Telly

Just some history.

The beginning pictures are of me in highschool and in college. I was always fit, a self-proclaimed health nut. I loved sports. I participated in every sport my highschool had to offer, i.e., varsity tennis, varsity track & field, varsity field hockey, J.R.O.T.C. Cadet Captain for the drill teams and lastly swim team in college. If you wonder where I get my competitive drive or endurance, etc., it's because I lived an athletic lifestyle, which was imbedded early on in my life. My father was a Sr. Master Sgt. in the Air Force and raised us in the military, gung-ho style.

I can remember, when I was 15 years old, I would go for 3 mile jogs with my step mother. She saw my interest in fitness and thought it would be a great thing to encourage. She even bought me a gym membership where all of the military people worked out, on base. I was 15 at the time. My stepmother always encouraged exercise.

My senior year in highschool, I became the Battalion Commander of my military school, the highest status you can achieve. We passed our annual inspection and recieved a blue star award. The Blue Star allows you to nominate one of your students to go to West Point for a full scholarship, but you had to write to your Congressman and you had to have the right kind of grades. I was nominated by my Brigadier General. 3 months later I received a letter of acceptance for a full 4 year scholarship in Nursing. A few weeks later I found out I was pregnant. Tormented morally and convinced by what I perceived to be "love", drove my decision. I opted against West Point and decided to get married and go through with my pregnancy.

I went from 120lbs to 205lbs during my pregnancy with my son. Even after my son's birth in 1994, I lived in the gym, sweating off all of those pounds. I lost most of my weight, getting down to 145 - 155lbs. At some point I was becoming an abused teen wife whose husband did not accept my new weight. I began losing my self-esteem and turned to food. I would occaisionally catch my husband blatantly cheating on me. I can recall gaining another 20lbs from just emotional eating.

With the divorce of my first husband, I began to yo yo in my weight. Feelings of regret consumed me, food comforted me. I lost my mother's trust, whom expressed major "disappointment" in my decisions regarding my future. She had always tried to raise us to be doctor/lawyer bound. She tried to raise us to wait to have kids. Wait till after college. Stay healthy and live comfortably by making the right decisions. I didn't care at the time. I had chosen a different path than what my parents wanted.

With the birth of my daughter, Eliana in 2002, I went from 145lbs to 240lbs. I gained almost 100lbs. I really let myself go. 4 years after I had my daughter, I realized I could no longer hide behind the fact that I "just had a baby". She was no longer a baby and I had alot of body work to do.

Currently back on track

I am back on track now, where I consider my health top priority. I think that we go through things such as weight gain, weight loss, relationships for a reason. We go through turmoil and tragedy, which molds us into the people we are now, whether that would be appreciative, spiritual, happy, jilted, hateful, cold or bitter. I am glad I am going through this weight loss journey with the band. I have been able to see three sides to health. I've seen healthy, obese and weight loss through medical intervention lifestyles. I can now truly empathize with the world.