I've been overweight all my life. Mom says "not all your life, you weren't overweight when you were in preschool." Thanks, Mom! I remember the clothing hassles. Probably drove Mom bananas looking for 6x and chubbies for me all the time. I had the nickname "Big Heavy" when I was in elementary school. This was from my brother and his buddies. I don't really remember kids being too mean to me. We moved and my brother and his new buddies dubbed me "Sarah Bacon" when I was in junior high. Still don't remember too much hassle at school except for one girl referring to me as "sea cow." I still hate her!! No one else was mean to me until high school. Then I remember another girl who was rude. I've always hoped that she would balloon out of control!

    College was good. I changed my major a couple of times and ended up a physical education major with an athletic training minor. One of my first classes was a physical fitness class. We had to run(jog) every day and do a bunch of other exhausting things. There was a sweetheart of a gal in that class that was a bodybuilder. She would hang back with me and stay with me until I finished. I worked and worked and eventually was jogging 3.5 miles every day, played pick-up basketball with the guys at State Gym, played raquetball, swam, lifted weights, ran the indoor track in the winter. Life was good. I felt great and was having fun. I was average size, but boy did I feel good. I wish I had all of those facilities available to me today. Sucks that I don't. Have to pay $500 a year to a place 20 miles away for the next closest thing. Ain't happening.

     Since I've been teaching and on my own, my weight has just gotten worse and worse. I've been on a couple of good diets. Got down below 200# in 2000 and got down around 210 in 2003. I moved in 2004 and haven't made many friends besides the people I work with. I have no social life. I really have ballooned over the last two years. It's had for me to take care of my acreage and to take care of myself. I've had enough!

    My mother and sister live close by and are very supportive. I haven't talked to Dad about my decision. We don't have that kind of relationship. He's always talked down to me about my weight. (He has no issues with weight). I broke the news to my "mean" brother. It's weird but he is very supportive of my decision and has called me to check up on me a lot since surgery. Amazing how things change, but it's hard to forget the pain of my childhood.

Enough of that. Let's get this show on the road!