The struggle with my weight has been an almost ten-year process. Ever since my son, Jordan, was born, my weight never got back to what it was before I had him. I didn't have unrealistic expectations, but I did think that with the active lifestyle that my hubby and I had at the time, I would be able to keep it up. Wrong!

Deciding to have gastric bypass has been a year in the making, preparing for it. Both for insurance criteria and trying to decide if it was something I really wanted to do, considering I was very much leaning towards the Lap Band.

I did not have gastric bypass so I can be "thin" again. I did it because I know me: I like to EAT! I don't think I overate, but I ate all the wrong stuff. And when you don't exercise and take in all those calories, they sit on your hips quite nicely as fat. And that's just what I was doing.

Every year, I gained 10 - 20 pounds, consistently. It got to the point to where I didn't go shopping for me, anymore. It was just too hurtful to look in that dressing room mirror and see the tragedy that had become my thighs, belly, and arms.

Most women have the problem of being a shopaholic. Not me. I guess shopping in the Women's section lost its appeal.

When I was diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2007, I was devastated. I've always been "healthy" in every other respect, and to hear I had to take a pill for the rest of my life did something to me. It made me "behave" for a while, and I started eating better and exercising, but life just gets in the way sometimes, and I wasn't able to keep up with it. So, I stopped.

At my next Internist appointment, my doctor smacked me on my thigh, and she said, "Sweetheart, have you ever thought of weight loss surgery?" I said, "Actually, I have. But I keep telling myself I'm strong, and I can do it on my own." She said, "And how are you doing so far?" I laughed but realized how good it is to have people on your side who tell you the TRUTH.

She said, "Nicole, you're young. And this may help you get off the meds I put you on. I really think the only reason you have hypertension is because of your weight. Diabetes is usually next. You don't want that, and I don't want that for you." And that was all she needed to say. She hooked me up with a Nutritionist and a Surgeon and the rest is history.

It's been an adventure. But through it all, my precious family has been right there by my side rooting me on. They made the decision to have gastric bypass easy for me. Every time I look at my baby, I know he deserves to have his mom around. He deserves for me to be active and healthy and able to rip and run like he does so well when we take him to the park.

Then, I look at my big baby, my husband, and he deserves to have a healthy wife, who if the Lord blesses, allows us to spend our Golden Years together, and not have me being on a million medications or something crazy just because I had no discipline in the area of my health when I was younger.

But not only that, I deserve it.

I spent most of my 20's being overweight. I was bound and determined not to let my 30's be the same.

It's a little known fact, but underneath all of my extra baggage is a very foxy woman. And, I don't mind saying that because it's true.

I've got legs to die for when I'm thin. It's one of my best features. And oh to see my cheekbones and collar bone, again! Two of the other great parts of me that have been hidden for much too long. Every day since my procedure they shine through a little more!

I deserve to see the woman that God designed and said was "fearfully and wonderfully made".

I was so against gastric bypass in the beginning. I thought it was sinful to have someone rearrange what God had so perfectly put together. But when I thought and prayed about it, I was reminded that "every good and perfect gift is from above".

This procedure changed lives in so many positive ways. I don’t believe God would have allowed the procedure to be as successful as it is, if it were a bad thing. In fact, I think He looked down history and saw little old me, and had pity on me.

I can see Him shaking His head, with a fatherly smile on His face and saying, "Look at my child. She just is not going to leave those Banana Laffy Taffy alone, is she? Let me provide a way of escape for her, to push her along." And that way is the Gastric Bypass.

I have NO regrets. One of the first things I told my husband when I was in the hospital is, "Honey, I'm so excited. This is going to be good for me...for us." And though I said it through tears, because of the pain, I meant every word of it.

January 22, 2008. My second birthday. That pivotal point in time where a few years from now, I'll look back and say, "That's the day my life changed forever."

If you read this and you're considering doing what I've done, GO FOR IT! Don't be afraid. This procedure is as common as taking out tonsils, nowadays. They've got it down to a science.

In fact, mine was a Roux-en-Y, which means they did it with a laparoscope. They made five tiny incisions and one that's a little bigger because it's the "port" most of the work was done through. By the time I heal up, I won't have a lot of ugly scarring. And it cuts down the recovery time, considerably.

It's been an amazing ride, thus far. I can't wait to see how this is going to continue to play out in my life. So if you're thinking about it, do your due diligence, but don't be afraid to change your life forever. Don't do that to yourself. Move past your fears.

There's something more beautiful on the other side of it: A NEW You!