AMBASSADOR
success
by KP Oberg
My journey began with a
cancer diagnosis.
My mother, who had struggled with her weight all her
life, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which is an
estrogen-driven cancer. By the time the cancer was
caught she had progressed to Stage IV, and the doctors
revealed that a major contributing factor to finding the
cancer so late was her weight. During her struggle with
cancer, my marriage fell apart. At this point, I weighed
130 pounds, but my ex-husband constantly berated me,
repeatedly telling me that I was fat. In reality, I was
what I now know as “fat skinny.” Soon after my divorce
I decided I needed to distance myself from my past in
Dallas, so I left for Chicago.
Living in a city with food that was so amazing, dealing
with the loss of a marriage, and watching my mother
battle cancer led to many nights of eating out at
Chicago’s greatest restaurants. I gained 60 pounds in
my first two years, but I resolved to take the weight off. I
dropped 30 pounds but ruptured a ligament in my right
foot in the process. After a year of limited activity and
surgery, the 30 pounds were back. Losing weight at that
point was the furthest thing from my mind.
Despite my health problems, I was able to rediscover the
happiness I sought in Chicago; I met the love of my life,
and we were engaged soon thereafter. Unfortunately,
this moment of peaceful tranquility proved to be fleeting.
While planning my rapidly-approaching wedding, my
future mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. To
make matters worse, I witnessed my mother finally lose
her battle with cancer; she passed away on July 4, 2004.
On my wedding day, I was the biggest I had ever been,
weighing in at 208 pounds. Our world was sent into an
ever more dizzying tailspin when, at the end of 2004, my
husband learned that he was in jeopardy of being laid
off. I quickly rejoined the workforce and went back to
14-hour days. In 2005, I went to my high school reunion.
I was so embarrassed because I was a “jock” throughout
most of my high school career.
After moving back to Dallas–Fort Worth in 2006, things
finally seemed to be getting better. This left time for me
to fully adopt and embrace a healthy lifestyle. I joined
Weight Watchers in July of 2007 and quickly lost 20
pounds. I was ecstatic! Unfortunately, this weight loss
would soon become a gain as I lost my job; I could no
longer afford to continue spending a monthly fee for a
support group. Luckily, I found a new job in 2008, where
I was truly inspired by some of my coworkers. Despite
losing 15 pounds, my weight cycling continued when I
discovered that I would need gallbladder surgery, and I
gained 20 pounds in its aftermath.
At the end of 2011, I took a much-needed excursion
to Las Vegas, but when I returned home and saw the
pictures, I cried. I tipped the scales at 218 pounds. I
lost 10 pounds, but I again injured my foot, and my
recovery from the surgery would completely negate