Charelle

Hello everyone,

First of all, I'm SO excited for my upcoming venture and feel lucky to have found a supportive group of people to help me through it all! THANK YOU!!

Now...about me! I am 34 years old and born & raised in Southern California. By day, I'm an Operations Manager for a company that installs business VoIP phone systems. By night, I'm a mom and wife and occasional foster mom. I've been overweight my entire life. I think in the 6th grade, I was 140 lbs. I was about 160 lbs. all through high school. With the launch of Phen-Fen, I got to my lowest "adult" size at age 19...size 9. Well, as some may know Phen-Fen was taken off the market because it was unsafe and I slowly progressed in weight as the years went on. I tried every diet under the sun and am sure I'm not alone when I say that I lost weight....but gained it back soon after AND MORE! When I got married at age 27, I was 190. After I had my daughter a year later, I was over 200. I haven't seen "ONEderland" since.

Why do I want to do this? My 7 year old daughter. It breaks my heart to think that if I keep going at the rate that I'm going, there's a chance I won't be around to watch her get married, start a career or start a family. I'm concerned about her body image. She's very slim/skinny. I'm trying to teach her now that being skinny isn't necessarily great, and in some cases, being too skinny is just as bad as being too big. We're working as a family to start and maintain a healthier lifestyle, so I can promote healthly living and a fit body, rather than just doing whatever it takes to be skinny. i want her to know that being skinny isn't a pass to eat whatever she wants and not exercise.

So I'm getting banded on September 18!! I'm anxious and excited! I'm nervous. I'm wondering how to explain it all to co-workers and aquaintances. I'm not at all having second thoughts. I'm ready to start the rest of my life!