Surely you are someone outside of your surgery and struggles with our weight. You have interests and dislikes and families- jobs and hobbies. And honestly- yes it is exciting to have this stool and to be on the journey- but hasn't there been enough focus all our lives on just our weight?

I know VST is dedicated to our VSG stories, but I sort of think that who we are makes our VSG surgeries that much more meaningful.

So I'll go first...

I'm Danielle. I'm 27 and I have three sisters and one nephew. I am unmarried and have no children. I work full time running the office for a respiratory company. This semester I am also attending college full time via online classes. I'm now also trying to squeeze in going to the gym three times a week.

I suffer from PCOS and had this surgery to help increase my chances of having a family of my own one day.

I am a TOTAL girly girl! I love the color pink, I like Hello Kitty the way others like Betty Boop or Tinkerbell, and I HATE HATE HATE spiders! I'm not much of an outdoorsie person- my idea of roughing it is five girls and one bathroom. That being said I do love to garden and can't wait for spring.

I love anything to do with 16th century european history and am a total fanatical nut when it comes to Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I. My favorite movie and book of allllllllll time is Gone With the Wind. I love watching old movies with my mom- our favorites are Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, anything with Doris Day and the Tammy movies. We also make a point of watching A League of Their Own together whenever it is on tv. I'm close with my Dad but sometimes I feel like we don't have anything in common.

Prior to surgery I loved home cooked food! (Along with chinese and pizza hut haha) I still enjoy cooking for my family (One sister, my parents and I all live together for economic reasons) and resumed cooking them meals within a few days of coming home from the hospital. I have a dog, she is a chihuahua/yorkie mix. Her name is Gypsy and well... she is sort of a monster!! I <3 her tho!

Now it's your turn!! Tell us who you are!

hi everyone!

My name is Tris and I live in Utah for the moment and sadly, no, i do not have 10 husbands, nor do I have 10 sister wives. Grew up in SF Bay area, moved to London, then Oregon, Idaho. I used to love to travel and moved to England and lived there some 7 years. I am a huge anglofile. and btw, didn't know a soul there. I had the time of my life, almost got married twice, and made some friends I will never forget. Since I have gotten heavy, travelling has basically stopped, as I find it difficult to hike and explore.. and I have become incredibly shy and stay inside a lot. hence my exploring this operation.

A few hobbies : fossils, trilobytes, calligraphy, hiking, my 2 dogs, baking, the beatles, music, and crafting. I work full time as a professional musician, playing the harp, and love music of all types.

I play the harp, string bass, violin and viola, a little french horn, as well as psaltery and piano. I feel really lucky and blessed to be able to play harp for a living, and bless my parents for starting all this up when I was about 4 years old. They met in a string quartet in high school, and passed along the music to my brother and me.

I love real estate and purchased 2 properties on my own, and am getting my condo ready for rental. New dreams: a very small RV or vintage small trailer, find a small pool I can afford for my back yard (looking at horse troughs (ikr?), natural pools - google it, so cool) or just a small above ground from kmart, and get my backyard finally done after I refi my home. I also want to buy a new harp.. I have my eye on a carbon Fiber one that is just amazeballs. Oh, did I tell you I make harps too? I hate to admit how many harps I have. Harps are like potato chips, you can't just have one. Its sort of a passion.. have harp, always looking for more.. the perfect harp. OK i will stop now, I do rattle along. Hope to gather more info on this operation, and then finally go forward, bravely.

tris

hi everyone!

My name is Tris and I live in Utah for the moment and sadly' date=' no, i do not have 10 husbands, nor do I have 10 sister wives. Grew up in SF Bay area, moved to London, then Oregon, Idaho. I used to love to travel and moved to England and lived there some 7 years. I am a huge anglofile. and btw, didn't know a soul there. I had the time of my life, almost got married twice, and made some friends I will never forget. Since I have gotten heavy, travelling has basically stopped, as I find it difficult to hike and explore.. and I have become incredibly shy and stay inside a lot. hence my exploring this operation.

A few hobbies : fossils, trilobytes, calligraphy, hiking, my 2 dogs, baking, the beatles, music, and crafting. I work full time as a professional musician, playing the harp, and love music of all types.

I play the harp, string bass, violin and viola, a little french horn, as well as psaltery and piano. I feel really lucky and blessed to be able to play harp for a living, and bless my parents for starting all this up when I was about 4 years old. They met in a string quartet in high school, and passed along the music to my brother and me.

I love real estate and purchased 2 properties on my own, and am getting my condo ready for rental. New dreams: a very small RV or vintage small trailer, find a small pool I can afford for my back yard (looking at horse troughs (ikr?), natural pools - google it, so cool) or just a small above ground from kmart, and get my backyard finally done after I refi my home. I also want to buy a new harp.. I have my eye on a carbon fiber one that is just amazeballs. Oh, did I tell you I make harps too? I hate to admit how many harps I have. Harps are like potato chips, you can't just have one. Its sort of a passion.. have harp, always looking for more.. the perfect harp. OK i will stop now, I do rattle along. Hope to gather more info on this operation, and then finally go forward, bravely.

tris[/quote']

You are funny! Welcome!

Welcome Ms. T

Good for you. We are about the same weight so I'll check and see how you are doing once in a while.

I am invisible. All my postings have been ignored in this forum and not even MI buddies have replied to me. I am invisible in the world ( fat women get ignored everywhere) and I am still invisible in cyberspace.

You are not invisible! I got your post, but I don't understand how! I too am new to this site and don't even get how to blog....or find more posts from you. Anyway, feel free to message me and I think I will be able to reply. I have been invisible my whole life, and sadly, found it comforting. WLS is scary business because I will now be required to participate in life, not hide behind my fatness and ugliness....i have found the WLS community has really kind hearts, so keep posting!

I am invisible. All my postings have been ignored in this forum and not even MI buddies have replied to me. I am invisible in the world ( fat women get ignored everywhere) and I am still invisible in cyberspace.

I just got an email showing your posting, but it's the first one I've seen. Welcome to the process of the "new us"! What part of the journey are you in? I have done most pre-op appointments and meet with my surgeon on 7/2. Scary but exciting.

Hi sweetie - I don't think anyone here gets continued attention unless you post new topics on a constant basis. I know your feeling of being invisible. This is a world consumed with youth, being skinny and looking just so. I would love to communicate with you. You can write me anytime - I'm not always on the laptop, but I will answer.

You aren't invisible, but this is a huge community. I have found that the more immediate replies/support comes if you get involved in one particular forum...like age related or whatever. Facebook also has some good groups.

I am invisible. All my postings have been ignored in this forum and not even MI buddies have replied to me. I am invisible in the world ( fat women get ignored everywhere) and I am still invisible in cyberspace.

I am invisible. All my postings have been ignored in this forum and not even MI buddies have replied to me. I am invisible in the world ( fat women get ignored everywhere) and I am still invisible in cyberspace.

Hi Damaris67, what point are you in on your journey? I felt the same way when I first joined but after posting in a couple of threads, I started getting replies and found a"sleeve buddy" who was sleeved the day before me and we have emailed everyday supporting each other and comparing statuses, etc....you will too, just hang in here.....most of the people here are very supportive!! Just ignore those who aren't,

Thank you for understanding and kind words. This is a huge world we are living. Lots of people but endless loneliness. I live in MI but all my family is out of state. It's just me and my 3 teenagers. I am always alone. The ex husband and his family is my only family...but it gets weird at times because of his wife. I love MI, his schools are the best, and my job is with the State. So relocating it's not an option.

I am one month and 1 week post op. Lost 30 lbs. I have 50 to go for wph. But my bones are huge, so another 30 and I will be great.

I'm eating chicken, fish, and that Pasta plus that has tons of Protein. Greek yogurt, carb master milk, kashi protein Fiber Cereal, banana, couscous, yogurt frozen bars, and tons of Crystal Light. Every day the same food with little variation. There has not being a date where I ate more than 600 calories. Portions of 2 to 3 ounces.

I'm anxious and nervous about this changes. I am nervous about being pretty... being noticed by men. Never happened before. I was the chaser. When I was in "love" was rescue missions to help men in worse psychological shape than myself. But now I not only dropped the mental weight but the actual physical weight. Eventually...I will be so light that I will float.

D--Sounds like you are doing great with both the mental AND physical weight changes!!! I know what you mean about being noticed by men....and not with disgusted looks on their faces, lol......honestly my main goal is to get healthier and back into an active lifestyle again, doing things I loved like dancing, running, swimming, horse back riding!! If love finds me during that time, great....I just hope I remember how to handle it, lol!! I am only a few days post op and live in Tampa, Fl. I have one child..a 15 yo son who has been my whole world since he was born, but I forgot about ME.....he is all for me getting healthier and happier, and wants me to have a nice boyfriend before he goes off to college in 3 years, lol, he does not want me to be lonely or alone....isn't that so sweet?

Thank you for understanding and kind words. This is a huge world we are living. Lots of people but endless loneliness. I live in MI but all my family is out of state. It's just me and my 3 teenagers. I am always alone. The ex husband and his family is my only family...but it gets weird at times because of his wife. I love MI, his schools are the best, and my job is with the State. So relocating it's not an option.

I am one month and 1 week post op. Lost 30 lbs. I have 50 to go for wph. But my bones are huge, so another 30 and I will be great.

I'm eating chicken, fish, and that pasta plus that has tons of protein. Greek yogurt, carb master milk, kashi protein fiber cereal, banana, couscous, yogurt frozen bars, and tons of Crystal Light. Every day the same food with little variation. There has not being a date where I ate more than 600 calories. Portions of 2 to 3 ounces.

I'm anxious and nervous about this changes. I am nervous about being pretty... being noticed by men. Never happened before. I was the chaser. When I was in "love" was rescue missions to help men in worse psychological shape than myself. But now I not only dropped the mental weight but the actual physical weight. Eventually...I will be so light that I will float.

Sounds like you are doing great - I can't wait to be on the other side watching the numbers going down. Are you children supportive - I have a 13 yo and she is only concerned about herself. When I had my pre-op last Friday, she was so bored and just appeared exhausted by the time it took. But, you be proud of yourself and your accomplishments.

Hi I am Cassie. I am a 44 year old senior corporate executive who lives in New York. I am the proud mother of a very delightful, and somewhat petulant, 8 year old girl. I am married to my husband of over 12 years. He has been very supportive as have the close friends that I chose to tell. I also have a fantastic golden retriever who is always concerned about me.

My journey to my sleeve operation last Thursday was a long one. For me - no matter how many degrees one has or how much common sense they have, it can still take time to get your head around the fact that there is something that you can just not conquer - weightloss. Dealing with thoughts of failure, laziness, etc. was at times, overwhelming. It was also embarrassing.

Then comes the process of telling some people. Even telling the man who loves me was an incredibly tough and a somewhat humiliating process. He would tell you it was not an issue at all.

So many of you are positive and able to share your news. I applaud you. In fact, I envy you.

For me, I had to accept my weight before I could get to weightloss. A somewhat isolating process for me but it didn't have to be. I am here now. I have been sleeved and I plan to knock the ball out of the park. I wish you all the best in your journey.

Hi I am Cassie. I am a 44 year old senior corporate executive who lives in New York. I am the proud mother of a very delightful, and somewhat petulant, 8 year old girl. I am married to my husband of over 12 years. He has been very supportive as have the close friends that I chose to tell. I also have a fantastic golden retriever who is always concerned about me.

My journey to my sleeve operation last Thursday was a long one. For me - no matter how many degrees one has or how much common sense they have, it can still take time to get your head around the fact that there is something that you can just not conquer - weightloss. Dealing with thoughts of failure, laziness, etc. was at times, overwhelming. It was also embarrassing.

Then comes the process of telling some people. Even telling the man who loves me was an incredibly tough and a somewhat humiliating process. He would tell you it was not an issue at all.

So many of you are positive and able to share your news. I applaud you. In fact, I envy you.

For me, I had to accept my weight before I could get to weightloss. A somewhat isolating process for me but it didn't have to be. I am here now. I have been sleeved and I plan to knock the ball out of the park. I wish you all the best in your journey.

you should be so proud of yourself - this is not a quick fix = people can and do screw this tool up, but I know it will work for you and you will feel so much better about yourself.

thinnerdaysahead - Many heartfelt thanks for your lovely sentiments. I hope you are healthy and happy and getting everything you deserve from life. I needed your sentiments today. Thank you.