Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.

IT was always a struggle to lose weight and when I got depressed after my parents divorce, I stopped going out at all and I stopped caring about what I looked like so I just gained and gained. I had heard of the surgery and thought to myself that I didn't need that surgery and I could do it through dieting if I ever got too heavy.

What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?

Body aches and pains, difficulty moving, and health issues are all bad things about being overweight, but the worst things are the looks, whispers, and muffled "moos." Ignorant and rude people are the worst part about being overweight. And all of us need to remember when we are around people that are heavier then us that we've been there, and to not judge them.

If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?

EXERCISING! MOVING IN GENERAL! It's so nice to be able to go out and enjoy nature like I used to when I was a child. I loved camping and hiking and now I'm able to finally get back into it, baby steps, but I hope to eventually go on multiday hikes. Also yoga is so relaxing and so much easier to do without all the extra weight getting in the way poses.