Weight Loss Journey - My Background

This is the first post about the long journey I'm currently making. Before we go to the present, I thought it might be interesting to know the background. Especially, since mine is a quite unusual one.

I've never been one of those lucky girls who is naturally thin. It always was hard work. 

Ever since I can remember I wanted to dance and sing. The first time I saw the musical "Elisabeth" (I was 6) , I knew this is what I wanted to do. I started working for this dream and I think I did well. 

With 12 I really started to focus on my dancing skills and started taking classes. I went four times a week and with 16, I joined a musical company for teenagers. Ballet was my passion and my talent, after two years I already started dancing on pointe shoes. :-) On the other side I sucked at Hip Hop.. *gg*

My body was lovely, I found a picture which shows it best. It's from our school ball: 

I started taking singing lessons and everything I focused on was this future. Everything I did was for this dream and I loved it, but then all those plans were destroyed - just when I was about to start auditioning for the schools.

It started with a stinging pain in my ankles, it didn't get better so we went to the hospital and I got a horrifying diagnosis. Parts of my ankle splintered off and destroyed the cartilage, on both sides.

I was told I was the only person worldwide who has that kind of damage on both sides and I had two choices - operations or never doing any kind of sports again. I was 18, so the second option wasn't an option and so the journey started..

I had four big operations. The first one was to remove the splintered bones and take some cartilage for growing it in a laboratory if the pain wouldn't go away. Of course it didn't, so I had to get cartilage transplantations, on each side. I had one on each side with a 7 month break inbetween and the last one was to remove the screws.

Three times, I had to learn to walk again and had crutches and a wheelchair. 

All in all, this nightmare lasted two years.

Needless to say you gain weight when you're not allowed to move. I fell in a huge dark hole as well and since my fiancée ate crappy fast food all the time I joined him in doing so and I just had other problems than watching my figure.

After three years I was officially allowed to start doing sports again, but I was too scared. 

6 months ago, I started again. I tried dancing on a much lower level, but had to stop after two lessons. It broke my heart, after all, being able to dance again was what kept me alive during those times in the hospital and rehab. I tried horse-riding again (another hobby I had), but it didn't work out as well. 

I started with Power Plate and using my parents Crosstrainer. So far, my feet are okay with that. When summer really hits us, which it will do soon, I'll start swimming as well. 

So this is it. My background. Not a happy one, but it made me the person I am today. It makes you appreciate even the little things. The first time I was able to use the bathroom on my own again without a nurse was incredible.

Next time I'm gonna talk about my nutrition and what changed since I joined Weight Watchers.

Love,

Guinevere