Sarah's Story:

 It’s hard to say how it all began.  The spiral downward and the climb back out.  At some point in my life, through a series of heartaches and heartbreaks and bad choices and unfortunate circumstances, I lost control and lost myself.  I’ve reached the point where I don’t want to blame anyone in particular for what I became, because I understand that in the end it was my life to take control of and live as I saw fit.

 At times I was bulimic; at times I just overate.  I almost never exercised.  Over the years, I lost weight and gained weight with yo-yo dieting.  My weight soared.  In 1994, my weight had reached a high of over 400 pounds.  Although I am a tall woman at 5’9” that is more weight than anybody can carry.

 I was unhappy and unhealthy.  I was the subject of stares and ridicule.  I couldn’t climb up a flight of stairs without becoming winded.   Although I had always loved to travel, I could not fit in a single plane seat.  I was afraid to go out alone anywhere, because I knew people would stare at me and laugh.  They whispered behind my back.   I didn’t want to buy groceries or go to a restaurant, because people would always look and I knew what they were thinking, “What is she eating?  What is she buying?  You don’t need any more food.”

 The unhappier I became, the more I used food to comfort me and my weight to protect me from other people.  Food created a wall around me, both literally and figuratively, and the wall created a barricade around my emotions.  Although I was terribly lonely, I didn’t want anyone to touch me or my emotions.

 I believe there is a sick cycle that people with all types of eating disorders face: the thing which is causing you the most pain is the thing which you cling to for comfort, because it gives you an instant sensory gratification.  You live for the instant gratification and ignore the long-term consequences.

 That was my life before.  That’s enough about the trip down.  The important part of my story is about the climb out and where it has led me and it led me to conquer Kilimanjaro. Shortly after climbing Kilimanjaro, in September 2000, I appeared as a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show for a second time, discussing my trek and how the trip helped me to put the past behind me.

Climbing Kilimanjaro, and my weight loss in general, taught me to live each day and to not procrastinate when it comes to my health and happiness. Life is short, and it is not a dress rehearsal.

With these thoughts in mind, in 2001 I made a decision to follow a twenty-year dream to move to the Rocky Mountain West. I quit a good job and career, sold the dream house I’d designed and built, and moved to a small town in Western Wyoming. I live on a hillside surrounded by mountains, along a picturesque valley. My property is covered with pine trees and Aspens. The sky is big and blue. On clear evenings, the stars are countless and remind me of how high I can aim. If I keep shooting for the stars, at least I’ll end up somewhere in the heavens!

Moose, mule deer, elk, and other critters are frequent visitors to my property. It is a raw, challenging area of the country to live in, but it makes me feel more alive than any other place I’ve lived. I am able to pursue some of my hobbies, such as hiking, photography, and art.

I started from scratch in a new field with a new career, and I enjoy the challenges it presents as well as the accomplishments and promotions I have received.

I had some minor weight fluctuations but was fortunate to find a new weight loss program which has helped me take off some additional weight and stabilize my weight maintenance (see page on Weight Loss for additional details). I am now at my lowest weight in over 20 years. I am healthy and happy, and look better than I have ever looked in my life. A former ugly duckling . . . now a self-made swan.

I've been working in the banking industry since 2001. I moved to California with high hopes, when recruited by a Central California bank, in 2006. I purchased a lovely home on 7 acres in Mariposa, the gateway to Yosemite. A few months after that major purchase, I found out that my bank was in trouble from loans made (which I knew nothing about and had was no part of - I am not in the lending site of banking). 

I knew the Bank was in trouble before it failed. They had started laying off non-critical employees; the stock was in the toilet; customers were taking their deposits and moving them to other banks. In the midst of this turmoil - about three months before the Bank was closed, I received a call from a recruiter asking if I wanted to interview for a similar position as I held, at a bank 200 miles away, on the Central California Coast. Suspecting that the Bank may not survive, I made the 4-hour journey and interviewed for the position, which I was offered on the spot.

I was faced with a very difficult decision. My son was in high school in Mariposa, and I had just purchased an expensive home that would be difficult to sell in that economy. There were no other banks within commuting distance that would afford me the ability to live at home and continue to work in my field - the nearest banks that might have a position comparable to mine, if they were even hiring, were 80 or more miles away. The job on the Coast involved a pay cut, but at least I could continue working and supporting my family. Do I take the new job, or go down with the ship, as my old Bank was failing?

I ended up taking the new job on the Coast, and - while I was able to keep my life going and my family housed - I would have to say that started several of the most difficult years of my life. Every Monday morning I would get in my car at 5:00 am and start the 200-mile journey to work. I'd drive straight to the bank, and stay on the coast, working until Thursday or Friday afternoon, then make the journey back home.

During the week I stayed in a tiny "studio" apartment that I rented (I mean tiny - a 9' by 11' room which housed a twin mattress on wooden drawers, a toilet, sink, and tiny shower, and an under counter refrigerator. I brought in a microwave for cooking. I had a shelf on the wall for a t.v., and I kept a laptop there which allowed me to get on line after work.). There was no other furniture in the room. Just the bed. This was the least expensive place I could rent, and I was trying to keep my cost of living down there, as I was also paying for my home back in Mariposa, and I'd just taken a pay cut. I lived in the room, during the week, when I wasn't at work, for about 2 years.

 The nicest thing about these two years is that the room was one block from the Pacific Ocean in the town of Cayucos. After I got off from work, particularly in the summer months, I would walk on the beach for a few miles at night. Cont'd at Right...