My History of Weight Loss--Part 1

I have dealt with extra weight for most of my life--at least from my earliest memories. My mom said I was a chubby baby who just never thinned out. I was 9 lbs at birth which was not unusual among my 7 siblings. I was the fourth child of eight children and my birth weight was right in the middle too--half of my siblings weighed less than me at birth and half of them weighed more than me. 

Those early years were unremarkable health-wise until I was three years old. Then I contracted bronchial pneumonia and spent a couple of anxious days in the hospital with a racing heart and concerned parents. It seemed that our little county hospital staff was under-equipped to deal with the severity of my case and they consulted with the large regional children's hospital about four hours away regarding my case. There was even some discussion about transferring me there if a medication they rushed to me did not work. Well, it must have because I was soon on the mend and leaving the hospital. I remember getting a giant stuffed animal when I left and they made me ride in a wheel chair to the car. I wonder sometimes if I might have been so dosed with antibiotics in that 1978 trip that it changed my gut microbiome permanently. 

Age two or three at the summer parade in town

A couple of years later, I started first grade. The second day I was running in from recess with the other kids and I tripped and fell amid the pack of children. I had new dark blue tights and i remember seeing a hole in them at my knee and I was concerned because they were new and I was worried my mother would be mad. I turned over and was examining my knee as kids were streaming past me. One older boy (maybe a 4th grader) saw my tumble and laughed at me and yelled out "Fatso!" and went on by laughing with a friend by his side. 

That word stung. Even at my young age, I knew what it meant. I just didn't know that people thought that way of me. It was a word that echoed through me for many years after that day. 

Christmas--10 years old

I went on my first diet at the age of 9 years old in 4th grade. I lost 10-15 pounds. It didn't last too long. 

Christmas--11 years old

My second major diet was when I was 11 years old and in sixth grade. I so wanted to be normal in junior high and I was willing to do whatever I could to make it happen. It was my first taste of success. I believe I lost about 20 pounds and I weighed 105 pounds. I was about 5 feet 4 inches at the time so I was looking pretty normal. 

Then we moved to a new state and my whole life changed--my dad went back to school, my mom started working full-time and we moved in with some of our cousins. Life got really stressful very fast and starting junior high in a brand new school where I knew no one was overwhelming. I gained back all my weight by Christmas. 

I was about 14 years old here. 

The next two years of junior high saw my weight steadily climbing. I remember being shocked at seeing my 9th grade school pictures. I could not believe how fat I was. That feeling would characterize much of my life for the next decade--always feeling much thinner than I actually looked.

To be continued next Monday . . .