I’m a couple of weeks away and I’m getting nervous. Will I ever be able to eat a couple of bites of birthday cake again? Will I forever only be able to eat two spoonfuls at a time? Will I ever enjoy an occasional (half) glass of wine again? Will I stick with it or will I be part of the 30% that regains the weight?

Did others go through this?

Are you commited to make it succeed, even if in maintainance you can have only a miniature amount of any of them? Can you say those don't attract me any more? I'm saying this for myself as much as you, the way my journey has gone I've almost given up at times. But I look at the future sans WLS and it's UGLY. More pain, more crippling, more organs and body systems breaking down from the strain, waking up to a heart attack or not waking up at all. Having my son some bright morning finding me dead. Sheeet I'll crawl across broken glass if necessary. Better the life after than the life I have Now. Sure it's scary, you're human, no reason you wouldn't be except for the fact you're doing the right thing, at the right time and for the right reason. Let's put our Big Girl panties on, pull them up just enough we don't give ourself a wedgie and March forward. Are you with me?

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Thank you for the talking to I needed. One thing that gets me to snap out of it is considering the alternative. I’m sick of struggling to get up off the floor after playing with my girls. I sick of not going to the theater because my ass doesn’t fit in the freakin’ seat. I’m sick of buying new clothes and now only being on the web because I loathe dressing rooms. My health is still ok, TG. I’m lucky in that sense. I fear the day my little girls grow up to realize their mother is the fat old lady.

So yes, big girl (no pun intended) panties coming on. Glad I just did laundry.

Hi there-it’s normal to be afraid, it is a major surgery and a permanent change. Might be strange if you weren’t afraid. I went through fear fits right up to getting on the operation table. I dealt with my fear through research as I’m a sciencey kinda gal, but maybe some of these links and facts will help.

fact: for many obese people like you and I, the stats show that we’re highly likely to fail keeping weight off ( if we can lose it at all) without surgery

fact: bariatric surgery is the most successful method of weight reduction in our arsenal today

Fact: while there are risks of complications, laporoscopic bariatric surgery is as safe or safer than many other common surgeries like joint replacements or gallbladder removal

fact: doctors don’t completely understand all the mechanisms but bariatric surgery (aside from the band) can help your body reset to a healthier weight and does not typically reduce your basal metabolic rate as much as if you lost the weight through dieting alone. This is partly due to how it affects your hunger hormones. Keeping your bmr up is an important part of succeeding at weight loss.

Fact: while it may feel barbaric, you and I live at a time where surgery is the best option giving the food-rich environment we’re exposed to constantly, an environment that our bodies did not evolve to deal with. Maybe in 20 years they’ll have less invasive fixes but we need to live our lives now.

Fact: you’re worth it. Hopefully you have a bariatric team behind you reinforcing this. Your team has helped many people through this process and unless they’re all masochists they do it because the see the positive impacts on people’s lives.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/health/bariatric-surgery.html

http://www.obesityhelp.com/articles/surgery-is-not-the-easy-way-out-a-bariatric-surgeons-perspective

I suspect it also helps to be realistic about the tool. As my nurse put it, I am unlikely to reach a so-called normal BMI (according to the stats) but I will be a healthier weight and much healthier person.

Best of luck,

Diane