My Dad keeps trying to talk me out of it because I'm "too young for somthing so drastic" and I "haven't tried every other diet out there." He seems convinced that after everything I've been through (I was on my first diet at the age of SEVEN (7)!!) there's still some magical diet that will make me lose all the weight and keep it off.

I don't want to spend the rest of my life dieting and going to the gym for hours everyday and starving. I don't want to have to excessivly count calories and carbs and such. Not for the rest of my life. I can't do that. Dad expects me to spend the rest of my life hungry and exauhsted from dieting, and that is just not somthing I can do!

I want to be able to eat like a normal, health-consious person. I want to be able to fill up on a peice of chicken and some salad. I want to be able to make healthy choices most of the time, but be able to eat "junk" a little bit of the time, too. Just like everyone else. I want to be able to wake up and take a 30 minute walk in the morning, without feeling like I've been hit by a truck. I'd like to be able to peddle my bike up more than 2 hills before gasping for air.

But even though the sleeve will be able to help me achieve the life I want, my dad is still firmly against it. I'm 18, so it's not like he can stop me, but I'd be nice to have his support.

Edited October 25, 201312 yr by Kyrie

Just a quick note, so much that's been written already is excellent!

In regard to your dad: You are doing a lot of reading and research, but he is not. Share with him facts and information that will educate him and comfort him. Print out whatever info you think would help him understand your situation and the sleeve surgery in general, so he can read it, too. That really helped my husband.

And as someone said, be sure you are ready to give up the typical American junk-food diet. The sleeve will help a LOT, but it does require your personal readiness to change. Yes, eventually you can have a slice of pizza or a couple of chips, but are you really ready to give most of that up? If you are, then go for it, girl. I wish I'd been able to do this long ago!

I'm 23 and had my surgery just over 5 months ago. I believe it's difficult for others who don't live with the problems and frustrations of being overweight understand that surgery is our way of reclaiming our lives and taking control of our health. I tried many diets and exercise routines and lost and regained the same 15 pounds for years. I believe having the surgery at this time in your life is a good idea. I will say that one thing I wish I had prepared myself a bit more on is how much life changes after the surgery. It is a lifetime commitment. I also didn't understand how people could be depressed or have rough patches after getting the sleeve, but now I do.

I think no matter what your age is, you just have to be ready to commit to a major lifelong change. Most people I talked to when I was deciding to have surgery only had one regret, that they didn't do it sooner. Best of luck to you