What was the final thing that you encountered that made you say this is enough? I have had numerous.

1. Leaving a wife and 2 sons, Husbandless and fatherless.

2. Not being able to get on amusement park rides with my sons.

3. Not being able to take my wife to a concert, because i could not fit in a seat.

4. Avoiding restuarant,movie theaters and sports complexes with tiny seats.

For me, walking through a a department store and some little child looking at me like im a alien had to be one the hardest things.

Respectfully,

Joe

going to the doctors and asking to get weighed and having the nurse whisper to me, "im sorry the scale doesnt go that high"

major motivation at that point. i can now get on the scale!

A family member of my husband's - someone of whom I was very fond - died recently, and I didn't attend the memorial service. I made some convincing excuses - it would mean leaving our pets unattended for too long, it was a hot day and I might get car sick on the long drive, etc- but the truth was I didn't want to be seen.

Even in my smartest clothes I knew I'd look like a bag lady next to all the family and friends there. While my husband was gone for the day I had plenty of time to think about how my life was getting smaller and smaller as I got bigger and bigger. If I carried on like that, I realised I'd soon become a virtual recluse and I don't want a shut-in life!

I started researching surgery the same day.

A lot of little straws for me:

Knocking things over more because I don't realize I'm that big

As a teacher, not being able to fit into the desks at school

Never letting anyone take your picture

When your boyfriend wants to do it with the lights out

Not fitting in the rides at Knott's Berry Farm

Having to push the table over to fit in a booth

Having trouble shaving my bikini area because my belly is in the way

Back/hip/knee pain and stiffness

Wearing a bra with tripple Ds on it

Going on dates, and having them offer to train me and help clean up my diet = humiliation

Not being able to eat with a tray in my lap because my belly is too big

Having to wear a CPAP (which equalls never staying the night at a boyfriends house because that would be embarrassing)

Taking cholesterol meds

Taking beta blockers

Having trouble tying my shoes, doing ankle buckles etc...I basically live in flip flops and crocs now

My calves cramp up when I try to walk for fitness

I have back fat, belly fat, extra chin, knee fat, thigh fat, arm fat, fat fingers...I think my feet are even fat.

Having to buy bigger underwear...again

How light my body feels when I hold up all of that belly fat and pretend it isn't there.

Biggest straw: Looking myself in the mirror every day and feeling shame and sadness.

I could fill a silo with all the straws:

*Constant back pain from scoliosis

*Constant unsolicited weight loss advice from strangers

*Knees and ankles twisting and spraining easily

*Living in a major university town with lots of young fit people making rude remarks about my weight like I do not have feelings

*Too many prescriptions

*Feeling like the bones in my feet are going to break when I first step on them in the morning

*My car door squeezing me in my seat snuggly when I close it

*Heart issues

*Asthma meds having to be increased

*People staring at me when I try to squeeze around something

*Trying to squeeze past people and either my belly or butt invading their space

*Getting paint all over my toes when I try to just pain the nails

*Having to push the table towards my friends when they insist upon sitting in a booth

*My x's daughter seeing my hips/butt hanging over the edges of a chair and saying "daaang I thought these chairs were big enough to fit everybody"

*Work ordering me a special chair for plus sized people because it was "more durable", I did not break the first one, I asked for a chair with better back support and they ordered me a chair with a seat twice as wide as the normal chairs instead. Granted it is more comfortable, but it was a bit humiliating when one of my coworkers saw it and said "whoa wide load!"

*Coworker asking me if I was dating anyone and I said no and she responded "you will find a man when you get healthy"

I could write a list forever, but it comes down to my health, I am worried about my future health if I do not get help. Obesity runs in my family, they all fight it, I have fought it for years and as hard as I fight it it seems to fight back 10x harder. Looking forward to a happier and healthier life!

Edited June 7, 201412 yr by blondiebabs

The fear of leaving my wife and three children without a husband and father.

Being unable to do everyday things with my family.

Cancelling the summer vacation to Hawaii after paying for it because I feel too uncomfortable flying.

Never being asked to coach or help coach one of my children's athletic teams (not that I could in my condition).

Always being the biggest one in the room.

Not being able to sit in a restaurant booth.

Having to go to Disney World and other parks and watching my children ride instead of experiencing it with them.

Difficulty everyday with hygienic responsibilities (enough said).

Not being able to buy the car I want because I don't fit.

After saying all this I have yet to schedule my date but I am tentatively scheduled for the middle of July. I am just so fearful of dying because of or during the surgery. I hope I go through with it and pray everything works out well.

You're gonna do great! It's risky and scary but worth it! Hang in there.

You're gonna do great! It's risky and scary but worth it! Hang in there.

I think for me it was my cousin, who is 4 years older than myself, who is overweight and has had Type 2 Diabetes for years and earlier this year had to have her foot amputated due to uncontrolled diabetes and weight issues. That's so scary! I don't want to be like that and I am tired of being self conscious and not wanting to leave the house. I also want to start being in pictures with my husband and children before they all move out and start families of their own. (Well...the husband won't be moving out lol)

It is risky and scary but it will be so worth it and I am looking forward to changing my life.

Good luck to you all!

Edited June 8, 201412 yr by Dreamin_Again

I was with my former employer for 22 years and hoped to retire from the company as I was very happy with them. I was then laid off (along with hundreds of others) when they decided to relocate the corporate office. I was out of work and looked very hard for a job for a year. I would get calls for interviews and the phone screens would go very well. But when I went in, I would literally see their expressions change as I am 100 pounds overeight (although I dress professionally, am well-groomed, have great teeth, good people skills, etc... So I'm not a scary freak or anything!) The excuse then was always that I was "overqualified"... as if they learned something in the face-to-face interview that wasn't in the phone screen. I was humiliated and began to feel hopeless, which only made things worse. I finally got back on with my former employer but had to relocate hundreds of miles to do it, so I commute on weekends to my home and husband. It's been two years and still no luck finding a job in my home city, still the same result over and over. Time to get serious. I am excited and hopeful for the first time in a long time. I am going to get healthy, buy a great suit, and knock their socks off. I can't wait!

Edited June 10, 201412 yr by JCP

- Not being eligible to adopt from China or some other foreign countries because my BMI is too high.

- Being diagnosed with sleep apnea, high blood pressure, PCOCS and pre diabetes all within a few months.

1.After I had been busting my butt seeing that I actually gained weight.

2. Tried of ppl asking me "when I'm due"my daughter is 3 1/2 years old. ..

3.I want my happy skinny self back I'm never go out and hate meeting new people looking like a whale.

4. I want another child I have pcos and don't ovulate the extra weight makes this worst

5. Tired of being scared of running into ppl from high school bc of how much I've gained.

Edited June 13, 201412 yr by Chubtastic

BEING INVISIBLE…….I GUESS I SHOULD SAY, TO THE OPPOSITE SEX ESPECIALLY.. I HAVE BEEN AT A HEALTHY WEIGHT SINCE MY DIVORCE AND HEAVY.. WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY THAT IS SO JUDGEMENTAL OF SIZE….

Edited June 14, 201412 yr by choosinghealth

It's both great and terrible to read these reasons. Great because I know I am not alone, and terrible because we are all, or have been, suffering in some way. The reasons we decided on this surgery tells the story.

I am sick and tired of:

• being afraid of and ashamed of meeting new people -- I have always felt that my size defines me
• loving to travel but not being able to walk and enjoy the places I have had the good fortune to visit
• fear of being touched
• not being able to take a bath -- can't get out of the bathtub
• not being able to ride my bike -- fear of falling
• making excuses and/or pretending things don't matter
• living with shame!

It's time to restart my life. I'm working through the steps of this journey. I'm looking forward to a new beginning!

Probably the last diet I went on (Weight Watchers) that lasted for about two years, where the weight lost after much struggle was 30 lbs. I still had a good 50 lbs to go. Like I said, I hungered, I exercised, I cried on the weeks where it hovered or even gained a little, and fought for every one of those lbs. Then I had one four month semester where I didn't log everything, and 40 lbs came back on. I was utterly done at that point. I realized that (1) I'm serious about wanting to get the weight off (2) I can't do it by myself/need the sleeve's help.

I'm also tired of using pictures of myself from several years back and not just being able to go to Penneys once a year to get a decent family picture taken. I look ginormous and am far too embarrassed to use it for cards.

Edited June 29, 201412 yr by Skywalker

I promise to make it through every single one of these posts.

My moments were:

Wife pregnant with second child

Uniform getting tighter and tighter ... breaking buttons. (Officer)

Less desire to be active

Uncomfortable on planes

I had to squeeze into a booth at a restaurant... never had that happen before.