How I Went From Petite to Obese

After I escaped domestic violence in 1998, I stepped onto the scale and was shocked to learn I weighed over 200lbs.! Being big was not something I was use to. I was born small, and in my teen years, I wore a size 8, but the low self-esteem and depression from being in a bad marriage caused me to give up on myself and my body. I knew I was turning to food for comfort but didn't realize--or maybe I just didn't see--I was getting bigger by the minute, and that's when I went from petite to obese. If only I had taken care of my body, stayed active and made better choices -- but I can't turn the clock back.

Since then I've been on numerous diets, but the problem is sticking to them. Sometimes I feel so lonely. Yes, I'm doing this alone and for me, but the feeling of loneliness is pretty depressing. This is one reason I started this blog, so that maybe that lonesomeness will go away. The other reason was to share my journey with everyone. I'm hoping WAHM's Journey to Weight Loss will inspire other men, women, teens and preteens struggling with weight loss to follow in my footsteps. In fact, I'm here sharing my journey to show that it can be done.

Unfortunately, there's obesity on my mother's side of the family as well as my father's. So even though I was lucky enough to be petite in school, I didn't make fun of others. I'm a nice person and making fun of others hurts feelings. In fact, I was best friends with a girl who was approximately 4ft. tall and a little overweight. It truly is what's on the inside of a person and not the outside. Speaking of what's on the inside and not the out, my cousin--who is more of a brother to me--weighs over 600lbs. He may be a big guy on the outside, but on the inside, I think his heart is bigger than he is, so to speak. He's very sweet and has struggled since birth with his weight. When he was born, he weighed 11lbs. Many believe he may have a medical condition that makes it harder for him to loose the weight, but if you know him, I can almost guarantee he'd become your best friend--a true friend.

I've watched my cousin over the years, and my worst fear is being in a situation that he found himself in a month ago. His kidneys had shut down on him, and his blood pressure was dangerously low when he arrived at the local hospital. From there, they decided he needed medical attention fast and made arrangements to have him flown to a bigger hospital a few hours away. However, the crew aboard the life flight refused to fly him because of his size. The alternative: his brother drove him in a truck to the hospital. Mind you, he was in bad shape and needed medical attention on the trip, but due to his size, the life flight and ambulance refused him.

When my cousin finally arrived at the hospital he was supposed to have been flown to, the doctor who took over his care was not happy with our local hospital. From what I heard, that doctor said my cousin could have died, and the hospital should have flown him instead of having him brought in by family members. This is my worst fear, being near death and having the people trained to save my life refuse me because of my size. Now my cousin had a happy ending. He's now home and his kidneys are back to normal. However, the situation could have had a sad ending, but I thank the Lord that it didn't.

If you will, please join me on my journey and help spread the word about my blog to others. When I say join, I mean cheer me on, pass along your free weight loss advice, encourage me when I'm down and/or set a goal for yourself and literally join me. If you choose to join me by setting a goal for yourself, then please feel free to share your updates. Just use the comments section below to share your updates, cheer me on, pass along your free dieting tips, share your words of encouragement and/or just to say hello.