I'm in a contest to be on the cover of Triathlete magazine. To enter I shared my story about how WLS and exercising, specifically triathlons have made me more fit, and I'm happy to say I've made it to phase 1, the top 20! Please vote for me, Julie S., so that I can make it to phase 2. You can vote on all your devices, (desktops, iPads, and your cell phones). Thank you. Voting ends in Monday February 1, 2016.

http://triathlon.com...-1-women_127517

Here is the essay I submitted:

In August 2011, I had weight-loss surgery. Like many, I had tried to lose weight on my own with diet and exercise, but I wasn’t successful. After the surgery, was it easy to lose weight? Yes. Was it easy to keep it off? Hell no!

The main problem was I wasn’t being active. I met a lady who told me she was scheduled to have a second surgery to lose the weight she had regained. Fearing I would end up like her, I decided I needed to get moving, so I started swimming. Then a friend asked if I wanted to do a triathlon, so I started biking and running too. Finally, on Mother’s Day of 2012, I officially became a triathlete. From then on I was hooked.

I’ve been competing in triathlons for four years now, and I’m currently training for my first half Ironman in April and first full Ironman next year. I’m happy to say that, thanks to triathlon, I haven’t regained any weight and I’m the fittest I’ve ever been. My new goal is to encourage others to be active and to try tris—whether they need to lose weight or just want to have fun.

I voted! You look great and so happy