My name is Christina and I'm a 38 year old mother of 3 boys and 2 foreign exchange student sons. I topped off at 293 back in May of 2014 and I swore I would never hit 300. That was it, time to do what needed to be done to start my journey! I was required to do 6 months of doctor documented diet and exercise (like I had never tried that before :-/). I went to regular appointments, seen all the seminars I could stand, seen the psychiatrist like I was supposed to, went to the nutritionists, then had my doctor get sued by another patient the month before my surgery and get ousted from the hospital where I was supposed to have surgery! Blessing in disguise because apparently they started coming out of the woodwork after the first stood up to say something! In my final appointment I found a new surgeon and got my date: November 26, 2014...yes, the day before Thanksgiving. I started my full liquid pre-op diet on November 10th and i weighed 282 that day. The day I went in for surgery i was 267 pounds. I got ice chips and broth for Thanksgiving dinner and I couldn't have been happier! Christmas wasn't too much of a struggle since I was eating soft foods and now things are even easier almost 7 weeks post-op. I have lost 41 pounds since November 10th! I am very happy with my decision!