I turned 50 on March 10, 1999. My first appointment with Dr. Fobi’s clinic was on March 15, 1999. I had researched various forms of bypass for almost 5 years, and had come very close at least two times. Both times I ran into a brick wall with my insurance company. I just quietly retreated each time.

The history of obesity in my family sobering. My maternal grandmother needed 2 extra pallbearers at her funeral, no one knew how much she weighed, but her heart just gave out at age 68.

My entire family has battled weight problems. One of my half brothers died at age 47 weighing probably over 650 lbs. His heart also gave out. He had not had contact with anyone in the family for the last 10 years of his life. A casket had to be made special for him, and the funeral had to be graveside to save the whole pall bearer thing. My other half brother struggles every day with his weight. He was only able to maintain when he could exercise. He has had back pain the past few years and has discovered that it is nearly impossible for him to maintain without being able to exercise.

In junior high school I weighed about 135 lbs. When I was 15 my mother took me to a diet doctor and he gave me pills (basically amphetamines) I lost weight, but when I started passing out convulsing on the kitchen floor, that was the end of that. But it was the beginning of my history of dieting. In high school I weighed between 145 to 150. As far as I was concerned I was a cow. That was 1966 when Twiggy was in fashion. I lived off and on on the Atkins diet the way everyone did at that time.

I had a baby in 1967, just out of high school and my weight didn’t immediately zoom up, but it became a gradual thing. I remember when my daughter was 5 I weighed in at about 180. Then later I remember 214 when I joined Overeaters Anonymous. I lost about 70 lbs. on that program (which was also basically Atkins diet but without as much protein).

Over the following years, I have tried almost every diet out there. I have done Optifast / Medifast at least 4 times. My weight loss each time was 70 to 90 lbs. Of course each time I tried to maintain, I gained back all I had lost AND THEN SOME. The longest I maintained my weight loss was about 4 years, until there was a major crisis in my life and I put myself on the back burner again.

I am still married to the same man after 32 years; we just have one daughter, aged 31. Her name is Hilary and you can see and learn more about her on this web page. Her surgery is scheduled for Monday, June 28, 1999. I look forward to updating my progress and hers.