame these negatives. One day my mother said to me, Tina...are you on any medication for your diabetes, h. blood pressure, etc.? I said no, my doctor took me off of all that. She said, you need to pick yourself up and tell yourself every day how thankful you are to be given a second chance at life and to be "cured" of all these things. She was right. This is the best thing I have done with my life. Its also been probably the hardest thing. I have had to retrain my brain to think completely different about food/diet and exercise.
