Please “Like” my Facebook page to help me get on The Biggest Loser show~!
It doesn’t happen overnight. And then it does. The first weight you gain, starting as a fit person, is usually slow and gradual. Often, it is the result of some kind of life experience such as childbirth, loss of a loved one or retiring from your high school sport. In my case, it was surgeries, lots and lots of surgeries.
I have Endometriosis, a disease that cripples the female reproductive system by implanting endometrial material into the abdominal cavity where it doesn’t belong. These implants are still activated by the menstrual cycle and are extremely painful as they go through changes. Often, Endometriosis is accompanied by cysts, tumors and even ovarian cancer. I grew everything in my abdomen except a child – well, in the right place. Your body becomes sticky on the inside with implants like bits of glue running all through that can become attached to bowel, bladder, stomach and sometimes ride in the bloodstream to even more bizarre places. The growth of cysts and tumors, etc. requires surgery every time. Surgery creates adhesions which are similar to the implants, ironically. The process of healing is one that takes years and decades. I can still feel certain implants now.
I had 13 laparotomies (6 horizontal incisions and 7 vertical incisions) and 7 laparoscopies (through the belly button) and there seemed to be no logical order to the surgeries. The uterus is the thing spewing out implants and that was the last thing to be removed on me! My precious ovaries were gone, piece by piece, at age 28 putting me into menopause overnight and permanently.
So my muscles had been cut and weakened, and now my metabolism had to adjust to menopause. Add to that a side of sadness. I was trying to get pregnant when most of this occurred. We have no children.
The big numbers of weight gain often come on rapidly after many attempts to lose weight. Unjust. After all, I was a Musical Theater major, an active dancer, an instructor for acting and modeling in the later years. How could a teacher get fat before her pupils? Well, this teacher did not want the kids to see her smoking, so she quit. Quitting smoking is extremely important for your health, but it definitely messes with your metabolism. My suggestion is to NEVER START! And do quit if you smoke, you will not necessarily have my struggles.
I gained weight reaching new heights, still thinking somehow that I was like my old dancing self. It’s a somewhat cocky frame of mind. You just never think it will happen to you. You possibly can’t face how bad it actually is and before you know it, you need to lose over 100 pounds. I wear my weight well, so there is not an obvious focal point on me, but I will never forget when my belly started to pop out this year. I lost my Dad in January and have been leaving the house less. In my grief process, I unfortunately chose to baby myself. I gave myself an easy out on so many occasions it now seems harsh. The result of this lackadaisical behavior was a rapid weight gain in these last few months that I never saw coming. The irony is that I had become a vegetarian this past year! I am the fattest vegetarian you’ll ever meet! I have begun to eat chicken again because I’m afraid I was hurting my health. I have even lost a couple of pounds doing it.
But not nearly enough. Yes, this time, I am asking for help. More help was never seen~!! I am going to get on The Biggest Loser TV show and learn to turn my life around. When I find out how to do it, I am going to share it with all of you, because, SURELY I can’t be the only one?! When they ask about my family and support system, after my husband, I will point to social media~! To all of you that I know from my blog, Twitter, Facebook, Skype, MySpace, eBay, Etsy, BlogTalkadio, FriendFeed, YouTube… YOU are my support system~! And you’re doing a FINE JOB~! Look how many of you “Like” my mission!
Thank you SO VERY MUCH to each and every one of you who hit that “Like” button for me already or are getting ready to hit it~! I would like to especially thank Amber Avines @WordsDoneWrite who promptly posted about my mission on her blog, @CiaoBella50 who repeatedly sent my link out to over 100,000 people, @Paul_Steele who Skyped me immediately to find out what he could do to help, @JoyceCherrier who offered advice & support, @Nachhi who called me right away to create a personal vision~! And @PowerSellingMom whose post about her own journey to weight loss really opened my eyes to the power of courage in social media. The scarier it feels, the more it will likely help you!
