My goal is to lose 38% of my total starting body weight.

I state it that way because people (those who I've confided in) tell me "you don't need that surgery." Even my bariatric surgeon (who I think is great) looked at me as they were prepping me for surgery and said "no one would believe you are a bariatric patient." These statements bother me because this is not an easy decision for anyone who makes it.

I am 4' 11". I have never been 5' and will never be. My BMI is 35.3. I am 57 yrs old. I have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, have joint pains... I can go on. At my highest I weighed 175 lbs. My body knows I'm obese.

I have lost a lot of weight, several times and in-between I was either losing or gaining. I always gained more back. My sister (5' 4") and I lost a lot together a few years and then we both gained it all back and then some. Last year my sister confided in me that she was 4 weeks post surgery for the sleeve. I was shocked. I wasn't in the mindset to start another diet again yet but surgery seemed extreme. I read her brochures and listened to her process and still doubted.

I saw her again this last summer (lives a couple of states away) and after 8 months, she lost 65 lbs and looks great! I watched her and she behaved "normally". She didn't dwell on food and she didn't require a special diet. She was enjoying her new life with her new body. I was tired of failed diets. I went to the next information session on bariatric surgery. Three months later I had sleeve surgery.

I don't want to review my status right now because I know I am healing and changing and any issues are temporary. I can tell you that I am down 15 lbs (10 day pre-surgery diet and first days of clear liquids). Kudos to my sister who is my support group.

I hope you heal quickly and that this brings you the health you desire and deserve. Its easy for others to look at our "packaging" and make assumptions about us and what we "need". Don't worry about what others think. This is all about you! Good luck and welcome to the losers bench!

Well hello DSdunne, I'm glad you shared that. I my self am a shorty at 5 feet tall and I weigh 170 lbs. so when I started telling people that I was thinking about the sleeve , they would say " you don't need that ,you're not big enough for that surgery" oh and how that runs over me like cold water! They don't know what it's like to be short and FAT! Nor have they ever seen me at the weight I should be, so who are they to tell us what we need. So I stopped telling people and went on my quest and now have my surgery for March 11. I feel you completely! We will show them, won't we. Good luck to you and to all the best health. Nikkidoodlebug