Blog 1- Introducing me..
My name is Heather! This seems like a good place to start! I am 26 years old; I live with my wonderful partner and our two cats Lexie and Cleo and as you may have guessed by the blog name I am indeed a midwife and have been for the last three years. So why the sleeved midwife you may ask ?
Just like the blog name suggests, I decided on the 17/10/22 of this year that I would take the big step and have gastric sleeve surgery. The purpose of this blog is to document my journey into becoming a slimmer, happier and healthier me !
For as long as I can remember I have always struggled with my weight and have tried every diet out there including meal replacements, weight loss injections, slimming world and weight watchers. I was bullied the whole way through school for being the 'fat kid' which has massively impacted on my relationship now with my body, food and self -image. I'm not the most confident person you will ever meet and have spent many years hiding behind my older sister and letting her do the talking for me. At age 15 I got a job working in a hotel where I was forced to interact with people and my confidence increased, however the body insecurities never left me. This was further impacted by three failed relationships from the age of 16-21, where hurtful comments were made about my body, even when I had lost weight. Instead of encouragement my ex-partners became concerned about me attracting new men as I was slimmer and genuinely happier.
I have tried over the years to love who I am, but it has been a very difficult journey. I moved away from Kent leaving behind my parents and 3 siblings (1 older sister and a younger brother and sister) to study midwifery at the university of Hertfordshire when I was 20. I had always seen myself as a nurse or midwife as I love to care for people. As a youngster, if anyone hurt themselves, I would magically appear with a plaster shouting "nurse Heather is here!". Although looking back later I don't think that was much help when my brother fell off a bench at school fracturing his wrist and cracking his head open on the way down!
Throughout my time at university I dealt with homesickness, rubbish flat mates and the intensity of my degree which was half spent in uni and half in a placement hospital. Thank fully I went to uni with my best friend who I still see regularly to this day. However, my lack of confidence and self- doubt reared its ugly head during my second year of uni when I became mentally burnt out and was finally diagnosed after 5 years of struggling with anxiety and depression. This is something I will talk about throughout my blogs.
Fast forward to now and I am happy to say Jack is completely different and accepts me for everything that I am! Lumps, bumps and wobbles included! We have nearly been together for 2.5 years and as you guessed it, are a covid couple. I can hand on heart say the only positive thing to come out of covid was meeting Jack and 9 months into our relationship we found ourselves living together!
Now onto the purpose of this blog! As a midwife, I feel it is my responsibility to promote a healthy lifestyle to pregnant women and their families. At the beginning of this year I decided to go on an intense health kick where I practically deprived myself of all nice foods and worked out in the gym 3-4 times a week. As a result, I managed to lose 3.5 stone. However, as with all diets which restrict you and make you feel horrendously guilty for eating a single chocolate biscuit, my willpower dwindled, and I consequently stopped the diet and gained all the weight back! As I'm moving into my late 20's Jack and I have started to discuss wanting to start a family in the next few years, however from working as a midwife I am fully aware of the risk complications of being pregnant when overweight (Gestational diabetes and Deep vein thrombosis). This has led me to seek out other ways of losing weight. As a result, I have decided to look down the Bariatric Surgery route. I always remember in the past how against surgery I have been (more on this in my next blog) , but I am at the point where I see no other way out and really want and need to take control of my health! As mentioned at the very start of this blog, weight loss and achieving a healthy BMI has been a personal struggle of mine for as long as I can remember. I am now mentally committed and ready to embark on a journey which provides me with a lifelong and irreversible tool to help me lose weight.
When researching for blogs, Instagram pages etc online where people discussed their experiences of having bariatric surgery, I couldn’t find much out there. This is especially true with people from the UK in my age group. I have therefore decided to create this blog as a platform where I will describe an honest account of going through bariatric surgery, including the highs and the lows, tips and advice for anyone who may need it! I might even manage to persuade Jack to write a blog from his perspective. I look forward to taking you on this journey with me!
Heather xxxx
