I didn't know that diet and exercise didn't work for everyone but I feel so much better now that I've found this site. I am still pre-surgery but am so excited to change my life for the better.

A little background for those interested:

17 years old and have been overweight my entire life. The most I've weighed is 320 lbs but currently weigh 282 lbs. I am a highschool senior on the varsity waterpolo team. I've played polo for 5+ years and it's my life. In spite of playing one of the world most vigerous sports and eating healthy, weight loss has ALWAYS proved difficult. Name a diet fad & I can bet that I've done it. Surgery is a last resort for me and I've never been more inspired, dedicated, hopeful, focused and driven until I knew what this could possibly do for me.

Welcome! Not only do diet and exercise not work for everyone, they actually don't work (in the long term) for the vast majority of people. Study after study after study shows that 90-95% of people who lose weight on a diet gain it back within 5 years. Bariatric surgery is the ONLY thing that has been proven to maintain long term weight loss in obese individuals.

I didn't know that, but that makes me feel a hell of a lot better about my workout/diet regimens!

Welcome to the forums! Glad to see you're taking control of your life at a young age! From what I've read and heard, young people recover faster from surgery and not have a lot of skin issues. Oh how I wish I had heard of this surgery sooner. I'm almost 30 and feel that I've wasted a decade of my life trying and failing all those diets. Dont mistake me, I appreciate all those who stick to the diet and are able to maintain the weight loss long-term, but I realized I couldnt do this alone after a long struggle.

So, have you decided what surgery you are going to have? Were all options presented to you? I hope you do a thorough research and choose what you think is best for you. All the best!!!

PS: You look great in the picture!

Oh, thank you!

Yes, I believe all options were presented to me and I've decided that the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy is best for me since

there is no bypass of the small intestines and that there is very little chance of absorption issues (my mom had the Gastric Bypass surgery and she had a lot of issues with nutrient absorption and needed regular iron transfusions)

I'm doing MASSIVE amounts of research (at 2 am like a madwoman) and I'm working with Stanford university so they're giving me loads of tools and are very helpful.

Great! All the best to you in this journey!

Congrats to you for making a life-changing positive decision for yourself! You sound very intelligent and mature. Since you're already an athlete, this journey should be easier for you than it is for many of us older folks. I was a couch potato before surgery and now I'm turning myself into an athlete. You're ahead of the game!

Good luck!!!

One thing that will help you while you are waiting for the pre-approval from your surgeon is working on changing some of your bad habits now though.

The sleeve does require diet & exercise. This is an important fact!! It is about diet & exercise. 80 grams of Protein - low carb and low fat. So in the end it is about what you put in.

If you drink Soda or Pop, be it regular or diet, you should work on weaning yourself off and getting off of it now. If you drink coffee (I am sure some 17 year olds do) you should spend the pre-approval time getting off coffee.

You do need to count calories, Proteins and carbs. For this reason you should sign up for something like Myfitnesspal.com and start practicing looking up the foods you eat on a daily basis and charting it down.

You do need to get in 64 ounces of Water every day. There are posts about behind dehydrated and having to go to the hospital, may as well work on that now.

Learning how much you are putting in, learning how many things have protein and what don't, is important. Weaning yourself carbs, like bread, rice, potatoes, is important. People struggle because of their carb addictions.

Making sure you learn how to get in 3 meals a day plus your Snacks is part of the diet (I only ate once a day, very very rarely ate sweets and still got to be over 300 pounds). Start getting a shake in for Breakfast or lunch to start getting used to it.

When you eat, practice not having anything to drink with your meals. Just eat your food, then wait 1/2 hour or an hour before drinking your water, so you stay fuller longer. Remember to chew your food thoroughly. This is something that is so important for you to start practicing on before surgery.

After surgery the first week or two you may be only getting 400 calories a day (it won't be a big deal because it's rough getting down 400 calories with a swollen tummy. At the max during the losing phase before maintenance you will be at about 800 calories a day.

Where I went I had to have a 6 month supervised diet. During that time I lost 60 pounds then during the two week - pre-op shake phase, I was only allowed 3 shakes a day. The day I had surgery I lost 70 pounds and was 229. I never thought I could lose 10 pounds a month on my own, without starving to death, and I didn't suffer at all. I had special days where I went out to dinner and I ate whatever I wanted for dinner, then the next day I did my 80 grams of protein, low carb (45-50) and 800 calories. My six months flew by. I got sleeved on the 4th and totally I am down 90 pounds. It sure makes after being sleeved so much sweeter knowing that I spent my pre-approval time preparing for the sleeve and I really believe it makes me feel better about myself knowing that I spent my time wisely and I made this surgery easier on myself and the transition easier on myself by working on the things I needed to work on before surgery.

Please remember this is about dieting. The sleeve is a tool and without will power, dedication and following the diet & exercise recommended it will not work.

Congrtats on taking control of the issue at 17. I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you! Your advice is much appreciated!

Totally agree with Mina - the sleeve is a tool and we all need to work hard to maximize its output!

I am glad to hear that you are making this change at such a young age. Although you are young enough to be my great grand daughter! You have made the right decision and kudos to you for realizing this now and getting on track for a healthier life ahead. Good luck!

I'm glad my age is accepted and I'm supported in my decision here, because in "the real world" I'm reprimanded for my decision to "cheat" at such a "young age"

My point of view is, if I know something isn't working, why should I keep doing it? Afterall, insanity is doing the same thing over & over and expecting different results. (Oh, Einstein <3)

So thank you for your support and advice

You are not alone

Best wishes on your journey! You're going to be so happy

Girl!! You are making such a good decision! After a crap load of reasearch i decided to go this route! I am only 19, so I completely understand what you mean about "cheating at such a young age," and unfortunately some people think that way. So many more people have supported me than I ever thought would! I had the surgery this last Wednesday, and between the preop liquid diet a week before surgery, and now (a week and a half) I've lost 16 pounds So you are making absolutely the right choice! You go girl!

Good luck in your journey! You are VERY lucky that this is an option at your age. When I was 17, I was 250lbs, I'm only 5'2". I ended up losing the weight in a seriously unhealthy manner, at 17, then repeatedly through my life, would become 250, then go down to 113. My skin is getting so empty and loose. I think now. that I wish I could have done this earlier, before I had a chance to 'ruin' my body. I also wasted a lot of time depressed and having a low self esteem, because I was so fat. The fact that you are also physically active will be a HUGE plus for you.

Again, good luck. Sounds like you are acquiring as much knowledge as you can. Just watch the source you are getting it from. If they are trying to sell you something, they have their own interests at heart. I'm sure you already know that, as you sound well informed and intelligent, so please don't be offended.

The sleeve does require diet & exercise. This is an important fact!! It is about diet & exercise. 80 grams of Protein - low carb and low fat. So in the end it is about what you put in.

Yes, this is true! I hope my comment wasn't misleading - it's absolutely important that we eat right and exercise post-op or we will not meet our weight loss goals!