Hey, my name is Nik. I am 25 and weigh 312 at 5'10. I went to an info session for bariatric surgery a few months ago and had my doctor refer me to a non surgical weight loss program. The way it works is that I am doing the 6 months of dieting, meeting with exercise physiologists, and going to therapy in the hope that I won't need surgery. I want to be in control of my body and mind. I want to think I can do this but I know I can't do it on my own. The crazy thing is that my insurance will cover the surgery but not the help for me to actually try to get there on my own. Anyway, if the 6 months of dieting, etc , don't produce a 20%weight loss, they recommend me for surgery. I am so scared because while I know that surgery would benefit me, I want to believe I don't need it. Has anyone else struggled with this?

Yes, for so long. It's a hard battle because even when I lost some weight I couldn't keep it off. But I think this 6 months of learning healthy eatting and exercise etc is a great addition to being sleeved. The gastric sleeve does wonders for weight loss but after a while have to learn to stay healthy and maintain our goal weight.

I understand your struggle...think positive, see what will work for you and learn as much as you can then if or when you are sleeved you will be ahead of the game!!!

Best of luck!!

Some people don't need it.. there was a time when I believed I didn't need it. I have lost a LOT of weight in the past.. YAY.. I'm successful. I DID IT ALL ON MY OWN... but then I GAINED IT ALL BACK ON MY OWN too! I know I could lose all this weight without surgery. I'm down over 50 pounds from my highest weight already.... BUT i also know that I won't be able to KEEP it off without surgery.

If I was in your position, I'd make my best effort with the program, and if you're successful with that, then go for another six months.. and keep going until you are down to the weight you want to be. If you are able to stay at that weight then you don't need surgery. YAY! BUT if you are unable to lose the weight or maintain your lower weight don't beat yourself up over it, just take the next step and do the surgery.

You have the potential to do it without the surgery. What the sleeve gives you is a permanent reminder. Reminders can be defeated.

You will need a will of steel. You are not dieting, you must undergo a metamorphosis. Your will and mind must take control and channel your emotions and rule your body. Determine how you want to be for the rest of your life, fight with everything you have in you to attain it, guard it like a pit bull after you're there. Be ruthless, no mercy on bad nutrition and overeating. Marry yourself to exercise, commit your mind and heart, learn to love it, become an athlete. Keep your eyes on the finish line and fight relentlessly moment by moment to get there.

You have to hate obesity and love yourself. Hate is a great motivator, so is love, use both. Think of all the crap you have been through because of being overweight. Take the insults, feelings of inferiority, struggles with clothing, lack of energy, depression, social problems, etc. and channel your anger into action. Be your own best friend and help yourself as you would your dearest friend who is in a battle.

You can win this war!

Im also in a situation similar to yours !!! Im 5"4 and I'm weighing 210 an I'm considering the surgery, I've been to weight loss programs and i do loose weight then gain it back!!! I don't want to be supper skinny i just want to be comfortable with myself. After i had my son I've actually gained 20 pounds more and have not been able to go down! My insurance wont cover i was going to go to mex and self pay!!! One of my friends did it and shes doing great!! What stops me is the fact that something could happen to me.

Nicky why are you here? I'M NOT GONNA BE GENTLE WITH U!! you sound like every one I've ever meet trying to say I can do it without surgery. as if surgery is the easy way out while struggling with my weight

Who are you trying to kid your over 3 hounded poundse. If you could do it by yourself why havent u??? I lost 60 pounds under a doctors supervision just to gain 70 back Im addicted to food and so are you nothing will change for you until you admit to yourself you need help and cant do it alone the sooner you do it you will look back and thinkof all the time that you wasted trying to fool yourself we have to change the way we think before changing the way we eat all the dieting and working out.wont help until we accomplish that.

In Nov 2011, I went to a consultation for WLS. I was at the point that I really felt I could still lose weight on my own. I told myself that I would give it one last effort over the next year. I knew I could do it. I even asked a bariatric specialist primary care doctor to help me. He told me that when someone has a BMI as high as mine (50ish) that only 1 out of 100 are success in losing weight and keeping it off. I was absolutely determined to be that 1%. I was also doing my research about VSG surgery, and I found this forum. By June 2012, I had gained about 10lbs. People who had surgery when I had my consult were down 70+lbs. At that point, I decided I was not going to wait a moment longer. I didn't want to gain another 10lbs by the end of the year nor did I want to put in my best effort and have a minimal loss. I had surgery at the end of June 2012, and I am currently 75lbs lighter. I don't regret it. I don't feel bad about not making it all year.

I think you are proving something to yourself. You will either rock your diet and will make adjustments to carry you through the rest of your life, or you won't. Give it your best effort. Then, be honest with yourself. Good luck!

I also struggled with the idea of surgery. I was in the non surgical program at Swedish hospital for over one year. When I started I told the PA I was working with that surgery was not an option for me. After being in the program for over one year and only losing 30 pounds and then gaining 15 back I decided surgery may be the best option for me. It was a very hard and emotional decision for me! Once I decided I wanted the surgery I could not get it fast enough. At first I thought I wanted the band but the PA I was working with suggested the sleeve. After talking to the Surgeon that is what I decided on. I made the decision sometime in May and had surgery on Aug. 27th. I have now lost 110 pounds. After having the surgery, like most people I wished I would have done it a lot sooner. With that being said I think I needed that year of trying without surgery. I also think that year has helped me be as successful as I have been so far. As you read more of this forum you will hear over and over how most people with they would have done this sooner. Good luck on what ever you decide to do!

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Nicky why are you here? I'M NOT GONNA BE GENTLE WITH U!! you sound like every one I've ever meet trying to say I can do it without surgery. as if surgery is the easy way out while struggling with my weight

Who are you trying to kid your over 3 hounded poundse. If you could do it by yourself why havent u??? I lost 60 pounds under a doctors supervision just to gain 70 back Im addicted to food and so are you nothing will change for you until you admit to yourself you need help and cant do it alone the sooner you do it you will look back and thinkof all the time that you wasted trying to fool yourself we have to change the way we think before changing the way we eat all the dieting and working out.wont help until we accomplish that.

Shakemup4 this is what i need to hear all along I kept saying I can do it but the truth was I couldn't, so im here waiting for my surgery date & I cant wait, last may I almost had a breakdown over it and had to ask my doctor to help me,,

Hey' date=' my name is Nik. I am 25 and weigh 312 at 5'10. I went to an info session for bariatric surgery a few months ago and had my doctor refer me to a non surgical weight loss program. The way it works is that I am doing the 6 months of dieting, meeting with exercise physiologists, and going to therapy in the hope that I won't need surgery. I want to be in control of my body and mind. I want to think I can do this but I know I can't do it on my own. The crazy thing is that my insurance will cover the surgery but not the help for me to actually try to get there on my own. Anyway, if the 6 months of dieting, etc , don't produce a 20%weight loss, they recommend me for surgery. I am so scared because while I know that surgery would benefit me, I want to believe I don't need it. Has anyone else struggled with this?[/quote']

Yeah I can totally relate. I lost almost 100 lbs on my own because I didnt think that I needed surgery but then the weight started to creep up on me and I gained it all back plus more. I think back then I was in denial about what it would take to keep the weight off and now I see that its better to take a different approach. One that forces u to be accountable for what u eat (or suffer the consequences) whereas before I lost the weight and then startes eating without realizing the damage I was doing. So in essence what I am trying to say is let me save u some time, I think u should opt for the surgery, it will really teach u about putting the wrong things in ur body and show u how food should be about nourishment and not about numbing our feelings. And that losing weight and keeping it off is two different things. Good luck!

I'm 21, and I chose to have this surgery because even though I didn't have high blood pressure or diabetes, I have PCOS and a family history of diabetes, heart attack, and stroke. I've never lost a significant amount of weight before, never more than 35 pounds with weight watchers and a supervised diet, and I never could keep it off.

This surgery is tool to help insure that I keep it off. Granted, IT'S A LIFESTYLE CHANGE. It's not just some fad diet. 95% of diets fail and you gain back more once you're off the diet. You have to be committed to this for life!

If you knew you could keep it off for good, would you even be considering this procedure? You also have to weight the risks like leaks, hair loss, and mal nutrition.

I'm only a 3 weeks out, but I'm hoping this will be the best decision of my life.

Nicky why are you here? I'M NOT GONNA BE GENTLE WITH U!! you sound like every one I've ever meet trying to say I can do it without surgery. as if surgery is the easy way out while struggling with my weight

Who are you trying to kid your over 3 hounded poundse. If you could do it by yourself why havent u??? I lost 60 pounds under a doctors supervision just to gain 70 back Im addicted to food and so are you nothing will change for you until you admit to yourself you need help and cant do it alone the sooner you do it you will look back and thinkof all the time that you wasted trying to fool yourself we have to change the way we think before changing the way we eat all the dieting and working out.wont help until we accomplish that.

Clearly she's admitted she needs help.. she's looking at a pretty intensive and well rounded non-surgical option but has not ruled out surgery. She is just 25. I think she's taking a perfectly sensible approach and is keeping an open mind. Where does it say she's trying to fool herself. It IS possible that she will not need surgery if the diet/exercise/therapy is sufficient for her.

I am very fond of my sleeve, the Bouncer. I am grateful to God for getting me through and backing me up in my decision. I would not go back and try conventional means even if I had a chance. I know myself. I would have failed.

That being said, I say the following:

What the sleeve did and does for me:

1. Cuts my hunger

2. Gives me pain when I eat too much

3. Makes me throw up when I eat too much or too fast

4. Taught me that I don't need vast quantities to be healthy

What the sleeve does not do for me:

1. Provides a magic solution

2. Controls my emotions and my thinking

3. Provides a permanent solution, (I know how to defeat it)

4. Eliminates my hunger

5. Makes me eat the right foods

I could have lost the weight without the sleeve. I could also have climbed Mount Everest.......

All the advise I gave her would apply to sleevers as well. I did not enjoy the surgery, I do not enjoy the effects of it. I love it because it helped me dump the excess Gman and helps me keep it off.

Nik said she was trying to avoid it. She's only 25. I am for her trying to see if she can. I am also for her not feeling at all guilty about getting the sleeve. I am not.

Anyone who can get there without it, more power to ya!

You are doing the right thing to try on your own first. Give it your best shot. To loose it on your on is always better. If you can do it and keep it off that will be wonderful. If you find out you can't then you know you did not enter into this lightly.

Annabell good for you I researched gastric surgeries ever type for the last 4yrs I ve lost a lot of weight in those yrs. Ive all so gained even more back I was listening to other people about what was best for me mean while I wasted time. I can never get back listtening to thats the easy way out just work out just eat half your meals just dont drink diet sodas you name it I heard it from my family and friends ....giving me their opinions all while looking great and feeling good about their selves.when there is a sinificate amount of weight to loss we need a little help and there's no shame in that. GOOD LUCK AND CONGRATS TO ALL OF US WHO DECIDED TO LIVE!!!!!!

Yes-probably (most) everyone on this site. The only problem about doing it yourself is the "Regaining" lot the weight you lost. My dear friend lost over 125 pounds going to weight watchers. And now less that a year later he has out on 80% of that weight. Give him another 3 months and he will be heavier than when he started WW. So sad.