"I'd always avoided setting goals that had anything to do with my weight. In my mind, they were pointless because losing over 150 pounds seemed like an impossible goal.

"I had tried an 850-calorie-per-day restricted diet, a soup diet, a grapefruit diet, and a high-protein diet. I went through Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig. I exercised excessively, with swimming and weight lifting. It didn't matter what I did, I didn't lose, I just maintained. My parents and brother and sister are thin. It was so frustrating!

"Being heavy was tough on my family, too. I have very young kids. It was hard to explain why Mommy can't play baseball, or ride bikes, or even just go outside in the summertime.

"I worked in a laboratory and was on my feet a lot. Sometimes I literally had to pick my legs up and put them in the car when I left work for the day. I was on so much medication - I had chronic pain in my knees, ankles, feet, and hips. I was 28 years old and couldn't imagine what I would feel like in 20 years.

"I heard about bariatric surgery in December of '99, and spent an entire year researching the best solution for me. My new life began on January 3, 2001 at a Barix hospital, and I spent the next year rapidly losing the weight. The first 50 pounds came off in three months and all my pain was gone - instantaneously! It was the most amazing thing.

"The day I bought a pair of jeans off the shelf without trying them on I had tears in my eyes. Before that, I was wearing the largest jeans they made.

"Now, I have more energy to do the things I love - like garden and play with the kids. I even enjoy doing housework now because I don't get worn out."