Why do I keep trying to do this on my own without surgery? I have been a professional dieter for over 20 years. Up and down. Up and down. I've gotten to the point where I don't want to try it on my own anymore because I know that I won't be successful and lose anything significant. I'm about 80-100 pounds overweight and I just need to do it! My insurance won't cover any type of WLS so I guess that keeps holding me back. Plus, I guess in the back of my head I'm afraid I will fail at this too. Thoughts? I need to do this. I feel like I've wasted 20 years trying to make this work. Thanks:)

I can totally relate, except I'd been dieting over 35 years. I've gained and lost probably 400lbs. I'm afraid to do the math!! When my weight was creeping up again, I started running through my diet repertoire to decide which one to go on next, but I was sure I'd just gain it back so I had a consultation with my surgeon and never looked back. I'm sorry your insurance doesn't cover it. But if there is any way you can swing it financially, do it!! I have zero regrets. It's been a bit of a roller coaster and I've had a small regain, which I'm losing now, but all in all, I'm a success!!

Ugh I'm sorry your insurance wont cover it. I can't tell you "just eat healthy and exercise" because I'd feel like a hypocrite. Plus you mentioned you've been up and down with diets for so long. But what I will tell you is that I hate diets. Lifestyle change is the key. If you decide to get this surgery, I'd recommend seeing a psychologist/therapist regularly so that you can break the "inevitable failure" cycle mentally. I went through the same thing.
To be 100% honest the fear of failure can be a huge motivator.
You got this!

Hope this helps :-)

SD: 12/14/16
SW: 268lbs
CW: 224lbs
GW: 160lbs


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Thank you for responses! I'm ready to move forward in the right direction!

I had the exact same thought before deciding to do surgery. I had lost a lot of weight on my own, only to gain it back. When my family doctor raised the possibility of surgery, I resisted it because I figured that I would still have to exercise and watch what I ate to lose weight, even with the surgery. I thought that I could just do that on my own - even at 518 lbs!

Now that I have had the surgery (November 2015), I am struck by how much of a difference it has made (down 293 lbs as of my weigh-in this morning). I still have to watch what I eat and make sure to exercise, but the surgery has made a major difference to me. For me, the difference is sort of like the difference between swimming with or against the current. Both require you to expend the effort and actually swim, but it is a lot easier to make headway swimming with the current. Gastric sleeve surgery has allowed me to swim with the current in terms of improving my health. My life is completely different today that what it was in 2015.

I was also self-pay. My recommendation is to look at the options that surgeons in your area make to self-pay patients. Some have some fairly creative programs that can help make paying for the surgery and/or working with your insurance company a bit more manageable.

I keep going back and forth about whether or not I could do it on my own. I am 38 years old, the last time I lost a significant amount of weight I was a junior in college and was 21 years old.
My primary doctor recommended gastric sleeve back in fall of 2013
It actually hurt my feelings.
I was interested in getting it done, my wife has adamantly opposed.
She was convinced we could do it the "natural" way.
Here we are three and a half years later, heavier than ever and my wife is actually further along in the journey and is not looking back. She is getting sleeved at all costs.
I want to lose weight, but I am scared of surgery.
Mine won't be until August, so I have time to get mentally prepared.

Thanks for sharing. I like the concept swimming with the stream because that is so true. I feel like every attempt has been up stream with little results.

I have lost well over 100 pounds on 3 occasions, not to mention the countless tines I've lost 10-30 pounds. I have a 100% failure rate at keeping it off. My hope is this will help me keep it off. Without surgery you have about a 2% chance of maintaining a 100+ pound loss for 5 years. That tells me trying to do it on my own yet again was a waste of time and energy.

At 17 days out I'm still a little in the "what the hell did I do?" stage. But I know it'll get better. So I listen to those who are years out and would do it again in a heartbeat. I want to be that person someday.

I'll be watching keep us posted I'm getting my surgery in april or may.