"Have you ever thought about trying to lose weight with diet and exercise?"

This is what one of my good friends asked me as I told him that my initial consultation is tomorrow. He then went on to tell me of the friend we have that has lost 60 pounds with exercise and diet.

I actually laughed when he said it and mentioned to him how my weight constantly fluctuates b/c of trying to diet/exercise but it always ends up coming back ... Plus some... I know he didn't mean any harm, but if he truly took a minute to think he would realize I have tried MANY times... But he is the same height as me and couldn't hit 200 pounds if his life depended on it Lol.

He is the only friend that I have told, and went on to tell me that he wants to help me in any way possible. But I think that people that have been skinny their entire lives don't appreciate the struggle or the ups and downs of weight loss/ weight gain. I sure wish I didn't!!

I agree. My skinny friends and family members do not understand the struggles some of us go through. I have heard many times " why don't you just stop eating so much" thats why I have not told anyone but a select few about my surgery.

I like to think MOST people are good and just trying to help. So I think I'd give him the benefit of the doubt on that suggestion of his. After all, he said he wants to help you in any way possible. LET HIM. The more support, the better.

Maybe you could explain to your friend that you will be altering your diet and will be asked to exercise to be successful with the band. Some folks get by with less exercise and more dieting, for some its the other way around, but ALMOST everyone who is successful will describe their life changing habits. Eating less, better choices, and being more active. Not saying everyone is a "gymrat" like some of the folks on here ( who I envy and admire ), but WLS certainly isn't a magic wand. I wish you much success in your journey!

i think we have tried diet and exercise. For me WLS was the last chance for me.

The band saved my life. I was self-pay. It's been an investment in my health and my future... no regrets at all.

Started with a 54" waist now 32".

Tom, Toronto

Banded July 6 06

Wt. Loss: 156 lbs

That upsets me, I workout every day , cardio weight train you name it , I was following a diet and still was only able to take off 40 pounds on my own then hit a plateau that I was unable to shake ,discouraged gained it all back but still at the gym, most people don't wake up one day and say well I guess I will have surgery cause that will be easy . The decision to have WLS for me anyway came after many years of struggle.

I would tell him you will be losing weight with diet and exercise, the only difference between you and your friend is you'll have help controlling your appetite so you don't gain any weight you lose right back again.

Unfortunately, you'll realize how ignorant well meaning people can be. I had a friend comment to me how I took the "easy way out". I responded "If tracking every piece of food I put in my mouth, never going above 1200 calories a day, and walking 2 miles a day is the easy way, I'd sure hate to see the hard way".

Hang in there. I know it's hard but you have to remember you're doing this for you, it doesn't matter if anyone else understands or approves.

Thanks for the responses everyone! I definitely let him know that I will be eating healthier and exercising as part of my lifestyle change with the Lap-band.

Mis that sure doesn't sound like the "easy way out"! I believe that you are right, I will continue to hear ignorant comments from people who mean well, but just aren't educated.

I'm off to my consultation which starts in an hour! I'm nervous but ready to talk to the Doctor about taking control of my future!!

Yeah def some people don't get it. When I was in graduate school there was a very large man probably about 700 pounds. There was a thread posted on our main campus website how disgusting it was for this man to be going through medical school with everyone else and that how would any patient respect him. The posts got nasty but one post stuck out to me. a 5'6 girl of 117 pounds wrote. "It is simple Calories in and Calories out, work out and take care of yourself, there is absolutley no reason for him to be 700 pounds"

If you don't have a weight problem you will never understand what we go through.

People don't get even though you have WLS it isn't the end all, we still have to work at this. Still watching our "calories in and calories out" Some people really are ignorant. pfft!! I believe I am working much harder now with my new lifestyle change than I have ever did before my WLS.

We have to ignore these people and do what is best for ourselves. Comments like these are exactly why I chose to only tell my mom dad and sister!!

Good luck to you all and don't let others get into your head, this is our life and our journey!!!

I actually deleted an old "friend" from highschool off of my facebook because she was such a C**T when the subject was even brought up. She said things like

"its the lazy way to lose weight" "its something fat people use because they dont want to change their lifestyle" etc... I was like you never weighed more than 120lbs soak and wet what experience do you have in the weight struggle department... Dont even let uneducated (on the subject) people influence your decisions