At What Weight Limit Did You Say "you Have Had Enough"?

[Gonnabeslim1day 80]

Wow' date=' does this thread strike a chord! I have been battling my weight for many years; yo-yo diets, you name it, there is a good chance I've tried it...My weight has fluctuated up and down and up again...but never this high.

The turning point for me was this past winter. I had gained 20# post-break up, and then was diagnosed with asthma. I decided to try the hcg diet, and then got horribly ill. My asthma went crazy, they put me on steroids, and I gained 25# in a month!! Now I have plantar fascitis, so between that and the asthma, I have become really intolerant of exercise. I have never been this heavy in my life! 255!!! OMG. I was SO depressed and felt like SUCH a failure... I called one of the weight loss surgeons in town, had a discussion with her...and discovered that she didn't take my insurance.

I went thru my ***, and have just finished the 6 month required pre-op class. I have my exit interview tomorrow, and then wait for approval...I am looking at late October for surgery; my surgeon is backed up about 6 weeks from the time all the pre-op stuff is finished. This is a whole new world, and I am so excited about getting started.

I have a 3 year old daughter, who is the light of my life. I have always been active- dance, sports, swimming, and can't wait to enjoy all of them again, this time with her. I work 12 hr day shifts in a busy cardiac surgery ICU, and it is exciting to think of having the energy to enjoy it again, and NOT have my feet hurt all the time...

KristiP- I understand wanting to be a mom...the doc told me years ago that I wouldn't be able to have kids...so I went to China and adopted my precious kiddo! :-) (right before my 40th bday!)

I really enjoy this site. So much helpful info and support. Thank you to the BTDTs, for paving the way and sharing their experiences for all of us newbies!

Bonnie[/quote']

Bonnie how exciting to almost be through!! I had to do the 6 months diet class too. I really needed to hear from others about this. My feelings have always been secluded and thanks to this thread I have been able to come out the closet. Very inspiring to know all the will power moments and the triumphs people have went through.

[Brian66 85]

For me it was hittting 300 pounds and a number of other factors. I had gained about 30 pounds following the death of my wife and those 30 pounds felt more like 100 in terms of the impact they had on the way I felt. I was 44 years old and I felt like I was 90! My back hurt, my knees hurt, I had sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other problems. More importantly than the way I felt and looked, I realized that as the only living parent that my kids had, I needed to take care of this weight issue once and for all. I really struggled with the fact that some would view this as "the easy way out," (I still struggle with that issue a bit), but I knew that even if I could lose the weight with diet and exercise (highly doubtful), there is no way that I could spend a year or two doing that only to have it come back.

As I have said many times on these boards, the decision to have the VSG was one of the best decisions I ever made for my family and for me!

Brian

[Gonnabeslim1day 80]

For me it was hittting 300 pounds and a number of other factors. I had gained about 30 pounds following the death of my wife and those 30 pounds felt more like 100 in terms of the impact they had on the way I felt. I was 44 years old and I felt like I was 90! My back hurt' date=' my knees hurt, I had sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other problems. More importantly than the way I felt and looked, I realized that as the only living parent that my kids had, I needed to take care of this weight issue once and for all. I really struggled with the fact that some would view this as "the easy way out," (I still struggle with that issue a bit), but I knew that even if I could lose the weight with diet and exercise (highly doubtful), there is no way that I could spend a year or two doing that only to have it come back.

As I have said many times on these boards, the decision to have the VSG was one of the best decisions I ever made for my family and for me!

Brian[/quote']

I was thinking like that too Brian I figured I would get bad criticism for my decision. I am pretty sure my friends have thought that but they wouldn't tell me. I don't even think that VSG is an easy way out.

[Queen of Crop 1,104]

Put succinctly: It isn't easy, but it's effective and life-changing and the benefits FAR outweigh the inconveniences! I am 150% convinced that we are all wired differently and traditional diets are not the way for many of us to get where we need to be in our lives.

Brian; my sincere condolences on the loss of your wife; and sending you a big congratulations for moving forward in such a positive way. You are a true role-model for those kids. Well done!

[TracyLynn 30]

I realized something needed to be done when I saw myself in pictures, and thought how did I let it get this far? This was it for me, I decided no more excuses. I need to get healthier, I want to live life not lay around.

[marybethintexas 10]

When i started wearing 20. Keep in mind I am 5'1". My starting weight was 200. I looked like a pumpkin. I just wanted to wear a nice dress for Easter service. Heartbroken to find that 18 would no longer work. Needless to say .... Didn't buy the dress. I look forward to the day when I can buy clothes that are cute on me. At 200 lbs and size 20 that is my breaking point.

[KristiP 51]

KristiP- I understand wanting to be a mom...the doc told me years ago that I wouldn't be able to have kids...so I went to China and adopted my precious kiddo! :-) (right before my 40th bday!)

I really enjoy this site. So much helpful info and support. Thank you to the BTDTs, for paving the way and sharing their experiences for all of us newbies!

Bonnie

Hi Bonnie,

How great that you were able to fulfill your dream of motherhood! Australia is a whole different kettle of fish though in terms of adoption. It's not impossible....but it's as close to it as you could get. Very anti-adoption here in Oz. In fact, there is no longer traditional adoption within Australia. it's all fully open, where you pretty much incorporate the birth family as well. That leaves a really bad taste in my mouth, however hubby and I are lined up to attend an infant adoption program info session in October. We've already completed the required courses for the Permanent Care program in Victoria (similar to adopting from foster care), but again, a lot of interaction from birth families that themchild(ren) were removed from in the first place.

My weight disqualifies us for all overseas adoption programs in Australia, not that there are many to begin with and most of those are on hold indefinitely or outright cancelled. Permanent care is probably our only hope.......and even then my weight has been flagged as an issue.

I have had many I-have-had-enough-moments throughout my life. They were always followed by a diet of some sort, and I'd go into it with great gusto and work my a** off, then get frustrated when I was getting absolutely NOTHING in return. I mean seriously........6 months to lose 8lbs??? My doctors program leaders and personal trainers all told me I was lying to myself about staying on track. I knew I wasn't going off track and their accusations hurt! Nobody believed me, and so I lost my motivation and gave up. Repeat cycle over and over throughout the years. Nothing but surgical intervention is going to help me conquer this.

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I want to look "normal" and feel normal.....normality is very important to me. But I also know that this is more about overall health. I'm sick of having sleep apnea and having to wear a CPAP when I sleep (can't go camping withoutna gen set!). Sick of having to take Metformin for my insulin resistance; sick of my PCOS and all it's glorious symptoms (which I'm learning will never really go away, but may lessen); sick of walking through a mall and having people stare or ignore me in a store; sick of not being able to buy nice clothes or look decent in the ones I can find. Sick of being tired all the time, being stiff and sore all the time, being ungainly and not graceful all the time. Sick of seeing what I see in the mirror. Sick of killing myself to get out of the line of fire of a camera. Just sick of it all.

But I love this site. It's so active and full of positive people and loads of success stories........I fervently want to be one of them! I don't post as frequently as I would like (work gets in the way!) but I read the posts as they come through.

:-)

[Imlosing big 112]

When I got so big nothing fit in my closet. And when I went shopping nothing fit that I liked. I started to avoid social interactions and stayed at home. The biggest I have ever been was 242 when I was preganant. at one time I was able to lose 93lbs through starvation and bulimina but I feared that if I keep up that way I would ruin my esophagus so I went down to 149 and two years later balloned up to 230. I tried excercise for two months and lost only 4 lbs that's when I decided enough was enough.. It's been the best decision I have ever made.

[Gonnabeslim1day 80]

When I got so big nothing fit in my closet. And when I went shopping nothing fit that I liked. I started to avoid social interactions and stayed at home. The biggest I have ever been was 242 when I was preganant. at one time I was able to lose 93lbs through starvation and bulimina but I feared that if I keep up that way I would ruin my esophagus so I went down to 149 and two years later balloned up to 230. I tried excercise for two months and lost only 4 lbs that's when I decided enough was enough.. It's been the best decision I have ever made.

Happy you made the right decision on loosing weight!!!

[dar1983 752]

I tore my meniscus while kickboxing, and knew that I would never have knee surgery while carrying 284lbs on my 5'4" body. Oh, I have a great wardrobe, and take pride in looking put-together. But all those great (size 22/24!) clothes were masking ALOT of fat! I was wearing a beautiful new dress on my birthday in Feb., and thought I looked pretty good. That was until I saw pictures. "Was I REALLY that large?" I still shudder when thinking about that photo.

Also, it got stressful making sure I always had a sweater or jacket to match EVERY outfit. Why??? Cause my arms are so gross, I never show them in public! Sigh... Aching feet, sore knees, fat ass...time for a change. I saw an ad for WLS, and knew that at age 52, it was now, or never. I was sleeved July 3, 2012, and ready/anxious for a new, healthy me.

[AllSmiles 22]

That sucks!!! Lucky you how hard was it to get approved?

I haven't been approved i have a month and a half left of my 6 month diet and exercise with the nut and dr. left until i can submit. so far it looks like if i meet the requirements everything should be good and i have. my mom just had the surgery and has lost 15 lbs in the first week. I have a 3 weeks of crutches left (ugh.) surgery date will be end of september early october, if by chance my insurance (blue cross blue shield) doesn't approve it the hospital has self pay option for 150 a month which is totally doable. they have been more than helpful and the hospital here and the wls dept is amazing! I have many friends who have gone through them.

[Fallenangel2904 494]

Like a few others have said- it wasn't a number but how i was feeling. Heck I was in denial and hadn't been on a scale in more then a year so I didn't even KNOW what I weighed. Last year I had a knee injury that forced me to be bed ridden for months. I was depressed so I ate. I knew I gained weight I just didn't know how much. I was already about 340-350 when I injured myself. I felt heavier then ever I noticed in the shower- my butt had gotten a lot bigger and there was a lot more to wash (tmi perhaps) but little things like that made me see. Also my shoes were TIGHT shoes I had worn with ease months before. Still I didn't do anything. When I finally went to my consult this June I stepped on the scale and was almost 380lbs. I wanted to cry- and I'm sure at one point I was closer to 400 because i had already began eating less and a few people told me I looked like i had lost some weight. Who knows what my heighest weight really was. This was SCARY to me. There is something terrifying about 400lbs. I'm more convinced then ever this is the right move for me!

[alliemm 24]

Pregnancy was my final straw. At 309 lbs and 5'10 I was considered high risk from the start. I barely have any pregnancy photos because I couldn't believe how large I was. After delivery I was 348 and miserable. Since then I have been having one health issue after another. So my son was a week old when I start weight watchers which was oct'11. Started my 6 month insurance journey, and have surgery scheduled aug 14. I am so excited and I will never see 300 hit my scale again.

[Gonnabeslim1day 80]

I haven't been approved i have a month and a half left of my 6 month diet and exercise with the nut and dr. left until i can submit. so far it looks like if i meet the requirements everything should be good and i have. my mom just had the surgery and has lost 15 lbs in the first week. I have a 3 weeks of crutches left (ugh.) surgery date will be end of september early october' date=' if by chance my insurance (blue cross blue shield) doesn't approve it the hospital has self pay option for 150 a month which is totally doable. they have been more than helpful and the hospital here and the wls dept is amazing! I have many friends who have gone through them.[/quote']

That's awesome to know the hospital is willing to help you I hardly ever see that these days!!!

[Gonnabeslim1day 80]

I tore my meniscus while kickboxing, and knew that I would never have knee surgery while carrying 284lbs on my 5'4" body. Oh, I have a great wardrobe, and take pride in looking put-together. But all those great (size 22/24!) clothes were masking ALOT of fat! I was wearing a beautiful new dress on my birthday in Feb., and thought I looked pretty good. That was until I saw pictures. "Was I REALLY that large?" I still shudder when thinking about that photo.

Also, it got stressful making sure I always had a sweater or jacket to match EVERY outfit. Why??? Cause my arms are so gross, I never show them in public! Sigh... Aching feet, sore knees, fat ass...time for a change. I saw an ad for WLS, and knew that at age 52, it was now, or never. I was sleeved July 3, 2012, and ready/anxious for a new, healthy me.

I never show my arms its the most embarressing thing to me....aahhhh cant wait for this surgery this sigh of relief : )