A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step – or in Kimberley Ulrich’s case, a mountain of dedication and a whole lot of work. Her nine-year weight loss and lifestyle change has culminated in a series of upcoming skin removal surgeries. They’re not just aesthetic – Ulrich has lost more than 430 pounds and dropped 12 dress sizes in less than a decade. “I’ve always been a bigger girl,” said Ulrich. “It’s been nine years since I started, but the last four has been busting my butt. I was done with being big and unhealthy and I had goals.” Though she had been larger as a teen and young adult, she put on a lot of pounds when her father passed away in 2005. After a few years she decided to make a change. She asked for a Weight Watchers membership for Christmas and started working toward a different lifestyle. It was four years ago she really kicked it up about 10 notches. “I went through a nasty break-up and miscarried a baby, went through an abusive relationship, and I just decided to work my butt off,” said Ulrich. “I changed a stressful situation into working out, so I made it into a positive thing.” For the last three years she has worked out six or seven days per week and been careful about her diet. She has taken herself from a size 5X down to a ladies medium and isn’t about to look back. Working out has become part of her life, so much so she makes plans to go to fitness classes with friends rather than meeting them for dinner or movies out, she said. Her favourites are barre classes and water boot camp, though she also follows a fitness program her sister made up for her and does the 21-Day Fix program as well. Home workouts and classes are her preferred ways to exercise, she said. It’s mostly because she has been judged and criticized in mainstream gyms. “I’m more of a class person than going to the gym to work out, just because of being bigger and being made fun of so much,” said Ulrich. “I would rather go to a gym and do a class, because that to me is more of a safe thing where someone can’t be like, ‘Oh my God, you’re fat,’ because I’ve had that happen lots.” She said she still gets stares to this day, though now it’s more because of the extra skin she carries with her. It can draw a lot of unsolicited looks from people, she said. “My arms you can obviously see,” said Ulrich. “And I’m like, ‘You can stare now, but that used to be filled out. I was solid.’” That’s the next step in her journey. Ulrich has her first surgery this week, a tummy tuck that will remove extra skin from around her mid-section. It costs $7,500 to have done and will take six weeks or more to recover. It’s a difficult thing to conceive of for the local hairdresser and avid exerciser. She shouldn’t go to work for six weeks or work out for 12 weeks according to doctors. “I’ll probably go back early to be honest,” said Ulrich. “I’ll probably do some modified duties and modified workouts because I just can’t not do anything for six weeks or longer.” As a commission-based hair stylist, not working means not getting paid at all. There is no medical leave for her job, which will be stressful financially. That’s part of the reason her other surgeries will have to wait. They also cost a lot more and are not covered by health insurance, she said. In January, Ulrich will have her arms and back done to the tune of $14,000. Then there are surgeries she hasn’t booked yet because of the time and money commitment, including her inner thighs ($10,300). She estimates each surgery will also cost her an additional $7,400 on top of the hospital charges to cover eight weeks’ worth of living expenses and medications. The grand total by the time she’s finished will be more than $60,000, she said. But it’s necessary. Ulrich has been suffering from chronic infections due to her loose skin and spends a lot of time on antibiotics. And then there is the pain. “My arms kill me,” said Ulrich. “Everything you go to do it hurts.” Her doctors have told her that no amount of further weight loss or exercise can help tone up that skin, either. The only option is to have it surgically removed, she said. “It was stretched out too long and I was big too long so there’s not a lot that can be done, which is where we are right now. Skin removal needs to be done,” said Ulrich. Despite needing the surgeries, Ulrich said she has already been living in a different world. There are little victories every day as she discovers new things she couldn’t do before – even something as simple as being comfortable enough to wear shorts this past summer or borrow a friend’s clothes, or ride a horse bareback, she said. It’s just the little things that are different,” said Ulrich. “I’m like, ‘Hey, I can do this.’” As for the future, she plans to continue toning up after surgery, and to eventually teach the aquasize classes that have made such a difference in her life. She said she hopes to motivate people who might be in the same situation she was. “I’ve been there,” said Ulrich. “Some people call me inspirational, but I just say, ‘I’m just a chubby girl who got fit.’” Friends have set up a GoFundMe page for Ulrich to support her as she goes through her surgeries at www.gofundme.com/finale-to-kim039s-weight-loss-journey.
