Jennifer loves to sing, but when her brother made a special request for her to perform at his wedding, she hesitated. It was at a beautiful cathedral in Washington, D.C., and she was 125 lbs overweight. Feeling sweaty and awkward, Jennifer nevertheless went through with it. "I just kept wishing I could hide myself," she recalls.

Then one day she sat on her doctor's examination table and cried over his diagnosis. She was morbidly obese. St. Vincent's Medical Center has a Bariatric program, he told her."There's a free preliminary seminar. Go find out about it. "

"Meeting Dr. Craig Floch and the team changed my life," says Jennifer, whose spirited vitality underscores her (now) petite good looks." I'd tried diets and group programs, but after the first weigh-in, when they said, 'You have 125 lbs to lose,' I'd give up. The number was too big. But the Bariatric team knew it wasn't just about getting me to look better. I was afraid of dying young, and they were going to help me live."

With 110 lbs gone and a new career as a trainer at Curves (where she enjoys telling clients her story), Jennifer checks in regularly at St. Vincent's." Dr. Floch is so encouraging," she says. "He'll say something like, 'look at that sharp jaw line!'" Her supportive mother keeps track, too, sending a dollar for every pound lost, along with a note that always says, "Here's to the start of a new life!"