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

Watching my mother die from cancer in April of this year. Knowing that I will die someday and my kids will have to watch it as well. So I want to live forever. I know that's not possible but I want a long healthy life. So I started this journey. Wish I would have done it sooner.

My final straw was my sweet, loving father cautiously asking me if I would consider looking in to the surgery. His concern and willingness to do whatever it takes to help me was a huge push for me to try and get this done. Have yet to meet the surgeon, but fingers crossed!

Definitely having a hard time fitting on a roller coaster this summer.

When my fam thought i was pregnant

When my fam thought i was pregnant

That's the worst and I have been there! ????

Hi, my name is Simone Im new here. Started this journey back in the spring around April. Originally I set out to inquire about a tummy tuck. I have quite the muffin top from past pregnancies. The plastic surgeon suggested that first I loose a bit of weight and then come back. And suggested that if I wanted to loose it faster maybe to consider bariatric surgery, I was like .....what???? So, i was devastated and he wanted me to loose around 50lbs. Every week I put it off, was scared to initiate the consult etc. Every week my husband asked me did you see the doctor and every week I told him I wasn't ready.

The straw that broke the camels back.......I was at the high school spring musical. And unfortunately seats in the auditorium are designed for a high schoolers body. There were a few new seats that were made with a few extra inches but they were all sold out. So I sat uncomfortable for about 2.5 hours pinched in this auditorium seat that has the flip up desk for testing. At intermission it was a hassle trying to get out and get back in. When I got home later that night I was changing and saw in the mirror that my thigh in the front on the outside close to my hip was totally black and blue! That was that.

So on June second I had my first appointment. I weighed in at 287. I had to loose 16lbs to be eligible for insurance.

Im down to 266! and my surgery is set for October 12! Yes I blew through all the requirements and have been doing exactly what they have told me to do.

I am now on pre op diet with two shakes a day and a sensible high Protein meal. The only pre existing conditions I have are bad knees, and a thyroid that is slower than a tortoise, but Im not on any meds.

Im looking forward to what this new journey and life style brings me especially the part when I get to raid my daughters closet in a few months!!!

Favorite shake products(Ive tried many these have no chalky taste or after taste and mix well with frozen fruit)

I use almond milk and or Water, 1 % regular milk

-1st Phorm-ice cream sandwich (taste amazing), & chocolate

-Syntha Ultra Premium Protein Matrix-6 Cookies and cream, chocolate and vanilla ice cream

I first started off with the sleeve in 2012. I wanted to lose weight to live a long healthy life for myself and my kids. I didn't lose enough with the sleeve and had the bypass last week and hopefully I get to a more healthy weight . Good luck all

1. I was tired of dieting, having breathing problems, and I was afraid I wouldn't wake up one day.

2. I always found myself hiding every where that I went. Didn't want to be noticed.

3. Having difficulty getting pregnant.

4. Weighed 291 before surgery couldn't conceive how close I was to 300lbs.

5. Wanted to do it before my 34th bday.

Good for you for doing it early good luck!

Hey everyone come check my journey out in youtube

Shaundalee Jones

Seeing the scale at 277 last night and watching my 3 year old play on the tablet because I am too exhausted to get out and play with my kids.

Yelling at my 8 year old to not eat junk for Breakfast knowing that I eat it and bought some of it.

I feel so out of breath and exhausted. I'm ready for change!! Lord help me get healthy and stay healthy!! Wls targeted for January/February 2016.

There are a few things that really made me decide to have WLS. I am getting married in August 2016, and my fiance is British. We've been together for over seven years (I am 30) and lived together in the US for three. I was around 150lbs when we met and started dating. I was diagnosed with bipolar about a year into our relationship and my doctor perscribed a medication called Zyprexa, which is great for someone having a severe bipolar episode...but it is notorious for weight gain. I think I gained 5 pounds by simply filling the perscription! In my year taking it, I gained 100lbs with no change to my diet or exercise. I was very active...I played rugby and soccer, and I ate a low-carb and low-sugar diet. No matter what I did, the weight kept piling on until I visited my psychiatrist and told her I wanted to try something else because I was so incredibly depressed due to my weight gain. She swapped me to a new medication, but a lot of damage had already been done. The Zyprexa combined with some of the other medications I was taking essentially destroyed my metabolism, making it pretty impossible for me to lose weight no matter what diet and exercise plan I went on. Fortunately, I am now on medication that is weight-neutral, so I have not really gained anything more.

I could not play rugby or soccer any longer because all my excess weight made running EXTREMELY hard on my joints, and giving that up was incredibly painful for me. I still tried to lose weight on my own over the course of several years, but nothing helped, including physician-supervised metabolic weight loss.

I visited my fiance last May-June, and I could barely walk into town. Getting around London was an absolute nightmare. I started looking at WLS options on my own, but was far too afraid to actually go to a seminar or talk to my family about it.

This August, I went to the bridal shop to buy my wedding dress. They did carry larger sizes (I am an 18-20 at the moment) so I was able to try on quite a few. I found the PERFECT dress, and while my parents and the bridal consultant said I looked beautiful...all I could see was how overweight I was. I *did* look pretty in the dress, but when I stared at myself in the mirror, I kept thinking how much better I would look and feel if I was able to lose some of the weight.

A few days later, I mentioned the idea of WLS to my parents, who were very supportive of my decision. I was still very afraid because it is a pretty major surgery in my book, but a close friend of mine had the VSG a few weeks earlier and told me that it didn't hurt quite as badly as she thought it would, and she was recovering quickly. Not only that, but she was losing weight and feeling much, much better. I decided to look into it more seriously and attended a seminar...and I decided that it was the solution for me. I went into my surgeon's office for a height and weight check, and I qualified for WLS. After speaking to the program coordinator, I decided to go through with the surgery and made my first appointment.

I will be seeing Dr. Sebastien this Tuesday, and I am incredibly excited and nervous at the same time. I feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I will finally be able to lose the weight so that I can get back to doing the things I enjoy as well as look great in my wedding pictures!

Sorry for this long winded diatribe...I haven't really shared whis with many people, and once I started writing, it just kind of flowed out.

xx,

Polara

Edited October 3, 201510 yr by Polara

There are a few things that really made me decide to have WLS. I am getting married in August 2016, and my fiance is British. We've been together for over seven years (I am 30) and lived together in the US for three. I was around 150lbs when we met and started dating. I was diagnosed with bipolar about a year into our relationship and my doctor perscribed a medication called Zyprexa, which is great for someone having a severe bipolar episode...but it is notorious for weight gain. I think I gained 5 pounds by simply filling the perscription! In my year taking it, I gained 100lbs with no change to my diet or exercise. I was very active...I played rugby and soccer, and I ate a low-carb and low-sugar diet. No matter what I did, the weight kept piling on until I visited my psychiatrist and told her I wanted to try something else because I was so incredibly depressed due to my weight gain. She swapped me to a new medication, but a lot of damage had already been done. The Zyprexa combined with some of the other medications I was taking essentially destroyed my metabolism, making it pretty impossible for me to lose weight no matter what diet and exercise plan I went on. Fortunately, I am now on medication that is weight-neutral, so I have not really gained anything more.

I could not play rugby or soccer any longer because all my excess weight made running EXTREMELY hard on my joints, and giving that up was incredibly painful for me. I still tried to lose weight on my own over the course of several years, but nothing helped, including physician-supervised metabolic weight loss.

I visited my fiance last May-June, and I could barely walk into town. Getting around London was an absolute nightmare. I started looking at WLS options on my own, but was far too afraid to actually go to a seminar or talk to my family about it.

This August, I went to the bridal shop to buy my wedding dress. They did carry larger sizes (I am an 18-20 at the moment) so I was able to try on quite a few. I found the PERFECT dress, and while my parents and the bridal consultant said I looked beautiful...all I could see was how overweight I was. I *did* look pretty in the dress, but when I stared at myself in the mirror, I kept thinking how much better I would look and feel if I was able to lose some of the weight.

A few days later, I mentioned the idea of WLS to my parents, who were very supportive of my decision. I was still very afraid because it is a pretty major surgery in my book, but a close friend of mine had the VSG a few weeks earlier and told me that it didn't hurt quite as badly as she thought it would, and she was recovering quickly. Not only that, but she was losing weight and feeling much, much better. I decided to look into it more seriously and attended a seminar...and I decided that it was the solution for me. I went into my surgeon's office for a height and weight check, and I qualified for WLS. After speaking to the program coordinator, I decided to go through with the surgery and made my first appointment.

I will be seeing Dr. Sebastien this Tuesday, and I am incredibly excited and nervous at the same time. I feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I will finally be able to lose the weight so that I can get back to doing the things I enjoy as well as look great in my wedding pictures!

Sorry for this long winded diatribe...I haven't really shared whis with many people, and once I started writing, it just kind of flowed out.

xx,

Polara

Good for you on starting this new phase for your life and congratulations on the upcoming wedding date. I wish you the best through this new life changing decision.

@@Polara thanks for sharing your journey. It's not long winded! We are here to listen and share! Let us know your survey date!

I have been going through the approval process, but until last week I think I was never serious.

I travel for a living, and for the first time, got on a plane and couldn't buckle my belt. I was so humiliated at the thought of asking for the extended in front of my colleagues that I sucked it in and spent 4 hours gasping for breath.

When I got home, I took 2 of my 3 daughters to the store. There was a woman in the parking lot blocking the aisle and talking in her phone, oblivious to a whole line of cars waiting. I gave a little toot on the horn, she moved, and I parked the car. We got out to go into the store and she was waiting behind my car and let loose with a stream of obscenities that I could never repeat. I asked he to stop talking that way in front of my children while trying to get away from her, so she followed us and got personal. She called me fat...and went into detail about how ugly I was. My daughters were sobbing and begging her to stop saying those things to their mommy. And she followed us into the store and continued in front of the other patrons while all 3 of us cried until a store clerk threatened to call the police. People were standing around staring and video taping it on their phones. It nearly broke me, and I am a 2 time cancer survivor who never once let anything beat me before. I vowed in that moment never to be an embarrassment to my girls again, and to get healthy. When I arrived home, I had a message that my surgery was approved and they were ready to set a date. November 23. I'm ready.