Finding Me

Hello! My name is AJ Rice. At least, it was... before I lost 250 pounds after undergoing gastric bypass weight loss surgery at the young age of 18 years old. The procedure completely changed my life. It made me a whole new person. I changed my name to Sean Kurtis DeMarco because I wanted a new identity. I wanted to be a new person. Trust me, you’ll read all about it: my reasons behind the name change as well as other episodes of my craziness. Really, I am just a normal guy from a small town in California who lost a lot of weight in only 11 months. I also lost a lot of other things along the way, including some friends who thought I “changed”. However, I began to discover and create this new guy, “Sean Kurtis”, because I never wanted to be fat again. I never wanted to be “AJ” -- that fat guy who everyone made fun of, the one who couldn’t fit on the rides at the fair. In my memoir, you'll read about my struggle with weight as a child, the loss of my grandparents who raised me, my health, anxiety, depression, addiction, suicide attempts, my dramatic weight loss, and how it messed with my head and changed me for life. You’ll witness the transformation to the new me, how I managed to deal with it, and how you too can get though any struggles you yourself are dealing with. I want to inspire someone with my story. It took me a while to realize that you can't find happiness losing weight or changing your appearance. It's the the things that you carry inside that you must heal first. I lost 250 pounds and wouldn’t say I am any happier. I may be more confident, but I’m not happier. In reality, I’m sadder and more self conscious about myself and the way I look now. However, I wouldn’t change a single thing. It’s what makes me the person I am today. Here’s my story. This is what it feels like to go from 422 pounds to 179 pounds in 11 months!