Who Are You?

[NyanBunny56 12]

I'm Hanan, I just turned 20 years old recently, I study Intl. Relations and translation.

I have been suffering with my weight since I was 10 years old, I kept losing and gaining and once I actually got to 57 kgs, but that went away fast as soon as I graduated high school and passed my first semester in uni, and I became 106 kgs which is my highest weight ever. It took me a long time to convince my parents about the surgery, but after trying every therapy and diet it doesn't work.

I finally decided that I want to live my 20s to the fullest and be very happy and eventually get married and have an amazing career and love life.

It has been only 25 days, and I have lost 14 kgs, and I am currently at a stall, but I have hope, I feel better, and I hope by next semester, which is in a month, people will notice my weight loss and feel better about myself and get my grades up, and I hope by September, with the start of the fall semester I will be at goal weight and be on the dean's list! Too ambitious?

[Julie76 251]

GREAT IDEA!

My name is Julie. I am 35 and the proud mother of three wonderful children. My son Josh, will soon be 20, and is in college, my daughter Crysta will soon be 18 and my youngest Felisa will soon be 16 (yes I started young). I have a wonderful boyfriend who is 6 yrs younger than me and keeps me on my toes but makes me feel like I'm 6 yrs younger than him. I love being a mother and hope to become a wife soon.

I have a wonderful career at a University in which I absolutely love running an online program for secondary teaching certifications.

I have a few animals. A horse Mia, 4 dogs, Deke, black lab, Tabby, black lab, Franklin, yellow lab and a little bitty black fuzzy dog we call Foxy, not really sure what she is.lol

Horse back riding is my favorite past time and is like the highest level of meditation for me. Now that I have lost weight it is 100 times more enjoyable. I also love to cook and create fun stuff with my girls in the kitchen. I love reading and watching movies as a family. I am thankful to be active enough to go do fun stuff with the girls now. Shopping has gotten to be so much fun now. As I really hated it before.

I look forward to a long life now instead of just making it day to day. I am grateful for my wonderful life.

God bless.

[jessers82 21]

I'm Jessica, I am 29 years old. I am married to my best friend for a little over a year. I live in South Florida. I have struggled with my weight for the past 8 years. It got to the point where I was able to lose 80 lbs at one point, but over the last 4 years it got me to this point. I have even tried just eating sensible and hitting the gym but that didn't work out so well. Which is very discouraging because I am a certified personal training/spinning instructor. I had to stop working in the fitness field because I gained to much weight. So I work in the retail field. I am having my surgery done by Dr. Paul Wizman in Margate Fl @ Northwest Medical Center. I enjoy watching the Florida Gators, New York Giants, and the New York Mets! I like going to the beach, being with my friends and family, reading a good book. I wish everyone such a wonderful journey!

[illgeturhairdid 176]

So happy to get to know you guys! Thank you for sharing a bit of yourselves with me.

[spiritstalkergoddess 14]

Here goes....

Karen here, I am a mother of 3 wonderful children two boys ages 11 and 3, and one little diva age 6. I have been working as an inventory coordinator for about 7 years now, before that I was a manager for Chuck E. cheese ha ha .... I have been married to my awesome husband Jeremy for 4 years now, and I am a total skinny girl trapped in a fat body. I love outdoors, I enjoy riding my dirt bike, camping, hiking, drag racing and mountain biking... A lot of these things are hard to do now with the weight but hoping to reclaim my life in March! I hate cooking so that is something I am going to have to LEARN to enjoy!

[illgeturhairdid 176]

Here goes....

Karen here, I am a mother of 3 wonderful children two boys ages 11 and 3, and one little diva age 6. I have been working as an inventory coordinator for about 7 years now, before that I was a manager for Chuck E. cheese ha ha .... I have been married to my awesome husband Jeremy for 4 years now, and I am a total skinny girl trapped in a fat body. I love outdoors, I enjoy riding my dirt bike, camping, hiking, drag racing and moutain biking... A lot of these things are hard to do now with the weight but hoping to reclaim my life in March! I hate cooking so that is something I am going to have to LEARN to enjoy!

Not as much as you think! I LOVE too cook- but I honestly do WAY less of it now. Going through all that prep for one itty bitty meal that I probably won't eat all of any way curbs that desire to cook. You will learn to cook a few essential items and you'll be fine

[Dooter 1,457]

Hey there! My name is Danielle- I am 42. I'm a Christian, a wife and a mother. That's the order of devotion in my life: God, husband, children. I love them all! I've been with my husband since 1995, and we got married in 1999. I am still madly in love with him like a school girl and it gets worse every day! My children are 3 boys ages 11, 9 and 9. I've been homeschooling them since 2008.

I feel like their childhood is flying by and I'm spending it on the sidelines watching the fun. I wave goodbye as they go off on a hike with their dad, because I don't want to DIE out in the desert under the strain of this weight! (desert SW here)

Before I had children, I was very involved in ballooning. I had to quit that, because it involved getting up in the pre-dawn hours and once you have babies...you need SLEEP!!!

Now I'm an avid quilter. I know, I know....old lady hobby. I can't help it though, I'm strung out on the quilting. I looooove all the pretty fabrics and how I can chop them all up and sew 'em back together and make a beautiful blanket for someone! I'll be doing a lot of that to pass the time during pre op liquids.

Hmmm....what else.... Oh...I also worked for Albertsons from 1989 to 2000. But that's pretty boring. That's all I can think of for now...

[illgeturhairdid 176]

Hey there! My name is Danielle- I am 42. I'm a Christian, a wife and a mother. That's the order of devotion in my life: God, husband, children. I love them all! I've been with my husband since 1995, and we got married in 1999. I am still madly in love with him like a school girl and it gets worse every day! :wink1: My children are 3 boys ages 11, 9 and 9. I've been homeschooling them since 2008.

I feel like their childhood is flying by and I'm spending it on the sidelines watching the fun. I wave goodbye as they go off on a hike with their dad, because I don't want to DIE out in the desert under the strain of this weight! (desert SW here)

Before I had children, I was very involved in ballooning. I had to quit that, because it involved getting up in the pre-dawn hours and once you have babies...you need SLEEP!!!

Now I'm an avid quilter. I know, I know....old lady hobby. I can't help it though, I'm strung out on the quilting. I looooove all the pretty fabrics and how I can chop them all up and sew 'em back together and make a beautiful blanket for someone! :smile1: I'll be doing a lot of that to pass the time during pre op liquids. :wink1:

Hmmm....what else.... Oh...I also worked for Albertsons from 1989 to 2000. But that's pretty boring. That's all I can think of for now...

Hi Danielle- I like your name! hehe.

I was home schooled for grades k-1 and then 6-8.

[Cheles 75]

Here goes. I'm Michele. I'm 47 and have been married for the last 3-year. I am a transportation analyst for a CPG company. I have 3-step daughters, 2-grandbabies (which are my world since I never had children). And my adoring niece and nephew whom I cherish. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats, again my babies. I love to garden, shoot, cook, and remodel my home. I love UT (that's Tennessee not Texas) football, and try to attend at least 1-game a year. I love camping and fishing, and working out.

As for my stuggles with weight. I can say it started in my youth. I cannot remember the last time I wore clothes from the women's section...but it's coming!

Looking forward to skydiving in the near future and maybe, just maybe a 5K.

This is an amazing journey if you practice it. Thank God for mircales.

[Itsanewdaycassandra 45]

_{This is a cool idea,}

_{I am a 43 year old happily married; mother of one 13 year old son stepmother to two, a 25 year old stepdaughter and an 18 year old stepson and I work as a clinical research coordinator. My life now I would say is full but happy, I could not always say this, and I believe that a lot of the reason why this was, was because I was unhappy with myself and felt trapped with my weight and it tinted the way I moved though life. I have been struggling on and off with my weight for the past 20 years not always obese but never really comfortable with food and weight…One of the best side effects post surgery was this will to feel better about me and my life and I feel freer in a lot of ways that I wasn’t anticipating. I dream of traveling the world and I have been to Africa, Mexico and the USVI (where my husband is from) but if I had to name a few places that I want to go to it would be London, Ethiopia, Egypt, Greece and Hawaii with my family. I am really excited to get to know who I am at this stage in my life. I feel like I am kind of girly, I love sparkly stuff and tinker bell and silly stuff of that nature but I am learning to garden and I kind of like the outdoors. I hope to go camping and hiking this summer. I love to swim and I think that I am supposed to live near a lake or Water because I enjoy it so much. I would also like to complete my degree, but traditional learning has never really excited me much so, we will see what takes shape.}

[Tif 2.0 141]

As strange as this sounds, I don't know who I am. I know the version of me that everyone sees, but I feel like there is another me inside that yearns to get out.

I'm 37 and have been with my husband for 16 years, the last 10 of them married. We have 1 son that took us 11 years to conceive, not that we were trying early in our relationship, but we didn't do anything to prevent either. I have PCOS and was first diagnosed at age 15 before anyone really knew ANYTHING about it. I have been overweight my entire life. The last time I wore a bikini I was 10 and I probably shouldn't have been wearing it then. LOL!

I feel like I'm becoming self aware for the first time in a really long time. I have focused on everyone else's needs and put my to the side. And when I say everyone, I mean flippin everyone. It is not an exaggeration to say when anyone in my family needs something I have dropped what I was doing to help out in whatever capacity I can. During family tragedies, everyone figures that I'll take care of whatever needs to be done. In alot of ways, my mom and I have reversed roles, I am the mom and she is the daughter. She had me very young and she has a case of arrested development.

My son started kindergarten this past September and as he has become more autonomous, I feel like I've been gaining some of myself back with every milestone he has passed. He is a bigger cheerleader than anyone. He tells me that he can give me bigger hugs and I haven't even had surgery yet, but I have lost almost 30 lbs.

So, I'm on my journey to Tif 2.0, with my Ipod (with the kindle app lol), backpack and my son and I'm REALLY happy to be on my way.

[Forensikchic 528]

Well I'm gonna be the first man to ad their story to this topic. I'm a 53 year old man named Roy, hence the RoyBoy name. married to a 53 year old wonderful woman named Jean for 11 years now. We are the brady bunch as I had 3 girls and one boy, she had two boys for the perfect six! The family just melted together into one big happy family. All of our kids are grown with the littlest being 20, she's going back to college next semester, so she says but all the other kids have good jobs, nice homes and a wonderful family life. They have given us 12 grandchildren with two kids of our kids to go. Our number two son is getting married this winter in Riviera Maya Mexico for a warm needed vacation from cold Wisconsin and our number 3 son is doing the same next winter in Brazil! I love food and thats how I got to the place that brought me here! But love to hunt and fish with a passion and now I feel better every day so I fish even harder than I used too. LoL I've run and sold 2 companies and currently own a small trucking company with my wife working for a private college.

I'm a very thankful man for what God has given us and remember that every single day of my life!

I have family in Brazil (well, I hosted exchange students from there so they are family to me) and we just went to one of the girls weddings last year in Marasias. We visited Sao Paulo for a week where she is from. I also saw one of my girls that is from Rio and we also had one that I didnt get to visit from Fortaleza. What part of Brazil are you going for the wedding?

[Lyra 43]

Great idea! I'm 29 years old, single, no sibs, and no kids. I have a degree in English Literature and another in the Baking and Pastry Arts. I decorate cakes for a living and love creating beautiful, edible, art. My deep down desire in life is to be a published author, to work with Canine Search and Rescue, and run the Tough Mudders race with my best friend. I recently decided that my life definitely needed a pick-me-up and so moved to a different state where I'm much happier! I adore running, martial arts, kickboxing, and am in a love-hate relationship with yoga. I have a cat who is super clingy and am thinking about getting a Shih-poo dog and naming him Ewok.

I just started the process for VSG and can't wait to kick some serious flab and become a lean, mean, running machine! My goal is that when I get under 200 lb I'm going to go zip lining!

[dishwidow 2]

Hi Sleevers,

I'm a 59 year old married lady with no children and no job living in Las Vegas, NV. My last position was as a 9-1-1 Specialist (not fun) and also spent decades as officer managers/exec. assts and bookkeepers for various businesses.

I was sleeved a week ago today and can't wait to get my life started (I think pushing 60 is waiting long enough!). Can't eat/do much yet - but gain encouragement from you all sharing your stories - thank you!

Dishwidow

[mesaucedo 207]

Hi everyone!!

My name is Marisa, I am currently a Biology Pre-Dental student at UCSB and am 20 years old. I am originally from Ukiah, CA -- a tiny podunk town in Nor Cal. I have two siblings and a wonderful mom that raised us. I am engaged to my boyfriend of three years, Rigo, who has been more than supportive through this whole journey. I currently work at a dining hall (glamorous, I know) on campus and kind of love it!

For me, weight has always been a problem but it really ballooned out of control when my dad passed when I was ten. The pounds just kept packing on. And, I love baking which probably didn't help!

My surgery is on March 23rd with Dr. Garcia and I am super excited to start this part of my life!!