Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Exam (09/12/13)
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TITLE: Caterpillar to Butterfly | Previous Challenge Entry
By Cindy Gerdes
09/16/13 -
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For more than 20 years I had been labeled as morbidly obese. I had more than one hundred extra pounds packed onto my five foot seven body. I felt like a butterfly trapped in a caterpillar’s body. Inside I was vibrant and colorful, but on the outside I was ugly and slow. I had tried every diet known to man and as so many people do, I would lose weight only to gain it back. Yoyo diets were controlling my life.
As my first grandchild grew to be a toddler I found it increasingly harder to keep up with him. It broke my heart to realize I would not be able to be the fun grandma I wanted to be because of my weight. It was then I decided my life would always be “morbidly obese” unless I took charge and really did something about.
As a nurse I knew my weight loss surgery options, but I did not want to be one of those people taking “the easy way out”. One day when I was complaining about my weight wows to a colleague she looked at me and said “trust me honey, gastric bypass is not the easy way out. It’s hard work.” She told me her story about her weight loss surgery and how it saved her life. People do not realize how being over-weight not only affects your physical health, but also your mental health.
By 2003 I decided it was time to do something permanent about my weight. When people say you are taking the “easy way out” they have no clue what they are talking about. Nothing is easy about gastric bypass surgery which reduces the size of your stomach to the size of a walnut. After countless exams to determine if my body and mind were a candidate for the surgery I was finally cleared to go through this life changing event. January 16, 2004 was the day I changed into a free butterfly! For the first two weeks after surgery I wasn’t hungry so forcing myself to eat was an unfamiliar feeling to me. For the next few weeks I discovered if I ate even a teaspoon too much food I would throw up. With the support of my family and by the grace of God I continued to get in touch with my body. I learned to first eat my protein because I needed it for my energy. Slowly I began to understand food was fuel for my body in the same manner gasoline is fuel for my car. Making sure I took in enough “good” calories and fluids was a daily balancing act.
When I started the surgery process I had to set a weight goal for myself. The nurse told me most people my weight could expect to loss 90–100 pounds so I decided one hundred pounds was a good target for me. By November I had lost over 130 pounds, which was over half of my original body weight. I would look into the mirror and wonder who the person looking back at me was. It was strange and life changing all at the same time.
By now I was a grandmother of three beautiful little ones, all under the age of three. It was a wonderful feeling to be able to keep up with all three of them and still have energy at the end of the day. For the first time in a long time, I could sit on a playground swing and give my grandkids a ride.
In January 2014 I will celebrate the 10th anniversary of my life changing decision. There has not been a day in the past 10 years that I have regretted making my decision. Not only did I lose the weight, I got in touch with my body and its needs.
God gave us all a well-tuned body to live in while here on earth and it is our responsibility to keep it that way. He helped me every step of the way to get back to where He meant for me to be. Thank you, my Lord, for teaching me why my body is my temple to care for until we meet again.
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