I guess I should introduce myself.

My name is Charlie, I'm 23 and I reside in North East Pennsylvania. I'm currently working a retail job while studying Economics and Sociology.

I've finally taken the dive and signed up to calorieking, but the weight loss adventure is something I've been doing for the past 17 months. My journey has been a long one, but it's coming close to it's conclusion. Excitement, anxiousness, and nervousness are bundled up inside of me and just churning as I close in on my goal weight.

How did I get where I am, you ask? Well, I'll explain.

I was always the fat kid. Always. No questions ask. My family is big, I was big, and I liked to eat. It's a bad combination, but it was the cards I was dealt. I refuse to blame anyone, it's just the way things turned out.

In my younger years in school, I had my fair share of friends and used my sense of humor to make new friends. But there is always the kids who'd poke fun, and I'd be a liar to say that it didn't bother me. It affected me then and it still affects me now. Even if I am, literally, half the man I used to be.

When I hit 9th grade, I asked to be home schooled and my parents obliged. That's when things got out of control. My schooling was all done online and my activity level dropped to zero. Food was always in the house and my parents weren't always home, so I'd do school work.. Eat.. Drink high calorie liquids.. And be miserable.

Like most overweight individuals, I tried working out and watching what I'd eat - but I was young and my friends were all older than me. My parents gave me a lot of freedom, so late nights in diners and establishments with food that is pretty undesirable was the norm. It wasn't long before I ballooned up to 400 pounds.

I lived like that for close to three years. I couldn't lose it for the life of me.

A piece of me was ashamed. I was 21 years old, morbidly obese, and didn't have the willpower to do it myself. I felt this way for the months leading up to my surgery, until I had the opportunity to meet someone who was post op. He came from almost the same background as me, and after speaking with him at length. I really realized how hard it is to lose that much weight.

Statistically, people who are that obese generally cannot and do not lose or maintain a healthy weight loss. I felt I was part of that statistic and still do. My outlook on the surgery and my overall feelings towards it changed drastically.

On May 22nd 2008 I had the surgery that changed my life.

After waking up from surgery, I really thought I made a bad decision. I was in the worst pain I'd ever experienced. I could barely move without being in an immense amount of pain, but I was assured that it would pass. It's just one of those things that comes with surgery.

Sure enough it did.

Just so I don't chronicle every step of the healing process - about a month after surgery I moved out of my parents house, and thats where the learning process really began. I moved out just as I was starting to eat regular food again. Let me tell you, that is a painful process. Trying new foods, seeing what you can tolerate and what you can't. It's not a fun process, but it's a necessary evil.

Months passed and I was losing weight rapidly. As time went on, I figured out what I could eat and how to eat it without experiencing "dumping syndrome." Look it up if you're curious, it isn't fun.

I am now at the point where I can eat pretty much any food I want, which is another whole process. I know I can eat whatever I want, just much smaller quantities of it than others. Don't be fooled, this is still a problem. High calorie foods can still be consumed and still affect my weight loss. Even though it's been over a year, I'm still tempted at times. Normally on late night movie runs with my friends, when there is an obligatory white castle stop.

Anyone who's had white castle before knows how amazing it really is, and how hard it can be to pass up.

With the knowledge that I can consume most foods safely, it's been another process of adding exercise to my daily routine. I've been real solid with it for the past few months and I don't plan on that changing.

Well, that's pretty much my back story. Why have I turned to calorieking?

I'm almost at the weight I want to be at, frankly, I'm having a body lift in December. The amount of excess skin I have on me from rapid weight loss is atrocious - either way, I'll probably be at my goal weight after the skin is removed, but I still need goals to keep me on track. I've been keeping a food log since I was fully healed, but I wanted to formalize it. I have a huge word file just loaded with stuff, but I wanted a change; I wanted a community and calorieking gives it to me.

I'm hoping I can contribute and lend advice to people who maybe in need. Granted, I had surgery and a lot of people may feel that I cannot contribute to the "normal" person; I disagree. The surgery put me on the path, and now the path is in my hands.

I've been visiting a dietitian, I've been regulating my food intake, and my exercise patterns have been at least somewhat consistent. I'm not saying I'm the most qualified, but I'd be willing to give my opinion and contribute the best I can.

I plan on attempting to update at least a couple times a week. My progress, what I've been eating, whats holding me back, whats moving me forward, and all that jazz.

Hopefully you didn't find me too long winded. Any comments or questions are welcome.

Signing off,

-Charlie