I wasn't always overweight. Growing up as a small child I was skinny. So skinny you could see my rib cage. It wasn't until June of '96 when my brother was killed at 15 and I was 13 at the time. This event took a high toll in my life. At 13 I felt I was alone losing my only brother. I bottled everything inside and the main comfort that I had and was always there for me was food. I went through a state of depression at young age, but food was always there. when I felt down I ate, when I needed help I ate, when I felt alone I ate, whenever I would think about my brother I ate. Even though I wanted to tell people how I felt and what this was doing to me I didn't. Not because I didn't have anybody to tell but that I had to be strong not only for me but my family. Now years later in June of '09 I decided that enough was enough. I woke up one morning at 317lbs and just hated what I saw, what I have become, who I was and where was I going to end up. I wanted to change my life around but didn't know how until I decided to make a change and learn about the right way to live a healthy lifestyle. That was in June of '09. From then until now it's all history. It has been a long road and I want to inspire and show all that if I can do it so can anybody and that may be something you hear often but it truly is the truth.