I've fought to lose weight over and over, like all of us. I was very happy with my progress in the last year & then hurt my knee while exercising. I've since gained between 10-15 lbs and it's freaking me out. I asked about WLS and have always said I never would, it just became my obvious choice. I have lost a good amount on my own and do not want to stop. I feel like I lose so much and hit a road block. The doctors I've met with say it's amazing what I've accomplished and kept it off(100-120 lbs) I've never thought of it that way, I always think I have so far to go, why does it stop. My family gets happy I am losing but always says that I have a long way to go. So, seeing these doctors and having a psych evaluation has really opened my mind to a new way of thinking about this. It is damn hard to lose weight. I've done good and want to get under 200 lbs., I'm sitting at 350 today. My 1st meeting is this afternoon, there's 6 weeks worth. They said it's a 4-10 month process but it seems to be going faster and may be I can have surgery in January, depends on insurance and other factors. At this point, I don't know if I'll tell anyone beside my husband and 3 supportive friends. My family and their judgements give me too much anxiety. The physiologist said its no ones business and up to me. We'll see.

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The process will go very fast. My insurance required 6 months medically supervised weight loss. I will be having surgery in two weeks. Time flew by. As far as telling people, stick with the support system you already have. No need to cause extra stress from outsiders.

Welcome to this wonderful, crazy and yes, sometimes frustrating ride! You will find a lot of great advice and support on this forum - although, it may not always be what you want to hear. That tough advice is often the best though.

For your own peace of mind - choose very carefully who you tell about your plans for surgery. Most people, unless they have had or at least researched the surgery themselves, know very little but think they know everything and can be very judgemental about. And even more, just don't understand the concept at all and may not mean to be unsupportive but if they've never struggled with weight themselves, don't get that it isn't as easy as "going on a diet". And you will most likely hear from those types that you are taking the "easy way out" - which just shows their ignorance because there is nothing easy about undergoing surgery and having to completely change your relationship with food.

Check with your insurance company now regarding their policy for weightloss surgery and ask for it in writing. They should be able to clearly tell you if THEY require any sort of medically supervised period prior to approving you for weightloss. Some don't require any, some require 3 months and some (like mine) require 6 months. If you do have a 6 month period - don't get discouraged. It will go by MUCH MUCH faster than you think! I'm actually thankful I had that 6 months to prepare. It gave me time to get all the pre-op testing done (and don't worry if one test comes back with a result that requires additional testing) and more importantly do my own research and fully prepare mentally for this. It also gave me a chance to work on changing my eating and starting to practice a healthier lifestyle prior to surgery. This gradual change in eating/exercise helped tremendously with my initial recovery from surgery.

Best of luck to you and keep us updated on your journey!

@@LifeRejuvenated I only told my SO and one sister for the months of prep. I told my Mom in July and since getting my date a few weeks ago have told my boss and one of my nieces. You don't have to tell anyone else - and it's not something you need to decide now anyway. Good luck on your journey!!!

Thanks for all your priceless advice and experiences. I did do 8 months of Doctor/dietician supervised classes. The support really was great and I learned a ton about food, nutrition, myself and lost weight.

Tonight's 1st class was pretty similar but surgery was the topic & changing your eating habits quite drastically. I'm good with what needs to be done but the getting used to "eating pea-sized bites of food" kinda alarmed me I guess mostly. Can anyone comment on that? Thanks!

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I'm pre-op and I'm trying to focus on taking small bites and chewing very very well. I think after surgery your tummy is going to tell you, in a not so pleasing way, if you are taking bites that are to large or not well chewed.

CW 227 5'5" 61yrs

I myself just started the pre-op process I've lost 27 lbs since July with Weight Watchers. My insurance requires 3months of documented meetings. I'm trying to have surgery in January 2017. I too am not telling many people only my immiate family and my two best friends (who are both nurses) so I feel I have a good support team and don't plan on inviting the haters into my business. Good luck