“Ups, Downs and Landing on My Feet!”

Linda Salsbury Story

 I never really had a weight issue until after I had my 1st child in 1996,I went from 120 pounds to 180 lb. when I delivered him, but after what was supposed to be a blessed and joyous occasion I sank into postpartum depression.

My weight had dropped to 130 pounds,but that was short lived after the doctor prescribed me Paxil, for the depression then my weight shot back up to 185 lb.,I didn’t like my body at all. I felt ashamed. No one told me that anti-deppresants cause weight gain.

Then in 2000 I got pregnant and had my second child. Luckily, I only gained 15 pounds so I then weighed 199 pounds. However, I was very sick in the 3rd trimester of that pregnancy, my blood pressure was high and I was having dizzy spells. Doctors ran all kinds of blood tests including one for thyroid and diabetes and all came back normal, leaving me and the doctors baffled.

After I had my son, the doctors ran a cholesterol panel blood test on me and it came as a big surprise that my cholestol was high, but that turned out to be the least of my problems. My triglycerides were dangerously high! Normal is under 150 and mine was at 900. I was at risk of stroking out and having heart disease at only 24 years old!

They gave me meds, but they made me sick, so I opted instead to lose weight so I could get healthy again. I lost 20 Lb. in 2001, but then  lost my motivation and I gained the weight all back plus an extra 30 pounds. That had me weighing in at 210 pounds in 2009. Then more stress as I cared for my mother in law who was sick, followed by moving across the country to California, after which my oldest son was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome.  I turned to food and eating as my way of coping.

My mother-in-law passed away in January 2010 from complications from her liver failing and she had a aneurysm that burst in her stomach.

As I was going through her stuff, I found old pictures of me when me and my husband got married and I was like, “what happened to me?” I wanted my life back, I wanted my figure back! I didn’t like how I looked and living in California with the weather being hot in the summers… I didn’t want to be fat.  So I made a pledge to myself that I was not going to let the “fat Linda” win anymore.

So in march 2010 I started eating better and started exercising up at the fitness centre and I slowly started feeling better about myself, but I only lost 20 Lb. and had many more to go. I felt discouraged, but even though I was eating right and exercising, I was still drinking regular soda with all that sugar and bad carbs, so I switched to diet soda and the weight started really dropping in 2011.

I lost 65 pounds, then in 2012 I lost 30 more pounds. Now, in 2013 so far I’ve lost 5 pounds and I’m currently at 127 pounds from 210 that I weighed back in 2010 when I embarked on this journey.

There have been many obstacles and now realizing diet soda is not good for you, I’m drinking more water and I exerercise 5 times a week.

I’m proud of my accomplishments and love the rewards of a healthier body.

The journey never ends. You have to keep working on it everyday and you have to want it!

IT IS Possible!!