dmarroko

I know exactly what you are talking about. I started to get sleeved in 2012 and chickened out. Now I'm about to see the doctor again. I'm beyond disgusted with myself for not being able to take control of this. It's been all my life. Enough is enough.

Congratulations...God is one that moved the surgeon hands to perform and the surgeon mind for guidence.

Wow, congratulations! Indeed, the Lord does work in mysterious ways.

And really, not fair to try to belittle someone when their coming to such a point of joy in their life! No one is trying to convert anyone here. We are all different people coming from different places with WLS in common. Let's Celebrate this person's huge success and not be sarcastic to someone who is here for support, not sarcasm. Really...

Amen give HIM the glory. Man is just an instrument that God uses.

Amen give HIM the glory. Man is just an instrument that God uses.

Amen give HIM the glory. Man is just an instrument that God uses.

Amen give HIM the glory. Man is just an instrument that God uses.

Amen give HIM the glory. Man is just an instrument that God uses.

this is an example of if you don't like something or agree with it - move on....pass it over....don't read it....but don't make snide remarks to the OP because your beliefs are different

You will hear from both perspectives on this. It's a hotly and frequently debated topic around here.
I say do what works for YOU. If you don't want other people to know, you certainly have that right. I mean, there's no expectation that people know all of our medical details. I didn't tell anyone when I had surgery to repair a hernia a couple of years ago nor did I tell everyone when I had to have surgery for endometriosis. In my mind, we all have the right to whatever amount of privacy works for us.
I've read implications that if you don't tell you aren't proud and I don't think that's true. I'm enormously proud of my progress and *I know how hard I've worked and the adjustments I've had to make in my life.
I have explained it like this, to the very few friends that do know I had VSG...it's not a secret, but it's private. It's something I don't want the general public to be privy to, partly because I feel like there's a lot of judgment that comes with WLS. Also, I didn't want the unending scrutiny of what I was eating, how much I was losing, etc. I still am not really comfortable with the attention when someone sees me for the first time in several months and notices the weight loss...I just don't love the attention.
I DID opt to tell a couple of my very closest girlfriends and my boyfriend. I told my siblings, one of whom spilled the Beans to my mother...who I hadn't intended on telling. Her response was "I didn't think you were THAT big. How much do you weigh, to warrant surgery? And are you *sure you have tried everything else? I know if you put your mind to it, you could do it the right way." All of the things I knew she'd say that I didn't want to hear.
I know that there's always the possibility that someone will tell someone else, in confidence of course, but if it happens, I will deal with it then. Again, do what works for you. If shouting it from the rooftops and being able to share your story works, then more power to you! If you would rather keep it quiet and not share, then do that. And you know what? You might change your mind about telling...and that's ok, too.
To this point, if anyone who I haven't shared with asks how I've lost weight (honestly, only one person has asked,,,most people just comment that I look good), I say I changed my eating habits and am exercising, both of which are true.
~Kat

It's just so much easier being invisible. Time to get rid of all your fears. As you shed the weight start to liberate yourself of fears. Fear will keep you from reaching your goal. A lot of time we sabotage ourselves for fear of the unknown. Talk to yourself. Get self help books. Go for counseling but don't let fear hold you back. Been there done that. It's so liberating to just let yourself go and enjoy each pound your body releases. Step into your future with confidence. There will be ays that you have setbacks but then you just dust yourself off and keep going. We will never be perfect. Just enjoy your sleeve and enjoy the ride while you step into a new era in your life.

It's just so much easier being invisible. Time to get rid of all your fears. As you shed the weight start to liberate yourself of fears. Fear will keep you from reaching your goal. A lot of time we sabotage ourselves for fear of the unknown. Talk to yourself. Get self help books. Go for counseling but don't let fear hold you back. Been there done that. It's so liberating to just let yourself go and enjoy each pound your body releases. Step into your future with confidence. There will be ays that you have setbacks but then you just dust yourself off and keep going. We will never be perfect. Just enjoy your sleeve and enjoy the ride while you step into a new era in your life.

It's just so much easier being invisible. Time to get rid of all your fears. As you shed the weight start to liberate yourself of fears. Fear will keep you from reaching your goal. A lot of time we sabotage ourselves for fear of the unknown. Talk to yourself. Get self help books. Go for counseling but don't let fear hold you back. Been there done that. It's so liberating to just let yourself go and enjoy each pound your body releases. Step into your future with confidence. There will be ays that you have setbacks but then you just dust yourself off and keep going. We will never be perfect. Just enjoy your sleeve and enjoy the ride while you step into a new era in your life.

I'm a pre-sleever & I do get excited when I read about those that lose an enormous amount of weight in a short period of time but that's more than likely because they were heavier. I do remember the (many) times I was on Weight Watchers & after a week, I'd lose 1 or 2 lbs & was disappointed....until my Leader would remind me that I should picture 4 sticks of butter instead of just saying "one pound." He'd say visualize a pound & then when I did, it did seem like I did okay. So people just have a visual idea of themselves dropping all the weight in such a short period of time but truthfully, we all have our own timeline due to our bodies/age/weight & how hard we try & how much we move. Weight loss is an individual thing as far as I'm concerned.
What I don't understand (with all due respect) is why someone gets so upset over other people's threads? Maybe someone is just looking for some encouragement or just to hear from others that are losing at the same rate, so that they don't think they are the "ONLY" ones losing slower at one point or another? I mean, I've not been on this forum that long but I keep re-reading the same posts about those that hit a stall & they're freaking out but it seems EVERYONE hits a stall around the 3 month mark. So I know this in my head but when it comes to my turn, it may freak me out. I just think we all need to be kinder to one another. Period. If one doesn't have any words of encouragement (over & over & over & over) for a new sleever who feels they are a failure, then just ignore the thread & move on. People with weight issues normally suffer from lots of insecurities so it's probably normal for someone to feel they aren't losing fast enough...I don't know...I'm not a psych but just sayin', give your fellow man a hand or just move on if you can't.
IDK, I just see a lack of compassion nowadays with everyone. What ever happened to that? It's nice to come to a forum where you can talk about your personal disappointments or fears. People who haven't been sleeved won't understand the fear some people are facing when they post their issues here.
Anyway, not meaning to criticize the OP but honestly, if a thread bothers you, just skip it.
Peace Out.

I agree. I'm willing to guess that there are quite a few sleevers who, pre-op, might have been a bit like me. I'm an all-or-nothin' girl when it comes to trying to lose weight, which is one of the reasons I've never been successful long-term. What I mean by that is, for example, when I was on Weight Watchers (for the third or fourth time), if the scale didn't go down as fast as I thought it should, I got so frustrated that I'd lapse back into bad habits. If it wasn't going perfectly, I felt like a failure. Maybe some of the people who vent their frustrations are worried that the scale is starting to tell them they're going to fail AGAIN.
It's hard to be patient when you're afraid. It's hard to be patient when you're worried that whatever weight doesn't fall off in 12 or 18 months is never going to come off (that's an exaggeration, but it's based on the truth that our "optimum window" of weight loss is 1-2 years).
Lots of us have fear before the surgery, and as we all know, sleeving doesn't fix our headspace, only our bellyspace.
We all need to be more patient with ourselves--and with one another.

I am so proud over my sleeve and no one could ever make me feel different about it. Here is what I think, as long as you are fat your ok. Now Girl, you´re loosing weight and so you can become a threat. Enjoy your ride and endure the envy that comes with it!

I believe analytical thinking is growing increasingly scarce. In the narrowly confined brain activity of the mediocre there is little room for consideration of anything beyond the norm. The average yokel reacts from blind emotion and fear. It annoys the zombie hordes when someone exhibits life beyond widely accepted stumbling and mumbling. Their brain hardly functions and they want to eat yours because it does.
I have been an oddball in many ways all of my life. Being different is not so bad. After a while you are happy that you cut yourself from the herd.
I am glad you see their retribution coming in the form of your coming slim form. It's turn or burn for them: turn to your side in applause or burn with envy. Let 'em stew in their ignorance.