I'm in the very early stages of possible VSG (seminar). I'm 36 years old, probably 6'3 to 6'4 and weigh in at just a tad under 330 pounds. I was at my heaviest probably in the spring at about 340 pounds. I've tried Weight Watchers successfully in 2011 (well kinda of) and was able to get down to about 280 pounds with regular exercise but, it all came back. I still am fairly active but, don't really see myself as obese mentally but, I do when I look in the mirror. My family loves to tell me I'm gigantic, but when I've brought up surgery, I'm told "you're not that big, you can lose it with a good diet." I've tried numerous diets only to be moderately successful for a short time before the weight comes back on.

I'm just all twisted on this right now.

Funny thing is I was very skinny until I reached 24 and it's been a steady rise in weight since.

You sound very similar to me. I'm 37, 6'4" and was around 360lbs in the spring. I've always been athletic and never really thought of myself as 'morbidly obese'. I went to the gym often, had no problem getting around, or any of the common problems that you hear about on this board. But I knew my luck and relatively good health wouldn't last much longer at that weight. I was sleeved on 10/24. Today I weighed in at 294. I lost a good bit pre-op, which I knew I could, but I also knew that I couldn't keep it off and lose more without the sleeve. So far, I'm extremely happy with the decision.

My current goal is to get to 240lbs. At that point, I'll reassess if I should drop further. I

I'm in the same neighborhood as you guys. I'm 5'11'' and at my highest was 275. Even at that weight, I didn't consider myself that obese (until I looked at the charts). I'd walk, even play racquet sports and remained reasonably active. For me, what pushed me over was that fact that my weight kept creeping up year after year and, when I really thought about it, things were getting harder. Airline seats were shrinking, I was watching more tv rather than getting out and stuff that I used to do like skiing was plain off the table.

It seemed like 39 was way too young to throw in the towel. I wanted to loose weight for good, not just go through another diet and gain cycle. So there you have it. I was sleeved YESTERDAY. I'm alive but in a little pain. Looking forward to getting through the next few days and onto the good stuff.