Who is that person in the mirror?

Have you ever had that moment where you suddenly wake up and realize that the you that you've become is not the you that you wanted to be? My moment came in April of 2006 in the form of a pot roast lunch. I was at an Administrative Appreciation Luncheon hosted by my work and was sitting next to a co-worker who was ingesting bite after bite of gravy covered pot roast, potatoes and carrots. She was probably a size ten at the most and I was shocked at her ability to consume the countless calories without it pummeling her mid line like a gallon tub of cottage cheese. As I sat there pushing the wilted lettuce and pale beats of my "healthy" salad around my plate, I began to get frustrated. I was 330lbs and a size 26 and if I even glanced twice at what was on her plate, I would have gained 5lbs on the spot.

I was not 330lbs because I hadn't cared enough to try Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, or the Atkins Diet. I was 330lbs because I had tried these diets and was unable to successfully lose weight while consuming a third of a congealed chicken breast and a quarter cup of slimy rice in a sauce that I could only hope was really the "roasted garlic Marsala" that Jenny claimed it to be. I loved good food and I wasn't willing to give up flavor and enjoyment of food just to lose a few pounds.

A few pounds. What a joke. According to the U.S. standards for a healthy Body Mass Index, or BMI, I had surpassed their recorded "should-be" numbers and was in the 300+ category, otherwise known as Morbidly Obese. In other words, at 25 years old, I was knocking on deaths door.

So as I sat there, envious of the braised beef and wine reduction gravy on the plate next to mine, I mustered up the nerve to question her ability to gorge on greatness. Her response would change my life.
"Promise not to tell anyone?" she whispered. "Totally." I was desperate for her secret. "I had gastric bypass last year. I've lost 95lbs and I am still losing."

Gastric Bypass? Stomach surgery? This gorgeous girl who I was horribly envious of, had at one point looked like me and because of the surgery was now able to eat pot roast and lose weight. It sounded too good to be true and in fact, there was much more to the story than I originally thought, but at the time it was enough to get my attention and set me on a journey towards the first day of the rest of my life.