Let's Start at The Very Beginning....

Hello, and welcome to my Blog. I've decided to track my journey through the world of Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) by sharing my thoughts with friends. As this is my first posting, I'll tell you all a little about myself (in case you were interested). :)

I've been overweight since I was 5 years old (I'm 24 now) and, after a 2 year struggle to get through all of the hurdles required for approval, I am finally in the home stretch! I've tried everything to lose weight. I've been to a Dietatician, Jenny Craig, done the Atkins thing, the Cabbage Soup Diet (do NOT try this one people.... Not only does it make your house stink to high heaven of boiled cabbage and soy sauce but I started craving eggs so badly I thought I was turning into some weird reptillian creature from the paleolithic era. Not to mention the gas....) Needless to say, I'm tired of trying and failing. They say only 5% of people who diet on their own, keep the weight off for more than 5 years or something. With WLS, the percentage rises to 50%. I'm liking those odds.

Many people I've spoken to have been afraid for me. The say things like "can't you just diet one more time?" or "I just think you're taking the easy way out." and then there's my favorite "you can't! So many people have died from it!" For starters, only about 1% of patients die from WLS. For another, WLS is NOT easy! I've got to lose 10% of my excess body weight before surgery and take 8 Nutrition classes and 8 New Lifestyle Management classes. Then after surgery, I have to re-learn to eat, exercise every day (!!!) and learn how to manage my bad eating habits, my emotional stress and continue looking fabulous. I can't wait!

My highest weight is 296.5 (I can't believe I actually making that public knowledge). I've been weighing myself every week and I'm currently down to 290 as of last Monday (8/2/04). I've done 6 of my classes and I'm raring to go!

My hope is to use this forum to chronicle my journey to the center of me. I hope you all will join me along the way. It's going to be a blast. If any readers out there are going through this experience, please share your comments, your sucesses, your failures and fears as I share mine. I hope to be able to help you and help myself get through this intact! Let me know if you have questions, fears, or anything else you'd like me to address. I'm ready and waiting.

I'll try to update at least once a week. I hope to build a community of friends and family to share with so don't be shy! I'm currently taking pictures of myself once a month. The one included in this posting is my first Pre-Op photo. Thanks for taking it Daddy!

Till next time,
Kimberlee