Momma Always Said " You get more outta life with sugar than you do vinegar". Well for the most part she was right.

So here it is. THE BLOG. I wanted to start one when I started this journey, only life has a way of getting busy. It will be dedicated mostly to the path of weight loss I am on. The up's, the down's & all the inbetweens.At the age of 28 I became sick. I was tired all the time and I've always been on the 'thick' side of feminine, but I gradually started to put on weight that would fluctuate like a corporate grid map of production. Up...down...up..down. Mostly UP. I also started to have this swallowing problem. I went to my Dr. He felt a lump. He ordered some tests. Next was supposed to come a biopsy, "I'll see you in about an hr in recovery" the Dr said at 10am. I remember waking up & focusing on the clock & it was past 8pm & the nurses whisking me to my room where my bf and 2 of my sisters awaited looking worried. The Dr came in & said "Surgery took longer than expected, we ended up taking your thyroid completely out, along with 3 parathyroids & 2 lymph nodes. In all my yrs of surgery I can honestly say, that even though the samples have been sent to the pathologist J that this is cancer. And the swallowing thing, that was a goiter growing inside & down, I removed that too. You'll find out the details in your post op visit with my office." He said all this as he adjusted my bandages & tucked my hair behind me & made me more comfortable. It didn't sink in just then...but it did at the follow up.

Diagnosis: Papillary Carcinoma

.Prognosis: Good. If you ever get cancer, this would be the kind to get. The chances of re-occurance are slim to none. YAY!

Current Condition: Cancer Free!! Yippeeeee!! Have never had a re-occurance. My replacement thyroid med loves to replicate a roller coaster sometimes, but I've learned to live with it! You get busy living or you get busy dying & I'm a long way from crossing over!

What I took away from my diagnosis was: Knowledge. Choose to learn, & look up. ^j^

Therein began another struggle with weight gain & loss. I would yo-yo. Twenty pounds added, 15 off, forty pounds on, twenty off. UGH. Who wants to feel that way all the time??

Well, that has been me. Then came the pregnancies. LOVED being preggers!!! But after each child was born weight would slowly creep on. Depression here & there didn't help matters.
I checked into weight loss groups, didn't do well. My schedule was crazy & I wasn't ready to commit. My insurance at the time needed so much documentation of verified weight loss programs/treatments from my Dr, that it looked bleak.

Until this Spring. I really thought about it, researched it, read books & blogs, talked with people who have had it done, seen patients who have done well & others whom have failed. I watched tv programs about it & saw many before & after pictures. BUT, the difference was..I was ready to make that decision. I WANTED it for my kids, for my health, for ME. This wasn't something I wanted because I wanted to look like a Glamour Magazine cover page, this was something I wanted so that I can be a better ME, so that I can pass on healthier eating & living choices for my kids & be able to share successes with those around me. EMPOWERING MYSELF.
My insurance had changed its policies on obesity services/treatments, so I dove in, & found what I considered & consider a great weight loss program with team of amazing physicians, dieticians, staff members, surgeon, classes/support groups & all the people being pro-active in their dreams to achieve what they would have thought unachievable. And I'm starting a new chapter in my life & lovin it!

Like I told a friend of mine, this has just been my catapillar/larva stage, I'm gettin ready to cocoon & soon I'll be a butterfly! My feelings about all of it make me feel so light & knowing I'm doing the 'right thing' makes me giddy with excitement!