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My anniversary photos & how i got here

emmahc1975

Active Member
So it's been a year on the 16th since I had my band fitted. I was never brave enough to do my own diary, so here's my story, it's gonna b a long post!
It all started in my teen years, I was chubby size 14 & got teased a little but felt like a heffer, looking back I was nowhere as fat as I thought I was. At 17 I fell pregnant & at just 18 I had my beautiful boy (now 21!) & I put on 5 stone during & just after the pregnancy, being young I didn't realise how I was using food as an emotional crutch for a bad situation & a bad relationship. In hindsight this laid the foundation for the years to come of lazy / emotional over eating, coupled with my upbringing of food revolving around family celebration & childhood memories of being praised for eating well & being chastised for not finishing meals.
I spent the next 10 or so years going up & down on weight, fad diets etc etc. not realising how much my self esteem had sunk, instead putting my focus on bettering myself through work & education. If only I'd realised at the time how much my appearance really affected me, I was kidding myself that I was a happy fat person, I told myself I looked just fine as I was 'in proportion', but as many of us know yo-yo dieting results in weight gain in the end & by the end of my 20's I jumped on the scales to see 'ERROR' wtf! My scales only weighed up to 24 stone & I'd clearly gone over. This was my wake up call. Over the next 2 years I lost 5 stone through lifestyle changes & exercise. I'd had enough of diets, this time it was for ever. So I was back to 19 stone & feeling good, I then lost 2 stone rapidly as I entered into a horrible depressive relationship (as Id avoided men for 10+ years believing myself to be unworthy, I accepted a lot of terrible behaviour that really screwed my head up) needless to say that the rapid weight loss of 2 stone in 6 weeks caused new issues with food that I'd not experienced before, it's like I enjoyed the freedom of 'feeling/behaving' like I was anorexic even though I wasn't really.
So now I'm 17 Stone Age 31 & feeling the thinnest I've been my whole adult life but my issues with food were worse than ever.
Then I met my soul mate out of the blue. Happily staying at 17 something stone until I fell pregnant 4 years ago at age 35, we had our beautiful little boy in 2011, followed by our 2nd little miracle in 2013, who was born 8 weeks early at just 4lb 1oz in September after a period of great personal stress. These 2 pregnancies & the stress resulted in me gaining weight & by December 2013 I had gone past 20 stone again. After the hellish few months we'd been through & yet again feeling & looking awful I made a rash decision to have surgery. I did my research & decided on a band. Weighing 20 stone 12 on jan 2nd 2014 I started my pre-op diet & had my surgery on the 16th.
The last year has not been easy, I chose the band as I knew I needed to change the habits / addictions of my whole adult life. I'm pleased to say that I have made the changes I hoped to, although not in the way I thought. The changes have happened in my head, i no longer feel the need to over eat, I don't feel like I'm missing out & I actually enjoy what I do eat for the first time since I was a child.
I am now 12 stone 10, over 8 stone down. I was a size 22/24, now a 12/14. I don't see it yet, I know it but I don't see it. I feel like I always though I should so although my brain doesn't see it, it is at ease with what it sees (hope that makes sense!) ive got just over a stone to loose to be normal bmi. I'm not too fussed if I loose it or not. I'm truely happy where I am. I have my loving partner, 3 beautiful children, I'm soon to be a grandma & I'm actually happy & loving myself at long long last.
Told you it was gonna b a long post! Here's my photos. The 1st is me at 24 stone 10 years ago, the 2nd is my pre-op photo from xmas 2013 & the last is me today.


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los in it

Well-Known Member
What a great post!
It said all it had to say and with photos to boot, you look amazing !
Thank you for sharing
 

Butterfly_lady

Well-Known Member
Looking fantastic :)
 

Crystalrainbow

Well-Known Member
And don't you look blooming gorgeous too :) whoop whoopp Emma congrats on making your bands first birthday with such a fantastic loss ......so pleased you found yourself and that wonderful happy place too x x x x bless ya sweetie :) ooooooooh aren't you going to be a glamorous granny :)
 

emmahc1975

Active Member
And don't you look blooming gorgeous too :) whoop whoopp Emma congrats on making your bands first birthday with such a fantastic loss ......so pleased you found yourself and that wonderful happy place too x x x x bless ya sweetie :) ooooooooh aren't you going to be a glamorous granny :)
Ah bless you crystal. You're doing pretty dang amazing yourself! It's people like you on this forum that have helped me (& many others) over this last year in my life changing journey. Thank you for your kind words x
 

Crystalrainbow

Well-Known Member
Whop whop coming up to my 1st anniversary too LOL am having a last BIG push see if i can get to that next milestone eeekkk :) its amazing to see just how far weve come in just a year........ i never ever would have believed it BUT here we are living proof it can be done :) here's to the next year to my fellow band sister x x x x
 

Bear

Well-Known Member
An amazing story. Am so happy for you - I bet you're so happy you could burst.
 

BandedHun

New Member
Emma,

I can literally cry for you. This is an anIng read. You LOOK fantastic. Wow. What an amazing inspiration. 1 year and you look ... Speechless! Emma what truely inspirational journey xxxxx

So proud of you xxxx
 
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