I am a wife and mother of two beautiful little girls. I have always struggled with my weight, but overall had maintained a healthy lifestyle until my husband and I suffered the miscarriage of our first child.  I was destroyed inside and went into a deep depression.  I stopped watching what I ate.  Through the support of my family and faith in God, I got through the depression. For another year we could only think of having a baby. When we found out we were finally pregnant, we were so excited! The pregnancy was rough, and I struggled with high blood pressure near the end. Although a lot of the weight was water, I topped out at 225 pounds the day I delivered my baby girl!

 I worked 12-hour shifts and was often the only nurse on call during off hours for our whole county. Needless to say, I was busy. Fast food, convenience stores, and quick stops at ice cream shops, along with homemade cookies and treats my patients often gave me sustained me. I had lost a bunch of weight since the birth of my little girl, but was still around 195 pounds. And I was eating a very unhealthy diet. 

Much to our surprise and delight, after being sick a few weeks, we found out we were going to be blessed with another little one! I was pregnant! That pregnancy was a rocky one. I was a gestational diabetic. I worked so hard to manage my sugars and watch my carbs, and actually maintained my weight around 195 pounds the entire pregnancy.  When I was 34 weeks along, there were signs my placenta was failing.  My sugars, despite my best efforts, were all over the place. I went to the hospital to have an amniocentesis and possibly be induced. My little girl suffered a complete placental abruption, and was born grey and lifeless. The staff worked so hard to revive her, and after the longest moments of my life, her little heart started beating and she began breathing on her own! I was told she would probably have delays and may not walk or talk. I was told she might have cerebral palsy. It was faith in God and the prayers of many that pulled her through that traumatic birth, and those same prayers have spared her from any of the predictions the doctors made about her future. She is now a super active 3-year-old little bundle of energy! I let my weight just go and about a year ago I started having some medical issues: thyroid problems, elevated blood sugars, parathyroid problems that lead to kidney stones. This eventually landed me in the hospital with acute kidney failure. One year and 6 surgical procedures later, things started looking up. In 2014, I started working long hours and eating whatever was available. I was weighing in at 210 pounds. I was told I had the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis and my knees and hips were hurting all the time. I went on a cleanse that was recommended by my doctor. After about eight weeks, I had lost about 19 pounds!  At that point, I decided I needed to do something. I remembered that I had thought of joining DietBet, and thought I should give it another go.

What motivation to see others struggle, overcome, and succeed with you. I am in three Kickstarters now and plan on keeping it up until I reach my goal. I WILL NOT lose a DietBet. I plan on stashing all my winnings to buy new clothes when I reach my goal! Total gain—no pain, no longer taking a ton of pills, stable blood sugars, diminished allergy symptoms, more energy, clearer complexion, my hair isn't falling out anymore, and best of all, I am more fun to my girls!

 I look forward to completing my goal in a healthy way and in a healthy timeframe. I calculated out how long it should take me to reach my goal based on my last six or so months, and it projected me to reach my goal on my 34th birthday!  Happy Birthday to me!!!  DietBet gave me that little boost of motivation to keep going, and put me in touch with others who are in the same struggle as me. DietBet has helped me get my life back together!