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The Reason for the Blog

In December of 2001, just a few days after my seventeenth birthday, I underwent Gastric Bypass surgery. I weighed 290 pounds. Within the first two weeks I lost 30 pounds, and by July I weighed 185.

This blog is about what it's like to live in the aftermath of that decision. I never regret having the surgery, but it hasn't been an easy road, physically or emotionally. My weight still fluctuates, and my body image is still fragile. I've had further, cosmetic surgeries to remove the excess skin leftover from the weight loss, and I do my best to keep my body in shape with a sensible diet and exercise; in no way was the GB a cure-all for my weight issues.

I'm trying to accept my body for the way it is and the weight it levels out at, and writing this blog is part of that process, but I also want it to be a resource for anyone who ever feels alone in his or her body image issues. I want people to know that somebody out there understands.

If you have any questions for me, about the surgeries or anything else, please leave a comment on the blog and I'll get back to you. If you're uncomfortable asking your question in the comment box, you can email me at ahputnam [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll answer your question (anonymously) on the blog.

Update 2013: I have now written (and had published – still thrilling!) a memoir about my experience called Navel Gazing.  It was published by Faber in the UK/Commonwealth (so it's at Waterstone's and Amazon.co.uk and wherever books are sold) and is currently available on Amazon Kindle in the US/elsewhere (hopefully it will find a more traditional home eventually, but for now I just want people to be able to read it).  For more on my author life check out www.annehputnam.com/blog

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