For me, it has been putting the weight on yet again after so many times of trying to keep it off. It has been getting to the point where my underwear and bra are tight, not being able to bend over to tie my shoes, etc.:cursing: But the worse has been my little one telling me " Mommy, you are fat!":frown::mad: I know he is only 5 but man that did sting:frown:. So I want to be here for him and my other kids. I want the outside to match the inside.

So what's your story?

I've had so many "straw" moments. Those moments have always led me to go "okay, now I'm going to do this. I'm going to lose the weight." But no matter how hard I try, it doesn't happen. That's basically what led me to the lap band. I'm considering it right now, and I've found the place I want to do it.

If I had to pick one reason as the final straw, it's just that I'm tired of feeling like I'm missing out on my life. I'm still a young guy, in my early 20s, but I've been really big for my entire life. And I feel like that's kept me from really doing so many things. Aside from the health reasons, I just want to be able to do normal things. I wanna be able to buy regular clothes, go to concerts without overlapping into the chairs on both sides of me, visit Europe, etc. So yeah, I am definitely ready for the lap band.

libguy! Welcome! Oh, how I wish I would have done this earlier in my life, but you know, I just wasn't ready. And that's ok. When you are ready, you will know. Do your research, go to a support group, and ask around. This site is HUGE! Don't miss out on life. It's so much easier now than it was when I was 21. And you have plenty of time to find yourself a hot, young thang, too. LOL! Good luck to you!

Last year I lost 10kgs with portion control and walking an hour 4 times a week. But more than the weight loss, I started to get my confidence back when my clothes started to feel loose. Then 3 months in, I broke a bone in my foot and couldn't exercise. I gained all 10 kgs back and then some. Since my foot has healed I've been saying to my DH that I would start portion controlling and exercising again, but never have, esp since starting work fulltime and uni part time this year.

Then earlier this year my family dr, who has seen me try numerous diets and pills over the course of my 20s and 30s, suggested lapbanding. I have a significant family history of diabetes and heart disease, and he thought it might be best for me to do this before I presented with any of these problems. But DH wasn't keen, he said he thought I could do it with exercise and portion control like I did before, and I left it at that.

Two months or so ago, my younger brother was diagnosed with diabetes. It's so bad that they're saying his days are numbered if he doesn't lose weight and diet. He's on huge amounts of pills everyday now.

My DH and I were talking about him one night, about how he's so young yet his life is changed forever, and DH said you keep talking about portion controlling again but you just never do it. Don't you want to be around for our son for years to come? (we have a 2yo son).

I broke down in tears, both upset and angry, and said that the worst feeling I'd ever had was after I broke my foot, and then had to watch my weight creep back up again, knowing how hard it was for me to lose those 10 kgs, but seeing how easily it came back on. I told him I felt like I was fighting a losing battle. That for every one step I took, it felt like I was being shoved back two steps.

So he said, 'what about doing that lapband surgery? Will that help?'.

So here I am, with him behind me 100%, doing what I need to do to be here for my son for a long time, to be here for my DH for a long time, to be here for my other kids for a long time, and for me, most of all for me.

And as for DH, the man who believed I didn't need a lapband? He's already started saving for an abdominoplasty if I ever need it! LOL!

My big "Aha" came when I realized I wasn't finishing my book because I didn't want to go on the local TV shows to promote it. I never felt like I weighed what the scale said I weighed, but photos always hit home with the truth. I certainly knew I did not want to see myself on TV with its "free" added pounds.

"Shut up, the camera adds ten pounds." "Ahh, so how many cameras are actually on you?" :biggrin2:Friends.

I don't know why I didn't think of this before, because it was actually humiliating. One day my husband, son and I were on our way in the car somewhere, and I dropped my cell phone in the floor and try as I might I could not bend down to get it. So.....I had my husband slam the break hard enough to get over my belly to get that cell phone. I was so embarrassed and humiliated. My husband didn't say anything and we actually laughed, but really inside I was so humiliated. And this is not the first time I have had to do this to pick something up.

There ARE no pictures of me anymore.

I refuse to pose for any, run out of the room or camera-line before the shutter can click.

If I happen to come across one on our digital card - I erase it.

If it's on paper - I rip it up.

If someone else is in the pic - I tear off my side.

Then someone said that it's unfair to my children not to have a pictures of their mother - no matter WHAT she looks like

He called me "selfish"

(another straw on this large back)

My son got married several years ago and I'm ashamed to say that I ran away from the photographer then as well.

(He divorced 2 years later - but I still hate myself for being "selfish" on his special day) :frown:

Coming from this depressed mom right now, I just wanted to encourage us, that we've made this decision, and have taken at least the first steps to make this weight go away. We're learning how to eat, we're learning how to use this tool (the lapband) and in time we WILL be healthy happy people. :frown: And who knows, Maybe down the road, we'll walk into someone's life and can help them go down the same road

Terilynn

And who knows, Maybe down the road, we'll walk into someone's life and can help them go down the same road :frown:

Terilynn

I do love this idea. That I am not alone and that one day I can help other people through the pain that being obese brings. Thank you Terilynn - yet another 'aha' moment in this thread for me!

Great thread Southerngirl. It really made me think.

Straw 1: presenting to my faculty during a professional development and getting short of breath from just talking!

Straw 2: catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror! I was devastated!

My strawsssss... There are many since my doc suggested it in Feb and I turned it down.. My risk of stroke, heart disease and diabetes.. Not wanting to go out and be social, fear of never being "ME" again.. Loss of interest in things that were important to me because they are too difficult.. my chin and breast suffocating me when I put on socks and shoes...................My son saying I was too chubby, my husband ignoring me, not letting anyone take pictures of me, or deleting them for the past 5 years... I'm the family Geneologist and the only one without a current photo...

Lellow,, your story is like mine,, finally started getting control of myself, calorie counting and exercise and I broke my leg.. One of my brothers cried in the hospital because he knew how hard I had been trying, swimming in his pool every morning for an hour and walking... It will be a year in August 08 and I am just now able to stand on one foot without severe pain.. My leg will bother me and keep me from really working out until I lose some of the weight.

Vegasgirl.. sooo funny and inspiring.. I too have had the same response in the mirror.. I see myself as a chubby but cute woman pushing 40, until a see three chins in a photo and someone I don't know at all.. I want my life back!

ELAIN::::

I can relate to that as well. My grandmother was very obese.. She would not have her picture taken at my parents wedding because she didn't want to "ruin" the photos.. It devestated my mother, expecially since she died 4 years later. I only have a few photos of her,, I don't want to relive that history for my children..

My mother in law made a point of saying she didn't take my picture at the family reunion because she didn't want to embarrass me??

for me i'm having trouble walking don't know how much longer i can work without something done, my mom is bedfast same problem arthritis, and overweight, i'm headed down that road , and i'm scared.

my dad had triple bypass a few years back. the odds are against me.

have to do something before it's too late.

for me i'm having trouble walking don't know how much longer i can work without something done, my mom is bedfast same problem arthritis, and overweight, i'm headed down that road , and i'm scared.

my dad had triple bypass a few years back. the odds are against me.

have to do something before it's too late.

It's the same for me. My mother spent the last five years of her life on dialysis. It was miserable, and all preventable if she had been able to have controlled her diet and weight when she was my age. I started ten years ago. Lost 160 lbs. Then kept it off for five years. But the last three years has seen over 100 of it creep back on. With the lapband, I feel like a woodcutter who has just discovered the powersaw. It won't cut the wood by itself, but it will make the woodcutters job so much easier!

:thumbup:I love how you put that about the woodcutter discovering a power saw!

We recently moved into a 2 story home... The stairs are killing me.. When I go up to bed its like I ran a freaking marathon... My knees hurt so bad as well... When I told my kids (now adults) that I was having the surgery they said but we like you "fat" they said wait that came out wrong we like you the way you are...Then they agreed that I would most likely feel better losing weight...

I don't worry about trying to tie my shoes I by the backless type... Tie them once good for life...LOL...