Bonni P. Parker, Colo.
Occupation:
Accountant
Height:
5 ft. 5 in.
Starting Weight:
258 lbs.
Lowest Weight:
120 lbs.
Current Weight:
125 lbs.
Began weight-loss program:
March 2006
Length at current weight:
1 month
Weight and Me

I've been chunky my whole life. As a child you can't be addicted to heroin or cigarettes or alcohol, but you can be addicted to food from a very early age—and I was. Later, when I was pregnant with my second child, I ballooned from a size 10 to a size 20, and then my weight just kept going up and up until I was a size 24. I ate when I was happy, I ate when I was sad, I ate when I was bored. I would hide food, and wait until my husband went to bed to really pig out. I was totally addicted.
The Last Straw

I had a friend who died at 48 from being overweight. She was probably around 400 pounds when she had a heart attack and died in her sleep. I didn’t want to end up like that, stuck on a bed with an oxygen tank. I was 27 years old and tired of being the fattest girl in the room, every room.
How I Did It

Roux-En-Y gastric bypass surgery.
The Key To Success

Learning how to be happy without food, learning to be sad without food. Learning to not think about what I'm going to make for dinner the next day before I go to bed at night. Learning to eat to live not live to eat.
Derailers and Strategies

The way I feel and the way I look remind me that I never want to be that big again.
When I Slip ...

I have an ulcer, a hernia and a stricture, which is causing lots of pain and making it hard to eat, but these are all part of messing with Mother Nature. After a few years of retraining my eating habits, I'm sure I'll be fine. It's not easy though.
When I Soar ...

Fitting into a size 4, the smallest I've been since I was 12!