My name is Robin and I am a weight loss surgery patient. I have struggled with weight my whole life. I blame it on my paternal grandmother's genes, haha! Honestly, I remember my mom always having snacks after school but she limited them to one serving. I CRAVED more! I would sneak and get toast and put sugar on it.....skip the cinnamon and go straight to the white sugar.....and now I know why it's considered as bad as cocaine! I controlled my weight by being active. BUT, when I got married right out of high school my weight started climbing. About 2 years later when my first son came I think I gave up on ME. I totally gave my family every ounce that I had. My husband would play ball with our son after work and I sat on the couch....I was exhausted. I was always tired and exhausted. Fast forward to 11 years later, we decided to have our 2nd son....after that amazing child was born, my weight skyrocketed! I have tried every diet known to man. Sitting in weight watchers was humiliating; sitting at the ball field while the boys played and being so miserable and exhausted was humiliating; going on vacation and wearing shorts instead of a bathing suit was humiliating....I can go on and on...you all know the drill....covering it all up with a smile and lots of clothes.....and a tan! After my 2nd son was born I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Before that I always joked that I was the healthiest fat person ever. I always thought of arthritis as being an old person's way of complaining about being old. Boy did karma hit me in the face. I was 30ish and after researching RA, I realized that this is a very dangerous disease. The inflammation in my body could actually kill me! Then comes steroids, disease modifying meds....then high blood pressure, restless leg syndrome, anemia, horrible menstrual cycles and I FELT LIKE A FAILURE! In 2012 I was introduced to a program that my husband's employer had in Costa Rica and I could have weight loss surgery FOR FREE! 2012 I had gastric sleeve and immediately started losing. I started walking afterwards, then running, then biking, then triathlons, then half marathons, then long bikes and I started gaining weight! WTF, gaining weight while doing all this crap.....I hit a LOW! More research......I found that I had to learn how to be successful......Just having the sleeve doesn't solve all the pre-surgery issues we have with food....see, all that crap I was eating still went down really easy.....So here I am again re-learning 6 years post op. I did not reach goal weight (YET). I am, however, losing again after 6 years and getting stronger than EVER! Best thing is.....I no longer have high blood pressure, restless leg, anemia, and my RA is under control. I am down to 1 medication for that and only steroids when a flare comes! I AM TAKING BACK CONTROL OF MY LIFE...even at 52 years old!

If anyone here needs support, I have a private facebook group where we are starting a back on track challenge (free). Please look me up on Facebook.... Robin Englehardt Benson and send me a friend request with a message to be added.

Welcome to the boards! Congrats on taking back control!!

10 minutes ago, robin33 said:

My name is Robin and I am a weight loss surgery patient. I have struggled with weight my whole life. I blame it on my paternal grandmother's genes, haha! Honestly, I remember my mom always having Snacks after school but she limited them to one serving. I CRAVED more! I would sneak and get toast and put sugar on it.....skip the cinnamon and go straight to the white sugar.....and now I know why it's considered as bad as cocaine! I controlled my weight by being active. BUT, when I got married right out of high school my weight started climbing. About 2 years later when my first son came I think I gave up on ME. I totally gave my family every ounce that I had. My husband would play ball with our son after work and I sat on the couch....I was exhausted. I was always tired and exhausted. Fast forward to 11 years later, we decided to have our 2nd son....after that amazing child was born, my weight skyrocketed! I have tried every diet known to man. Sitting in weight watchers was humiliating; sitting at the ball field while the boys played and being so miserable and exhausted was humiliating; going on vacation and wearing shorts instead of a bathing suit was humiliating....I can go on and on...you all know the drill....covering it all up with a smile and lots of clothes.....and a tan! After my 2nd son was born I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Before that I always joked that I was the healthiest fat person ever. I always thought of arthritis as being an old person's way of complaining about being old. Boy did karma hit me in the face. I was 30ish and after researching RA, I realized that this is a very dangerous disease. The inflammation in my body could actually kill me! Then comes steroids, disease modifying meds....then high blood pressure, restless leg syndrome, anemia, horrible menstrual cycles and I FELT LIKE A FAILURE! In 2012 I was introduced to a program that my husband's employer had in Costa Rica and I could have weight loss surgery FOR FREE! 2012 I had gastric sleeve and immediately started losing. I started walking afterwards, then running, then biking, then triathlons, then half marathons, then long bikes and I started gaining weight! WTF, gaining weight while doing all this crap.....I hit a LOW! More research......I found that I had to learn how to be successful......Just having the sleeve doesn't solve all the pre-surgery issues we have with food....see, all that crap I was eating still went down really easy.....So here I am again re-learning 6 years post op. I did not reach goal weight (YET). I am, however, losing again after 6 years and getting stronger than EVER! Best thing is.....I no longer have high blood pressure, restless leg, anemia, and my RA is under control. I am down to 1 medication for that and only steroids when a flare comes! I AM TAKING BACK CONTROL OF MY LIFE...even at 52 years old!

If anyone here needs support, I have a private Facebook group where we are starting a back on track challenge (free). Please look me up on Facebook.... Robin Englehardt Benson and send me a friend request with a message to be added.

It's never too late to make changes. So many people are struggling with weight gain. Your experience and support in this area is needed. People need to know you can get back into weight loss mode. Keep inspiring! thanks for your post.

Great job getting back on track.

I am just starting, but I appreciate the cautionary tale. Everyone tells you that the surgery is not magic, but it is hard to believe at first as the pounds melt away.

May I ask were you had it done in Costa Rica? who your surgeon was?