Hello everyone! I'm Mecca, 16. I weigh 288lbs and on the rode to surgery. I'm tired of being fat! I hate it! This world is not meant for big people. Its hard. I can't go to the mall like everyone else. I can't eat like everyone else. I'm always dieting and exercising to the point where I'm driving my damn self crazy. The worst is I never lose weight. I'm just always gaining 1kg (2.2 lbs) over a spand of months. This is my senior year of high school and I wanna go out looking good.

I talked to my mom about it and she thinks its a great idea. She supports me 100% but when I went to my pediatrician she refused to do my blood work and said I was too young. "I have patients who weigh 350lbs and I still wouldn't recommend that for weight loss". That skinny bitch! She doesn't know what its like. She's never lived the life of a big girl. Its hard! But it got me thinking: Am I too young? Or is there another diet or something that I can try?

I wanna do this, lifestyle change and all! My mother and I feel that I'm mature enough for this as well. AND ima join weight watchers after as well so double the weight loss over time. I wanna get to 170lbs and with this I will

My advice is no different from any other here, get a new doc! I had a doc when I was a little girl who made fun of my size and weight in front of my mom and my older (skinny) brother. Doctors who are not compassionate towards their patients struggles tend to do more harm than good.

That being said, I do have some words of caution. I am relativley young, 27, and I was banded 3 months ago. Before my banding I would get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about shopping. I highlighted half of the victorias secret catalogue and put together tons of outfits in my mind. I saw myself 100 lbs lighter and 100lbs cuter. That was a driving force behind my surgery.

Fast foward to 1 month post op. I hit rock bottom. I thought I would get banded and my life would be instantly changed. It was NOT. I actually gained a few lbs post op. I looked no different and had NO restriction. Yet another failed diet, and this one cost me 12 grand!!!!!! For the first time in my life I actually experienced depression. It was scary.

Now, 3 months post op and I am doing much better. I have lost 25 lbs and am soooo glad I got banded. I am telling you all of this b/c its hard pre op to understand what being banded is like. You just get hyper-focused on actually getting banded.

Here's the deal, post op you will still be on a diet. You will have to say no to foods that are delicious and that you can still eat (ice cream, melted chocolate, french fries, etc). You will have to excersize.

At this point, the band makes it impossible for me to eat:

*fast

*bread {bread, pancakes, muffins, pizza dough}

*large bites

*pasta

*large quantities

All the other food issues I delt with before I still deal with now.

Having the band has helped me change, but it did not change me. If you can truly understand and acknowlage that this will be alot of work and you are still ready to make that commitment, then you should get the band no matter what your age is.

Sorry to be long winded, I just dont want you making the same mistake I did. :rolleyes2: Best of luck

Actually eating healthy comes second nature to me. I cook all my meals at home because I know what I put in my food. Junk food IS hard to give up but worth it in the end. Salads are a great way to fill you up with fruits and veggies. chicken breast, fish and turkey are a great way to substitute red meats. And homemade popcorn is a great healthy snack as well. These are little things I do that help me eat healthy. Another thing I do is but fresh fruits and veggies weekly from Randazzos idk if you have that where you live but I love it its super cheap and a great way to expand your palate.