I know the number one reason for wanting WLS should be to be healthier but was there ever a pivotal moment for you that wasn’t health related?

We were on vacation in Mexico this past January and we went on an excursion that was to be a horse back ride up a mountain to a waterfall. When we got to the point of getting our horses assigned the handler looked me up and down and walked over and brought back a mule, as in pack mule. I looked around and watched and everyone was assigned beautiful horses except for myself and one other heavier man who also got a mule. It was obvious why we were assigned the mules.

As I’m typing this it’s sounds so shallow and vane, but it really was embarrassing for me. Not to mention when the company sent us the photos and here I am almost dwarfing the poor animal sitting on it. It’s a little bit funny for me now but at the moment it wasn’t.

Just wondering if anyone else felt like sharing. Maybe it was a moment, photo or a comment from someone that made you say “I’ve had it”.

Imnotpicky
Surgery date: 3/1/19 for GS
5’4” 210lbs

Thanks for the awesome stories guys! This is going to be quite the inspirational thread. Having a great “why” makes any “how” bearable

For me it wasn't one specific incident, rather a series of incidents.

Doctors over the years have suggested WLS but I never had insurance that would cover it.

Maybe 8 or so years ago a little boy (maybe 4 years old) at church looked at my husband and I and asked his mom why we were so fat.

I had a baby 5 years ago and I want to be able to do all the things with her (amusement parks, Girls on the Run, soccer, ice skating, travel adventures in general).

Trying to do some basic home improvement projects last summer completely exhausted me--should not have been as exhausting as it was.

I love yoga and I want to be able to do some poses without having to manually push my belly flab out of the way.

In late 2016 I got a new job in a new state with new insurance and new doctor who suggested I'd be a great candidate for VSG. I said no. Fast forward to last July, and I told same doctor I had been thinking about what she said about VSG and had been doing research and asked for a referral. She gladly made the referral and I've gone through the six month preop program at the surgeon's office with surgery scheduled next month.

I've lost around 45 pounds on the preop program. My daughter weighs 45 pounds. When she asks me to carry her, I barely can for very long and I can't believe that I used to carry around 45 extra pounds on my person every single day. Not again. I'm done with that.

Oddly enough, no. I have been overweight my entire adult life and obese for over 20 years. I've had all of the typical awful, humiliating moments and had considered the surgery for over a decade. Then one day, with no particular trigger, I just got tired of feeling like trash and decided to put wheels in motion and do it.

On 02/18/2019 at 12:58, TeeBeau said:

For me it wasn't one specific incident, rather a series of incidents.

Doctors over the years have suggested WLS but I never had insurance that would cover it.

Maybe 8 or so years ago a little boy (maybe 4 years old) at church looked at my husband and I and asked his mom why we were so fat.

I had a baby 5 years ago and I want to be able to do all the things with her (amusement parks, Girls on the Run, soccer, ice skating, travel adventures in general).

Trying to do some basic home improvement projects last summer completely exhausted me--should not have been as exhausting as it was.

I love yoga and I want to be able to do some poses without having to manually push my belly flab out of the way.

In late 2016 I got a new job in a new state with new insurance and new doctor who suggested I'd be a great candidate for VSG. I said no. Fast forward to last July, and I told same doctor I had been thinking about what she said about VSG and had been doing research and asked for a referral. She gladly made the referral and I've gone through the six month preop program at the surgeon's office with surgery scheduled next month.

I've lost around 45 pounds on the preop program. My daughter weighs 45 pounds. When she asks me to carry her, I barely can for very long and I can't believe that I used to carry around 45 extra pounds on my person every single day. Not again. I'm done with that.

That’s amazing! Do you have a date yet?

On 02/18/2019 at 15:32, Swanton_Bomb said:

Oddly enough, no. I have been overweight my entire adult life and obese for over 20 years. I've had all of the typical awful, humiliating moments and had considered the surgery for over a decade. Then one day, with no particular trigger, I just got tired of feeling like trash and decided to put wheels in motion and do it.

Okay well I’m so sorry that you ever felt like “trash”.
Hopefully now that the decision has been made, you can make some strides in the way you look at yourself.
All of us deserve to look and feel like the best versions of ourselves that we can and this is a GREAT tool to help achieve that.
Do you have a surgery date yet?

I wanted to take my kids kayaking and my son didn’t want to go. He said I was too fat and he was afraid i would sink in the boat. ??‍♀️ I finally realized how fat I had gotten. And I wanted to be a healthier example to my daughter.

49 minutes ago, Sheribear68 said:

Okay well I’m so sorry that you ever felt like “trash”.
Hopefully now that the decision has been made, you can make some strides in the way you look at yourself.
All of us deserve to look and feel like the best versions of ourselves that we can and this is a GREAT tool to help achieve that.
Do you have a surgery date yet?

I had my surgery a little over 3 months ago. Trash is an understatement. I felt awful, physically and mentally every day, As of today, I am 46lbs. down, for a total of 66lbs. counting the pre-surgery diet. I still have a long way to go but I am so, so, happy I did this. I was walking up the subway stairs the other day and thinking that I used to have to do that with an extra 66lbs. on my back. That's like carrying a small child everywhere you go, 24/7. Before surgery I was concerned more about how the weight looked, but now I realize how badly the weight feels.

I completely understand that feeling. I’m less than 2 weeks out and down 22 pounds from surgery and 37 from my starting weight.
Even that much has made such a significant difference

Maybe this is a wrong place to post this but I am thinking of getting myself a Motivational t-shirt or sweater. It shall say " I no,longer fear the word . ."Impossible"for it contains I'm Possible within it!" Think THAT is a fine thought!???

16 hours ago, Sheribear68 said:

19 hours ago, TeeBeau said:

For me it wasn't one specific incident, rather a series of incidents.

Doctors over the years have suggested WLS but I never had insurance that would cover it.

Maybe 8 or so years ago a little boy (maybe 4 years old) at church looked at my husband and I and asked his mom why we were so fat.

I had a baby 5 years ago and I want to be able to do all the things with her (amusement parks, Girls on the Run, soccer, ice skating, travel adventures in general).

Trying to do some basic home improvement projects last summer completely exhausted me--should not have been as exhausting as it was.

I love yoga and I want to be able to do some poses without having to manually push my belly flab out of the way.

In late 2016 I got a new job in a new state with new insurance and new doctor who suggested I'd be a great candidate for VSG. I said no. Fast forward to last July, and I told same doctor I had been thinking about what she said about VSG and had been doing research and asked for a referral. She gladly made the referral and I've gone through the six month preop program at the surgeon's office with surgery scheduled next month.

I've lost around 45 pounds on the preop program. My daughter weighs 45 pounds. When she asks me to carry her, I barely can for very long and I can't believe that I used to carry around 45 extra pounds on my person every single day. Not again. I'm done with that.

That’s amazing! Do you have a date yet?

March 12

On 02/18/2019 at 15:52, Sheribear68 said:

That’s amazing! Do you have a date yet?

I was sleeved on 2/6. Down 23 pounds so far

I have needed to lose weight for the last 20 years so I have no idea why this was the pivotal moment for me but it was. Everybody says that if you do the ketogenic diet you’re guaranteed to lose weight. While I did it absolutely perfectly to the letter and I didn’t lose a single pound not even one. And this was for over a month. That was when I knew that there was just no way that I could ever lose weight on my own. Now, one month after gastric bypass I’ve lost 20 pounds. I know I did the right thing

In fall/winter 2017-18 I started to experience major side effects of all the Blood pressure medications I was on. I was withdrawing from my family, I was frustrated with my doctors, I felt they were never going to listen to me until I was a normal weight. every problem I had would always be "lose weight." I thought, I could literally die because doctors don't listen to fat people.

Also, after losing nearly 70 pounds on my own, it was coming back on. So, I made my appointment and here I am. Unfortunately I am still hypertensive and on meds, but I am feeling 50% better, so that's something.