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

My starting weight is 236

My starting weight is 236

I am new to the site and I have read each post, and I can relate to some of them.

so the last straw was finding out I was prediabetic last year. I have been trying my hardest to lose the weight, however, when I lose the weight it comes back. I have always been fat my whole life, my 98 year old great aunt refers to me as the "plump girl." The next thing is i have a very active 10year old girl who has already ran 3 5k's starting at 8 years old.

I want for us to be able to run one together. That's a goal.

I want to be here for her and see her have a family and get married.

I just knew I needed help to keep losing , so I've went to my doctor and poured my heart out about my weight and I was leaning towards wls, he proceeded to tell me I don't think your a good fit. Your still young and you can lose it on my own. He's right I am young, I am 33 but this has been a struggle for year and for you to offer me the weight management class and try to get me to pay for a program for them to fix my food for me was out the question.

So I kicked him to the curb and my sis in law referred me to her PCP, because she had wls back in September 2013. I went last Monday and did the same pouring out to her and she agreed that was would be a great choice for me! I go to my first seminar on Wednesday, I have my orientation on 7/16! I'm ready to get this show on the road! I have Kaiser in northern California and its moving pretty fast. I'm just happy I went for a second opinion .

I'm so happy for you! I waited until I was 45. That is my only regret - thinking I could do it "on my own" and losing precious time. 50 is looming in the future and I want to live every moment realizing how much I missed out on. Good god you for pushing on!!

I think my final straw was my mom telling me how bad o had gotten. I wasn't pretty anymore & hadn't realized I shut the world out. I was so used to being tiny & in under two years I gained so much weight. I'm so glad I chose this journey & I only wish I had done it sooner!!

I love everyones' bravery in sharing personal feelings and stories. I also love that everyone has taken on this journey to health and happiness. Never underestimate the power you have and the ability to use it for the better good. Blessings to us all.

I am new to the site and I have read each post, and I can relate to some of them.

so the last straw was finding out I was prediabetic last year. I have been trying my hardest to lose the weight, however, when I lose the weight it comes back. I have always been fat my whole life, my 98 year old great aunt refers to me as the "plump girl." The next thing is i have a very active 10year old girl who has already ran 3 5k's starting at 8 years old.

I want for us to be able to run one together. That's a goal.

I want to be here for her and see her have a family and get married.

I just knew I needed help to keep losing , so I've went to my doctor and poured my heart out about my weight and I was leaning towards wls, he proceeded to tell me I don't think your a good fit. Your still young and you can lose it on my own. He's right I am young, I am 33 but this has been a struggle for year and for you to offer me the weight management class and try to get me to pay for a program for them to fix my food for me was out the question.

So I kicked him to the curb and my sis in law referred me to her PCP, because she had wls back in September 2013. I went last Monday and did the same pouring out to her and she agreed that was would be a great choice for me! I go to my first seminar on Wednesday, I have my orientation on 7/16! I'm ready to get this show on the road! I have Kaiser in northern California and its moving pretty fast. I'm just happy I went for a second opinion .

I have Kaiser in Northern CA too. The program is really good and they make sure that you are educated and informed. I had surgery June 10 in Richmond and I was completely impressed with the care I received from the moment I walked in the door. I've lost 44.2 pounds since my orientation in late April, with 24 of that being since surgery. Take advantage of the services you are offered and best of luck to you.

I am new to the site and I have read each post, and I can relate to some of them.

so the last straw was finding out I was prediabetic last year. I have been trying my hardest to lose the weight, however, when I lose the weight it comes back. I have always been fat my whole life, my 98 year old great aunt refers to me as the "plump girl." The next thing is i have a very active 10year old girl who has already ran 3 5k's starting at 8 years old.

I want for us to be able to run one together. That's a goal.

I want to be here for her and see her have a family and get married.

I just knew I needed help to keep losing , so I've went to my doctor and poured my heart out about my weight and I was leaning towards wls, he proceeded to tell me I don't think your a good fit. Your still young and you can lose it on my own. He's right I am young, I am 33 but this has been a struggle for year and for you to offer me the weight management class and try to get me to pay for a program for them to fix my food for me was out the question.

So I kicked him to the curb and my sis in law referred me to her PCP, because she had wls back in September 2013. I went last Monday and did the same pouring out to her and she agreed that was would be a great choice for me! I go to my first seminar on Wednesday, I have my orientation on 7/16! I'm ready to get this show on the road! I have Kaiser in northern California and its moving pretty fast. I'm just happy I went for a second opinion .

I'm 25 and I know your struggle. I was sleeved 6/22. I believe it is one of the best decision I have made for myself. I'm still very early in the journey, but one thing I have learned is you have to stick to your guns and do what's best for you. Congratulations on your journey. I wish you much success.

I am new to the site and I have read each post, and I can relate to some of them.

so the last straw was finding out I was prediabetic last year. I have been trying my hardest to lose the weight, however, when I lose the weight it comes back. I have always been fat my whole life, my 98 year old great aunt refers to me as the "plump girl." The next thing is i have a very active 10year old girl who has already ran 3 5k's starting at 8 years old.

I want for us to be able to run one together. That's a goal.

I want to be here for her and see her have a family and get married.

I just knew I needed help to keep losing , so I've went to my doctor and poured my heart out about my weight and I was leaning towards wls, he proceeded to tell me I don't think your a good fit. Your still young and you can lose it on my own. He's right I am young, I am 33 but this has been a struggle for year and for you to offer me the weight management class and try to get me to pay for a program for them to fix my food for me was out the question.

So I kicked him to the curb and my sis in law referred me to her PCP, because she had wls back in September 2013. I went last Monday and did the same pouring out to her and she agreed that was would be a great choice for me! I go to my first seminar on Wednesday, I have my orientation on 7/16! I'm ready to get this show on the road! I have Kaiser in northern California and its moving pretty fast. I'm just happy I went for a second opinion .

I have Kaiser in Northern CA too. The program is really good and they make sure that you are educated and informed. I had surgery June 10 in Richmond and I was completely impressed with the care I received from the moment I walked in the door. I've lost 44.2 pounds since my orientation in late April, with 24 of that being since surgery. Take advantage of the services you are offered and best of luck to you.

44.2lbs! That's great! How long did the whole process take for you? Just curious. I am having my surgery in Richmond which is close to my house ... Less than a mile. My seminar went great, now I'm waiting for the orientation! Thank you !

• @ready2droppounds
• My orientation weight was 254 on April 23. I started the diet plan the next day. My surgery was June 10 and my weight was 236. Today I man 210.2. Take advantage of their classes, support groups, and your meetings with Dr. Z. He really got me over a couple of hurdles. I started Stage 3 diet on Thursday and am having some problems with nausea, but this is the most uncomfortable I have been. Surgery and time in the hospital were good experiences. Dr. Im did my surgery. He's great. Keep in touch! Good luck with your surgery!

• @ready2droppounds
• My orientation weight was 254 on April 23. I started the diet plan the next day. My surgery was June 10 and my weight was 236. Today I man 210.2. Take advantage of their classes, support groups, and your meetings with Dr. Z. He really got me over a couple of hurdles. I started Stage 3 diet on Thursday and am having some problems with nausea, but this is the most uncomfortable I have been. Surgery and time in the hospital were good experiences. Dr. Im did my surgery. He's great. Keep in touch! Good luck with your surgery!

Cool that was fast! who was your surgeon? My sister in law had Dr.Baggs and I have seen great reviews about him. I sure will keep in touch and add you as a friend on here.

• @ready2droppounds
• My orientation weight was 254 on April 23. I started the diet plan the next day. My surgery was June 10 and my weight was 236. Today I man 210.2. Take advantage of their classes, support groups, and your meetings with Dr. Z. He really got me over a couple of hurdles. I started Stage 3 diet on Thursday and am having some problems with nausea, but this is the most uncomfortable I have been. Surgery and time in the hospital were good experiences. Dr. Im did my surgery. He's great. Keep in touch! Good luck with your surgery!

Cool that was fast! who was your surgeon? My sister in law had Dr.Baggs and I have seen great reviews about him. I sure will keep in touch and add you as a friend on here.

Dr. Im was my surgeon. Very personable and a really goo doctor. I had told him during my first appointment that my son was getting married and I wanted to wait until after the wedding. First thing he asked me the day of my surgery was how the wedding went. Not a big deal, but it made me relaxed and I felt like he was there for, and concerned about me as a person. I've heard good things about Dr. Baggs too.

The depression that I felt after shopping. Just overall not feeling Sexy nor attracted to what I was seeing anymore. I've been a juicy girl for a while but I still felt sexy. Once I saw a friend of mine that I always spoke about weight loss with looking amazing I asked what she was doing and she told me about the program. It's been a long journey but I stuck with it.

Edited June 29, 201511 yr by leshell36

For me it was realizing how big I really was, as an 18 year old 5'8" girl I shouldn't weigh more then my 6'4" 50 year old father

I have a few things that led me towards thinking about the surgery...

1)I want to be a professional photographer (portraits, weddings etc), and feel like showing up fat, hiking up and down to photo sites, carrying all my camera gear, being out of breath, would be unprofessional.

2)Also, I still enjoy non-profit forms of photography, including macro (close up of small items), which has me getting up and down from the ground a lot, which is tougher to do at 285lbs.

3)I am tired of the lose/gain/lose/gain game

4)Mentally I feel so much younger and more energetic than my fat body lets me be (I am 40, but feel 10+ years younger, mentally). I would like my inner self and my outter self to match.

But the BIG one...the FINAL straw was a good friend who had VGS.....she posted a picture of herself on facebook, and at first I honestly didn't recognize her (to be fair, she had also coloured her hair). She lives far away, and I hadn't seen her in 2 years or so, but knew she had the surgery about 1 year previous. So I went back through her pictures. I found one taken right after she got home from surgery (she had hers done in Mexico). It turns out the new picture and the old picture I remembered were taken 1 year apart....to the day. It was UNREAL what 130lbs gone looked like on her. I started asking her questions about her surgery, her recovery, etc. She told me she literally has 3x the energy she had before surgery, and that she would ABSOLUTELY do it again....in a heartbeat. She is the only person I have told that I am planning to do this, except my husband. I am self pay, and I want everything lined up, and a date booked before I make it common knowledge.

I have a few things that led me towards thinking about the surgery...

1)I want to be a professional photographer (portraits, weddings etc), and feel like showing up fat, hiking up and down to photo sites, carrying all my camera gear, being out of breath, would be unprofessional.

2)Also, I still enjoy non-profit forms of photography, including macro (close up of small items), which has me getting up and down from the ground a lot, which is tougher to do at 285lbs.

3)I am tired of the lose/gain/lose/gain game

4)Mentally I feel so much younger and more energetic than my fat body lets me be (I am 40, but feel 10+ years younger, mentally). I would like my inner self and my outter self to match.

But the BIG one...the FINAL straw was a good friend who had VGS.....she posted a picture of herself on facebook, and at first I honestly didn't recognize her (to be fair, she had also coloured her hair). She lives far away, and I hadn't seen her in 2 years or so, but knew she had the surgery about 1 year previous. So I went back through her pictures. I found one taken right after she got home from surgery (she had hers done in Mexico). It turns out the new picture and the old picture I remembered were taken 1 year apart....to the day. It was UNREAL what 130lbs gone looked like on her. I started asking her questions about her surgery, her recovery, etc. She told me she literally has 3x the energy she had before surgery, and that she would ABSOLUTELY do it again....in a heartbeat. She is the only person I have told that I am planning to do this, except my husband. I am self pay, and I want everything lined up, and a date booked before I make it common knowledge.

I did it for the exact same reason! After a serious neck injury and surgery, I was forced to rethink my life. I'm in my late 40s. I decided to turn my love of photography into something I could really use. I went back to college to earn a degree in Professional Photography. Just earning a degree at my age is pretty cool. But I want to take my photography further. I had my first gallery opening as was horrified about meeting new people and having photos done of me! I really like nature photography and couldn't see myself on long hikes to desolate places at 254 pounds. I'm 22 days out from surgery and total loss since the beginning of this journey in April is 45.8 pounds. I can't wait to see what the next few months hold...Good luck with your journey, and your photography!

Edited July 2, 201511 yr by BariatricBarb