So lately a lot of people have asked me what made me decide to have surgery and I wanted to write it out and share it publicly. I find that I am better able to hold myself accountable when I am open and honest, not just with myself but with others. So here goes my story. Well this is the short version.

I have always been overweight. I have also always been very active. I didn't see my weight as something that was holding me back. I am successful in my career and my relationships. I have great friends and family.

The company I work for started doing voluntary health screenings about 7 years ago. They even paid you to do it and there were no consequences. I knew the numbers wouldn't be pretty, but who can't use a little extra money. Pretty much the annual health screening was the only time I saw a doctor without being sick. The numbers got worse over the years, but I could look in the mirror. I knew I was gaining weight.

Two years ago, the health screenings were tied to my insurance. I could get a significant discount on my insurance if I met certain benchmarks or made improvements from the prior year. If I didn't do either of those things, I could take a nutrition class or participate in a program to get the discounts. This was fine with me. I did the programs. I played the part and did what they told me to do. Its not like I didn't know I was overweight, I just wasn't really at a point in my life where I was ready to change anything.

This past year when it was time for the health screening, I wanted to have some better numbers. I didn't want to jump through the hoops of the various programs just to save $10 a week. I decided I was going to make sure I improved over the results from the previous year. I was eating right and working out more. I was confident that I would have some improvement. I was wrong. My numbers were all worse than the year prior.

I still had a few weeks before everything had to be submitted, so I decided to try even harder and go to my PCP before the deadline to get updated results, hoping they would be better. I cut out all sugar. I stopped going out to eat. I lived on chicken breast and steamed veggies. I increased my exercise.

Guess what...3 weeks later when I went to the doctors, my blood work numbers were even worse.

It seemed like I was doomed. That is when I realized that I couldn't do it on my own. Even when I did what the doctor told me, my health was getting worse. I have some pretty severe back issues and was really limited in what I could do, but I wasn't giving up. (I completed six 5k races last year.) I also have PCOS which plays a part in my inability to lose weight.

I decided that it was time to make a more drastic change. I started the process to have weight loss surgery. I joined a new gym (and actually started to go). I donated most of the food in my house to people in need. I started talking to other people about my weight.

By this point (September 2014), I weighed 295 pounds. I probably weighed more before that, but never got on the scale. I was in horrible pain all the time. I regularly saw a chiropractor, just so I could stay upright. I was dying.

I showed up to the first consultation having already fasted, knowing they would send me for blood work. I had all of my pre-op testing done that first day. I was serious.

My routine at the gym started with 2 hours in the pool. I was in too much pain to do anything else. I went 4-5 days a week. I work as a kitchen manager, so I would often go to work before the gym even opened in the morning, but it if was still open when I got out of work, I was there. Many nights I wouldn't even get to the gym until 9:00 p.m.

I made it through the holidays and was losing weight. The ladies at the doctor's office were all very happy with my progress and encouraged me to keep going. In January, I started a weight loss competition at my gym. Previously, I wouldn't have even considered signing up for it. This competition gave me an extra incentive to lose the weight. I weighed 282 pounds, but I was already feeling better. I started working out on the machines at the gym instead of the pool. This is also when I really started to share with people what I was doing and why. My support system grew.

I went to the gym almost everyday for the next 6 weeks. I stopped drinking Pepsi (that was the hardest part) and stopped making excuses. People were staring at me at the gym. Not because I was overweight, but because I worked out so hard. One day I had a man in his 40s ask me to stop going so hard, because he couldn't keep up and I was making him look bad. That's a great feeling.

The end of the contest came and my team won. I weighed in at 269 pounds. I admit I was pretty dehydrated at the weigh in and made sure to wear my lightest clothes. The contest ended the day after my 6 month weigh in for surgery.

Both of the 2 things I was using to hold myself accountable came to an end at the same time and my birthday was just a few days away. I went back to my old habits. I jumped up to 280 pounds in a little less than 2 weeks. When I stepped on the scale, I couldn't believe how quickly I had put the weight back on after working so hard to take it off.

I was failing.

I realized that I had to change my life for good. There would be nothing easy about having weight loss surgery.

By the time I had surgery on March 23, I weighed 263 pounds. I had fallen in love with the Arc Trainer at the gym and was really putting in the effort required.

My surgery went well. My only complication being that they hit a nerve putting in an IV and I now have a lot of pain in my left arm. I am hoping it will heal on its own. I chose to spend 3 nights in the hospital, since I have had some allergic reactions to pain meds in the past. I got up and walked every few hours and felt great when I left. (I weighed 271 the day I was discharged because of all of the Water weight that comes with surgery.)

Now on April 9th, I am 243 pounds and have no back pain at all. My stomach is still sore from the surgery, but its nothing to severe. Its just achy muscles. I am back at the gym on a daily basis. I started with just walking the track and every day I am going a little farther. I did some basic strength training yesterday, but am waiting for the doctor to clear me to do more. I don't want to hurt anything.

The weight loss is already very noticeable. People who I never thought would have cared are noticing and asking about it. I am telling them the truth and explaining what my life is like now, post surgery. I have found that a lot of people know someone who has had the surgery. Everyone has been very supportive so far and a lot of people are now asking for my advice.

I have lost just over 50 pounds. I still have a long way to go, but I am confident that I can get there. I am putting in the work. The results will come.

My doctor's goal for me is 192 pounds, but I am shooting for 160. My blood work that I have had over the past month has all been better than that from September and I am feeling great. I only wish that I would have taken before measurements so that I could know how many inches I have lost. I know I have lost a few, because I can wear my old jeans again.

Thanks for listening to my story and I look forward to hearing yours.

Well done! You should be very proud of yourself, and always keep that dedication you have... it will help you win the battles you have yet to face. I am glad you found this site, it should really help you with any issues that may come up. But with your attitude and go-getter mind-set, I think you're going to do great! Thanks for the inspiring story, and good luck to you on your journey!

Awesome job - keep working that ARC trainer and you will be at your doctors goal in no time