The Camel's Back

As I think back on what brought me to the decision to have bariatric surgery I realize it wasn't just that proverbial one straw that finally made that back give way. It was actually about 280 pounds of individual straws that did it. And when it went, it really went.

If I were forced to put a finger on exactly when it happened I'd have to say it was a reunion of my father's former colleagues that did it. Or, more specifically, the pictures I saw of the event. I was like, "Who IS that really large woman with the tent dress and gray hair?" Yeah, it was me.

We don't have a lot of full length mirrors in our house - come to think of it we don't have a single one. And I've not been inside a clothing store for several years, thanks to the explosion of internet shopping. Plus, it's one thing to see yourself in the mirror. It's an entirely different matter when you see yourself next to someone. For me, it was very much like putting a raisin next to a watermelon.

I'd been to a seminar a couple of years before and, because I'm basically a stubborn old cuss, I figured I could just power through it myself and lose the weight. I'd done it before. Lots of times. Once I even lost 85 pounds just by only eating when I was hungry, not overeating and exercising my fanny off. So I did it again. And lost 40 pounds. Then I hit a plateau large enough to cover all of North America and then some. After lots and lots of contemplation, discussions with my husband and a resolved heart I registered online for a seminar at the Bariatric Seminar of Kansas City. And on May 27, 2008, I began this journey into wellness, into wholeness, into . . . life.

Next on The Egg and Eye . . . Getting Started