My Journey

Ever since I could remember, I have been overweight. I tried not to let it bother me. I always remember being 30 pounds heavier than all of my friends, but I was happy. I got married at 19 to the most amazing man. We decided to wait a while to have kids so we could finish school. So, we did. When the time came to try, we were excited. Two years and 65 pounds later, still no kids. Infertility treatment was our only option. Soon after, I got pregnant with twins at 250 lbs. Due to my pregnancy being high-risk, I quit my job and stayed home. The last 2 months were on strict bed rest. The day I had my kids, I was 301 lbs. It was the happiest day of my life. With in a month, the baby weight was gone... all 51lbs! I was so proud. During the stress of things, my husband had gained a lot of weight too. Plus with the stress of have newborn twins, the weight started creeping back on me. It was depressing!



I never thought about surgery being the solution for me. Until one day, my husband went to the doctor. The doctor told him that he had some serious problems with his blood pressure, cholesterol, and type-2 diabetes, not to mention he had some heart problems in the past. The doctor continued by telling him the only way to fix things was to have a complete lifestyle change. We talked to him about options and he recommended looking into a gastric band. So, that is what we did.

We went to a seminar at Northwest Weight Loss Surgery in Everette, Wa. There we got so much information. We fell in love with the staff and the doctor. We continued the research at home too. While researching one evening, my husband asked if I would consider having the surgery with him. He felt that the only way this could be a complete lifestyle change was if I was willing to change too. It didn't take me long to realize that this was true. So, I agreed and we were banded 2 weeks apart. I did mine first and his second.

Here we are almost one year later!

This picture was taken back in May, but you get the point. Now at 11 months since surgery, I am down 85lbs only 15lbs away from my goal! The hubby is down 71lbs and is now maintaining at 140lbs.