My name is Jennifer, I am 37yrs old, I am happily married & I have 5 children (4boys & 1girl)

The story of my weight started approx 17yrs ago(1995), after the birth of my 1st child... I started my 1st pregnancy weighing approx 135-140lbs. I was comfortable at that weight, I had some meat on my bones. By the way, I am only 5'0". so at that weight i was filled out & then some.I wasn't really insecure at that weight.

Fast forward through my pregnancy, i had gained at least 40-45lbs by the time he was born...Then, 2 & 1/2 months after i had my son, i found out i was pregnant again!! So, i didn't lose any of the weight from previous pregnancy. But this pregnancy, luckily i only gained approx 20lbs instead of 40...

So, now i am really too big for my height @ 200lbs.

Three more children and 2 seizures later, my highest weight was 239!!! I can barely breathe when i bend over. I can't walk 1 block without being short of breath already.

I am a very impatient person, so i always did crash diets. I deprived myself of food that i love, so it didn't last long & i'd gain the weight back. I did the HTC drops for 1 month and lost approx 16lbs, then gained it all back quickly. It was too expensive for me & it is VERY hard to only eat 500 calories a day.

The most successful thing i ever tried was body4life. I did so good on this. Not that i lost a whole lot of weight, but i had totally changed my lifestyle in regard to food & exercise. I did it for 12wks i believe & lost approx 20lbs. I was so full of energy & i was totally eating right & so was my family. I would jog/run, ride bikes & do aerobic exercise daily, i felt GREAT!!! Then I had a bad seizure (2006)that came out of nowhere, had never had one before in my life. Then all that good i had been doing went out the door fast because they were putting me on prescription meds that were messing with my mind & causing depression... SO THERE WENT THAT!!!

I have been very up & down on my weight over the years. There have been points in my life when i was totally self motivated to get active & lose weight. I didn't have to have a buddy, i just dart out my door & go for a jog...The lowest weight i have been in 17yrs was 168lbs at then end of 2005. But for the most part of the 17yrs, i have hovered between 180 & 200lbs.

My older sister had gastric bypass 11 yrs ago. I was so mad, i thought she was totally cheating. The truth was, i was jealous. I too wanted assistance in my weight loss... Watching her over the yrs, i know that surgery was not a permanent fix. Oh, she lost all that weight really fast, but it slowly but surely started coming back on (over years time) And she never gained ALL of her weight back......I watched her fight back & regain control of her weight, but she has to work on it & i know this. She is doing great, she is happy @ her current weight & she doesn't regret getting the surgery...I wish i could have done weight loss surgery years ago, like in my 20's, but it just wasn't my time...We never really had health insurance over the years, it was too expensive...

My husband got a great job with affordable health insurance in Feb 2010...So I started seeing a primary care physician... By Aug 2010, I was on high blood pressure meds, oxygen @ night for Hypoxemia & CPAP for sever obstructive sleep apnea... After over 1 yr of being on all this, i asked my Dr if i would NEED to be on all this stuff for the rest of my life???? He said i could likely get off all of it if i could lose a significant amount of weight... The lightbulb went off about 2mo later about the weight loss surgery & he told me that i was a good candidate for it...

After approx 7months of "jumping through hoops" for my insurance co, they finally approved me for the surgery, YAY!!!!!!!

On 8-8-2012, i had the vertical gastric sleeve done!!!!!

I'm on my way to a active & healthy lifestyle that i have always wanted.... Now starts a NEW chapter in my life.......

Goals I have with this upcoming weight loss:

1)My health, i can't wait to go to bed without tubes attached to my face (so romantic,NOT!)

2)My husband will get a new wife, ME! I was FAT when we got together 12yrs ago.

3)My self confidence should get better, since the reason it was bad was weight related!

4)I will be WAY more active!! Look out Hiking trails, here i come!

5)We have a farm we are working on & when i say WE, i mean my husband :-(

SOON, the WE can actually include ME!!!

6)Someday, I want to run & jump into my husband's arms & wrap my legs around him

i've always wanted to do that!

7)I want my husband to be able to pick me up & carry me, doesn't every woman want that?

8)I want to walk in somewhere & NOT feel like everyone is looking @ my fatness!

9)I want to look GREAT in what i wear, I will be so proud!

10)I want to be able to look in the petite area to shop for clothes, NOT the plus size store

where they have clothes for short plus sized people

Well, that's all for today!!! Sorry, I know this was long...I've been holding a lot in & I still have more in me, it will come out later!!!