Is that a sleeve on your stomach?

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On November 28th, I started down a path I have thought about frequently, but was terrified to explore.

I attended a Weight-Loss Surgery Informational Session and decided to take the next steps to see if weight loss surgery - preferably a sleeve gastrectomy or Lap Band procedure - is an option for me.

I like my digestive system. I'd like to keep it intact.

I've been battling with my weight for almost 40 years. I vividly remember a doctor's appointment when I was 10 where, after having my height checked (5'-8") and being weighed (165) I was warned that I was already on the fat track and I should gain no more weight for the rest of my life.

40 years later I'm 4" taller, and over 100 pounds heavier.

I've been lucky. With the exception of arthritic knees, I am relatively healthy. No diabetes. No stroke. No high blood pressure.

But I also know that my health is a ticking time-bomb.

I've been this fat before. In my early 20's I lost over 100 pounds. I ate less, exercised more, and when I got frustrated with that, I abused laxatives. I was able to keep the weight off for about 6 years, mostly because my job (I was active duty Army) depended on it.

When I left the Army, and got pregnant with Cam shortly thereafter, I ballooned right back up again, eventually working myself all the way back to my heaviest weight.

If you've been reading me since the beginning of time, you know that I went on a weight loss spree again in 2007. I got down to a size 10. I was much healthier in some respects, but had - again - abused laxatives to get there. And when that didn't work, I added purging to my weight loss plan.

As you know, I've gained every bit of that weight back ... again ...

Weight-loss surgery was, at one time, what I believed was the easy way to my goal. Three of my family members have had gastric bypass surgery over the past 10 years. I've watched them trade one set of medical issues for yet another (the side effects of weight-loss surgery can be significant), but they lost weight, and if you are fat, you know that it's better to be sick and skinny, than it is to be sick and fat.

I no longer think of it as an easy solution, but rather a tool that will be used in conjunction with dietary and activity changes to make permanent weight loss possible.

I am at a point in my life where my mortality is no longer something I can ignore. Although I don't want to live forever, I'd like to be healthy the remaining years of my life, and although I am a master at losing weight, I'm a failure at keeping it off.

After attending the Weight-Loss Surgery Informational Session, I filled out the 17-page questionnaire and made my first set of appointments.

Today I have an appointment with a nutritionist, followed by an appointment with a bariatric nurse.

In January, I will meet with the surgeon.

After making it through this process, my insurance company will be contacted and we'll see if they will cover the surgery. If they won't, my path ends there. If they will, the journey continues.

This is a long process. After being cleared by these 3 people and the health insurance company, I'll need to be cleared by a mental health professional. I'll also have to attend 2, 3-hour educational classes before surgery can be scheduled.

I'll keep y'all informed ... whether you like it or not ...