jukebox81782

Hello... I'm 26 years old, 5'8", and weigh 380 pounds. I've been heavy ALL MY LIFE. I've always been told by everyone I meet that I'm facially beautiful. I've always had friends, always had a huge social life, and was always happy. I decided to get a lapband because I need to lose weight to be a more healthy person and live a more active life...the older I've gotten the more out of shape I've become since my days as a fastpitch softball player. I also want to lose weight to just see what life would be like as a thin person. How would my body look? How would my face change? Would my love life improve (PLEASE GOD YES!). At any rate, my mother--who was also overweight and struggling with diabetes--had the gastric bypass two years ago and has had tremendous success. She got me interested in the lapband. Ever since I started pursuing the lapband, I've become more and more depressed. I really realize now how fat I am. I see myself so much differently now. I see myself as disgusting when I used to not think I looked that bad. I'm also starting to experience a lot of stress related to the aftermath of weightloss. I keep thinking I'm going to have so much excess skin that I'm going to look horrible...I say to myself, "you may as well just stay fat!" Did anyone else out there have these thoughts, fears, or questions? How were they dealt with? I'm not going to stop my journey toward banding--I'll get mine in late April/early May, but I just feel like I'm making myself sick with anxiety about looking worse post-goal. What should I do?

Hello all... I'll be scheduling my surgery for sometime in May. I still have one more appointment scheduled with a nutritionist because my surgery is covered through insurance. They don't have me on a "special diet," but my nutritionist has let me know the extreme limitations my diet will be under. In talking with the few people I know who have undergone obesity surgery, they've made it perfectly clear that they haven't had to change their diet one bit...they are just physically unable to eat more than little portions. They also tell me that they've never had to exercise. I'm wondering if you are hearing the same things... Also, I fully plan to work out, and I've already joined a gym and have a personal trainer and everything, so will this speed up my results? -Jess