Do you take Diner's Club?

I admit it - I went Girls Gone Wild in my early 20s.  Not in the sexy way (well, okay, there was a bit of that), but in the spendy way.  But instead of this:

It was more like this:

Sure, I bought my fair share of useless stuff, but I bought way more than my fair share of crappy food.  In any given week, 80% of my credit card balance was spent on beer, fast food and bar food (the other 20% was spent on DVDs and junk from Target).

Even after I graduated from college, I continued to spend like crazy, almost entirely on food.  Dining out every night, plus groceries (because I need midnight snacks, right?).  I remember going to the grocery store once and only buying beer and cookies.  With a credit card.  I had a relatively high paying job and no student loan debt, but I was living eating way above my means.

I was lonely, I hated my job and I was bored.  I was out of control, both in spending and in eating.  Spending and eating were so highly correlated for me that I ended up with $12k in credit card debt and weighing 314 pounds.

I haven't used credit cards in more than three years (with the exception of the plumbing emergency right after we moved in to the new house).  Today, I made a $12,462.06 payment on my MasterCard.  That was the balance of what I ate in my early 20s.

According to my math, I just paid $87.76 for every pound I gained over my target weight.  As unbelievable as it sounds, I paid to be fat.  With interest in the form of stretch marks, acne and GERD.

The MasterCard is paid off now.  I'm done paying the debt I accrued in order to be fat.  Now, if I have to accrue a little debt to get my band, to be healthy - I'm going to do it without hesitation.