rather than keep trying the old fashioned route.

I am 5'4" tall and weight 255. I decided on this surgery because I feel like my life is on hold and I dont want to get to the point that things are more out of control than they already are. I am 34 and would like to have children some day. I would also like to marry my long term boyfriend but I will NOT be a fat bride or a fat pregnant woman that is unhealthy.

3 people at work have had this procedure are are happy and healthy with a new out look on life.

my BMI is about 43.

so, whats your story guys? ones that have been sleeved or waiting to be sleeved, Id love to hear from you.

If I had known about it when I still weighed 255 lbs in 2007 (I'm 5'3) and how cheap it was to get it done in Mexico I would have done it then. Of course, I have the luxury now to look back and see exactly how I yo-yoed all the way up to 285 lbs in 2013.

It would have been much easier to do this surgery as a student during a summer and not a full time employee.

I'm 47. Potentially more than half my life is over. I wanted to live like a thin person. After years of yo yo dieting, I could no longer lose weight, pretty much no matter what I did pre-sleeve. After losing 45 lbs due to almost dying, I put it ALL back in 3-4 months! There is no way a person can eat enough to put on 45 lbs in 3 months I know I didn't.

At that point, I had to accept my metabolism, my body chemistry, something somewhere was broken. I could control my behaviors, but I could not control the outcomes. I could eat like a normal person, I could restrict calories, I could exercise, but I could no longer effect my weight.

There are things I want to learn and do. I want to learn to scuba. There are many places I want to snorkel. I want to fly overseas without having to buy a business class ticket because we are too big to comfortably sit side by side in economy for 10 hours at a stretch. I want many more years with my husband whom I met late in life, but who brings me so much joy. I want to go hiking and take in the view from mountaintops.

I don't want to be diabetic, have high blood pressure, and be an old, sick person. I want to be healthy and active because that's how your brain stays sharp. I don't want my children to have to take care of a mother who is completely losing her marbles, but manages to retain her stubbornness and independence.

And that's the main thing. I want to be independent and not have to rely on others to take care of me. I need that, and the sleeve gave me a path to all of it.

^^^^very inspiring post gamergirl..

as the date approaches, I am getting more and more nervous. I know I am making the right descision, its just hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Too many "what ifs"..

what if I didnt try hard enough on my own

what if people judge me

what if it doesnt work

what if I regret it

what if.................

sigh......... I need encouragement

what if you don't do it? That's the question I ask myself when I get the what if's...

if I don't do it, I will either stay the same or continue to get bigger b/c that's what's happened all my life.

what if you don't do it? That's the question I ask myself when I get the what if's...

if I don't do it' date=' I will either stay the same or continue to get bigger b/c that's what's happened all my life.[/quote']

^^^THIS. What if you don't do it? When faced with big decisions, I always ask myself one question. When I look back at my life, will I regrets NOT having done it? If the answer is yes, then I do it.

I find that as people look back over their lives, people have the most regrets about all the things they DIDN'T do, not the things they did.

So, I have a BMI of 40. I, like others have been heavy all my life. Even at my fittest, playing soccer in college, I was still considered overweight. I am a thin person trapped in a fat body. I know that I am destined for greater things and this surgery is the tool that will help me achieve them. I have people tell me everyday that I'm not big enough to warrant the surgery. You and only you can make this decision. Good luck.

WOW, you are so right about the "regrets about NOT doing something" rather than regrets that you did something. I just never thought of it that way. I do this with all decisions in my life.. even things as simple as where to go out to eat, I flip flop and am very indecisive. this is the biggest descision I have ever made and I cant believe I am doing it!!!

My BMI is only 33. Only. Pfft. I've been 50-60 lbs overweight my entire life. Am I smaller than a lot of people? Sure. Do I still suffer from living the life of a fat girl? Absolutely.

You will succeed. Let me rephrase this. WE will succeed. It won't be the easiest but it will happen. Bc we both, all of us, deserve to feel good in life. And that's what it's all about.

Well that and I'd like to stop wearing a t-shirt at the pool.