So I have looked at other forums and feel this is probably the best place for me to tell my story. I have told some of my friends but haven't really gone public per se. So here is my story and my journey. I hope you girls and guys can respect my journey.

I have always been the overweight kid that was buying husky pants in the 5th grade. I played all sports and was even an allstar football player in high school. I was always able to carry my weight well but still never felt 100% comfortable without a shirt on. I work in corrections and thats where I have packed on the weight. I went from weighing around 235 in the academy to 290 most recently. In 2009, I got on track and started losing weight with help from an awesome trainer and just staying physically active. Unfortunately during a thanksgiving turkey-bowl I tore my ACL/MCL. This was huge because I regained all of my weight loss and then some. I started feeling depressed because I worked pretty hard and then was hit with this. In the same time I was injured a friend of mine had the lap band procedure done. So for a whole year I thought I would give a lap band a shot but never really pursued with my doctor.

Fast Forward to November 2010, on a disneyland trip with my wife and 3 girls I returned home exhausted. I was so sore from carrying my daughters that I went to the doctor because i thought I was having chest pains. I also explained to him that I wanted to look into the band since I was tired of being obese. He referred me to Doctor Wetter in Burlingame, ca. Prior to seeing doctor Wetter I saw all the Psych and nutritionist so when I saw my surgeon I would be ready to go. After a few consultations Doctor Wetter said the Sleeve would be a better choice for me and he thought it would eventually eliminate all other procedures for weight loss in the future. I did a little research and was sold on the sleeve. I wanted permanent weight loss and a surgery date was set for 02-15-11.

Leading up to my surgery was very stressful and I have always enjoyed food. I also had a lot of head games going on like did I need this or why was I doing this. After a few years with border line chest pains and 3 daughters under the age of 6 I knew that I owed it to them to be around for a long time. I had a lot of anxiety and I didn't have to lose weight for my surgery and treated every meal as my last. I ballooned all the way to 297 pounds. The day of the surgery came and I went in at 287.7 pounds.

The surgery day was very stressful to me because I was just getting over a cold and my blood pressure was pretty high the day of my surgery. I took it in stride and Doctor Wetter had me back in my room in a few hours. These next 2 days were the hardest in my life. The gas from the surgery and my high blood pressure made me miserable. I expected to be out of the hospital the next day but due to the high blood pressure could not be released from the hospital. I never slept so much and after the first day I realized the pain medication was even making me more nauseated. I decided to stop taking the pain meds and started feeling better and sleeping better. I was crying in the hospital bed because I thought I made the biggest mistake in my life. I missed my wife and kids and was still hopeful that things could work out. I went in on Tuesday and finally came home Thursday night! To date I still have not even taken any pain medication for my surgery. I am a little sore around my stomach but expected that.

As of Saturday, 02-19-11, four days post-op I am currently down 12 pounds and I am feeling great. I cant weight to be able to get to stage 3 where I can eat more then liquids. I have been following diet and haven't really been starving at all. It feels good to stand on the scale and see the pounds coming off. After all the pain, I feel I made the right choice and look forward to sharing my progress with everyone.

My goal is to get around 200-215 and with work I am sure I can get there. Thanks for taking the time to read my story and thanks for the support. I plan to start a youtube page because I used youtube a lot to research my journey. It's just tough right now to be public but I plan to soon. Here is a photo I took the day of my surgery. Have a great weekend and good luck with your journeys!

Much respect to all of you willing to share your journey,

Mo aka Papi Chulo on the comeback trail.

In a few months there will be a new photo of you on your profile with pecs and abs - you can do it!!! Looking forward to watching your progress.

Congratulations on making the best decision for your life! You are going to succeed beyond your dreams and know that with every pound you loose, your family is succeeding as well. I'm almost seven weeks out from surgery and I know with each week that I weigh-in, I am building a long and healthy life for myself. Keep up your awesome work.

Thanks guys and I am looking forward to the challenge. I really want to break the cycle of obesity and know that I can. It's really nice to see all people here have common goals and to learn from others mistakes.

Good luck with both of your journeys!

Good luck on your weight loss efforts! I will be about 3 weeks behind you and so I will be keeping up with your progress.

You are a very handsome man even with the weight on. You are gonna rock this, I just know it!

Congratulations! Welcome to the forum and loser bench:)

I understand your divorce with food if very difficult emotionally. Let me just tell you that you may think you will feel deprived when you can only eat a little bit, HOWEVER you know that feeling you got when you had a large,satisfying meal? Well now you will get that full satisfied feeling after a few bites, you will not desire more food and you will walk away with a full tummy WITHOUT that OMG I ate too much and I feel like a guilty pig feeling. It is GREAT to feel full, in control and not guilty!

I am so happy you decided to change your life and have the sleeve. You made the right choice...bands are not fun!!! The sleeve on the other hand is amazing. Enjoy your new life and we can't wait to hear about your success!

Thanks for all the support and I weighed in 17 pounds down today! I am currently 272 and I think I will break into the 260's this week. Fingers crossed!