About Me

I've been heavy most of my life. For years, I just accepted it as who I was - until a doctor at Mayo Clinic changed everything. She didn't just see my weight; she explained obesity to me in a way no one ever had. She studied it, understood it, and gave me recommendations that actually made sense.

As a kid, I was an active fat kid. I played soccer, football, basketball - all the "normal" things kids did. My father served full-time in the Nebraska Air National Guard, and my mom stayed home with us. After high school, I lost all my weight and kept it off for about two years. Then I lost a best friend and family member, and it sent me into a spiral. I gained every pound back. That was in my early twenties.

Since then, I've spent the last two decades bouncing between 250 and 350 pounds - yes, that's a 100-pound range. I tried different weight loss surgeries. First, a lap-band that did more harm than good. When they removed it, they did a large Roux-en-Y. I'd get down close to 250 before yo-yoing back up again.

COVID changed everything. I worked from home, barely got any steps in, but my eating stayed the same - and in some cases got worse because I wasn't moving like I used to. I ballooned over 500 pounds.

That's when I started taking Zepbound. As it began working, I had a TORe procedure to tighten my pouch. Since then, I'm down 133 pounds. The biggest game changer for me was Zepbound - it removed my food noise. That silence was life-changing.

Here's the kicker: it wasn't covered by my insurance. I have excellent health insurance, and they still wouldn't cover it. I have high blood pressure and reduced kidney function, but apparently that wasn't enough. So I pay for it out of pocket through Lilly Direct because it's worth every penny.

Working with Mayo Clinic was fantastic. Today, I've gone from getting quarterly cortisone injections and lubrication shots in my knees to walking on the treadmill again. My goal is to be under 300 pounds by July 1, 2026. I think I can do it.

But here's my real goal: I want to be a support to someone, a motivation to someone, or a reason for someone to simply be kind. I have two amazing daughters who I want to be around for. They are my biggest why.

This journey isn't easy, and not everyone understands it. Most extremely obese people don't have a lot of photos because of the shame we feel. When I was at lighter weights, I took more pictures. This page will help me take more of them so I can document my journey - for myself, for my daughters, and for anyone else who needs to see that moving forward is possible.