Where it all started.

I was born in Steubenville, Ohio on December 3, 1980. My childhood was good, but there were a few struggles that I will not get into, but I believe caused me to be who I am today. That means the good and the bad of me. As a small child, I was not overweight. I started to became overweight at the age of 12. That is when it all started. Being overweight was always a struggle growing up because many children my age were not nice. I was picked on because I was different and no one really cared. That began my obsession of eating. My family is overweight. My father's side has weight issues along with diabetes and high blood pressure. By the time I finished high school, I was over 200 lbs. As time went by, I gained more and more until I hit my highest weight of 354 pounds. That was about a month ago or so.

Food became a drug for me. It was my best friend because it was always there for me. When I was happy, sad, mad.... whatever, I ate and ate and ate. It made me happy when no one else or nothing else could.

On January 26, 2006, I was scheduled to have gastric bypass. I was probably 50 lbs smaller than I am now. A week and a half before my surgery, I found out I was pregnant. I had a beautiful son on September 8, 2006. He is my second son, but the reason why I mention him and not Domonik first is because I believe Damian saved my life from this surgery. Looking back, I really believe that I am alive now because of my son.

As time went by, I gained about 50 more pounds or so. My weight caused medical issues, of course, and I had to have about 5 surgeries and finally ended in a hysterectomy. I am a diabetic, my blood pressure is high and my knee is jacked up with arthritis. I am sure that there are other issues I have. But now it is time to stop all of this. I am killing myself and I do not want to cut my life short because I want to eat until I can't stand to move. I realized, with help from others, that I am important and I need to live for myself and my family.

I have goals for myself. These goals seem impossible to reach, but I can reach them with the right support and love from those around me. That is if you all can stand my nasty spelling lol, I think you guys can be part of this journey that I have began a month ago. It is going to get hard, and I am going to want to quit. But one thing that I noticed out of my life lol is I like it when people push me and encourage me with wonderful words. I obsess with seeing if I can make sure I get responses from my post to make sure that what I am writing about means something to someone. I also want to encourage others to think about what I am doing and not take for granted their good health because it is something that I threw away and want to get back for the first time in my life. I will be posting my weight and my goals and what I did for the day. If anyone has any suggestions on what I should try, please, let me know. Being healthy is new to me and I may not be getting it right. Hope to see you all reading, and thank you for the kind words I have got already.