_Rachael_
Hi! My name is Rachael and I am 25 years old. I guess the best place to start is from the beginning. I have always been bigger than my friends, but I didn't really start gaining my weight until I met my husband. I began to eat "like a man" and quickly gained 100 pounds in five years. I didn't realize I was so large until someone dear to me told me my health problems -- PCOS were probably due to being "overweight." This hit me like a wrecking ball. I knew I was overweight but I didn't realize that others were concerned about me. I had a really hard time with it, and was complaining to a friend one day when she told me about her new exciting surgery. The lap band. That conversation changed my life. I began to realize that I was morbidly obese and I was going to die if I didn't make a major life change. So, I looked into it and after waiting those agonizing 6 months for approval - finally had my surgery in August of 2006. I weighed 310 lbs at my heaviest and 297 on the day of my surgery. I am 8 months post op and have lost 71 pounds. I feel better, but know I have a long road ahead.
