Introduction

Feb 16, 2009

Hello! My name is Julie, my user name is juliebeth. You can call me either, but the latter reminds me of when my mom gets mad at me. :)

I've been overweight most of my adult life. I was active in high school; tennis, volleyball, swimming; so I managed to not gain weight even though I had poor eating habits. When I moved away for college, I gained weight. Fortunately, I walked a lot since I didn't own a car, so I didn't gain too much weight. After a few years, I moved home to prepare to serve a mission for my church. I had a car and my same poor eating habits. In 6 months, I gained 50 lbs. I was really active on my mission and learned to eat better, but when I returned home, I resumed my former lifestyle and gained another 40 lbs. By this time I was right around 300 lbs. Slowly, I gained a pound here, a pound there, until last year when I started driving to different states for my job. I ate to stay awake and often eating at greasy diners (with fabulous food!) was the "only" option I had for meals. I gained 30 lbs. That, combined with the occassional pounds from the previous years, put me at 351 lbs when I decided to have weight loss surgery.

I wouldn't have ever thought to have the surgery, except my dad and step-mom offered to pay half of it for me. They offered last spring and I took 6 months to decide to do it. I'm so glad I did and just wish I would've be ready to do it sooner! My surgery took place December 23, 2008 and to date, I've lost 53 lbs and weigh less than I have in 6 years. I feel great! My clothes fit again - in fact, some of them are almost too big! I have lots of energy and find it easier to do simple tasks. I can only imagine what it will be like when I lose even more weight!

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