TKDMAMA

I have been overweight since around 8 or 9 years old. I was always competing to look as good as my friends did and to me I was always looked at as the "fat one" all the way through school. It was so difficult. I never knew how to eat properly and thought the way to diet was to either drink diet shakes and beat myself up when I was starving at the end of the day or to eat only food that was fat free and even then I would eat very small amounts all day long then binge eat at night. I was active but never enough to make up for the amount of eating that I would do. As I got older and met my husband I grew very comfortable and happy the only cause of my unhappiness was of course my weight. I was slowly creeping up the scale until one day I couldn't believe what the number was. By this time I had tried every different weightloss diet I could get my hands on. I spent so much money and thought the whole time that weight loss surgery was too drastic. Now looking back the only drastic measure I ever took was playing with my health. I was banded on February 17th 2009 and was the best decision I could have ever made that involved my body. I have lost 38 pounds so far and I am feeling great. I have good days and bad days but I am not giving up. Any other diet I would have given up on a bad day, but not this. I guess you could say I am not really on a diet but have made a complete lifestyle change. I have learned not to let my weight define who I am, which I have wasted so much of my life doing. My husband and my kids love me and I have been blessed by the Lord with an amazing life that I will not waste. I do have a quick story about my littlest son. I was in the bathroom combing my hair and my son says "Mom how come your doing that?" and I responded, "So momma can look pretty." in which he responded "But Momma you are pretty." I beg you not to let your weight define who you are. The whole time I thought I was fat and because I was fat that made me ugly, but the words of a 4 year old showed me that I am beautiful to someone and I now have the confidence to feel beautiful. Anyhoo, that is my story but not the end. Good luck on your journey and I wish you all the best.