Hi there! I'm Kristin, but I usually go by Kit. Call me either. I’m a stay-at-home mom of three very wild boys (see also a pack of velociraptors) and I have been homeschooling since early 2016. I am also a special needs mom, so shout out to us warrior moms on FS! I’m also a cat mom! I love cats, probably more than the E-Harmony girl. I have five cats and they’re all lazy potatoes.

I have been on a “weight loss journey,” my entire life in some form or another. Starting at about 10 years old, I began struggling with my weight and body image. I developed an eating disorder in early middle school and while I continued to gain weight, I went many years self-diagnosing and trying to treat or bury my emotions by starvation. Add in two abusive marriages, severe depression, unbridled bipolar disorder, surviving rape (and having a baby from it), three pregnancies, and a major back injury — I ballooned up to almost 400 lbs. By this point, I could barely walk and spent every single day in misery and pain. I was living in a prison and I was the jailer.

In the summer of 2016, I went to a seminar for weight loss surgery. I’d wanted it for years, but never had the right opportunities. It took me a few months to submit my application but when I did... the ball just kept rolling. It was a long process that took about 18.5 months from start to finish.

On January 31, 2018... I had gastric bypass surgery (Roux-en-Y) at 367 lbs. I was reborn that day.

I lost the first 100 lbs quickly, it basically fell off. Over the last (near) two years, I have had many difficulties. I have had many stalls but still I persevered. As the weight came off, so did the pain, depression, and the scars of my past faded. Weight loss was never about going backwards or reclaiming a life I once had... instead it was about rebirth and living a life I never had the chance to live.

Today, I am free from the prison I spent most of my life in.