RunningA5K

When I met with my surgeon, he gave me all of the statistics. The one that stood out to me the most was that 1 in 200 people are successful at losing weight and keeping it off on their own....without any kind of surgery. That is a HORRIBLE statistic, and one that pretty much has the other 199 set up for endless failures.
I too have chosen to tell only 3 people. My husband, an acquaintance who has had the VSG surgery herself, and last night told my very close friend, who I found out had a sister who also had WLS. No one else knows, no family, no other friends, etc. You will read about those people who tell everyone and those people who tell very few people....it's your choice, this is your personal journey, you have to do what is best for you.
For those people who think this is the easy way out, blah blah blah...they have no idea what is actually involved...but remember, people never seem to hesitate to give their unsolicited opinions and advice....I believe it should be taken with a grain of salt, and most likely brushed aside.
Best wishes to you in this life changing journey!

Walk away the pounds for sure...I even put my headphones on while I walk...

I have a huge collection of Leslie Sansone videos. She incorporates even light jogging into some of them, and has tons of videos with walk boosters(stretchie bands, walk belt, weights, etc). LOVE her and her positivity!

I have a huge collection of Leslie Sansone videos. She incorporates even light jogging into some of them, and has tons of videos with walk boosters(stretchie bands, walk belt, weights, etc). LOVE her and her positivity!

Buy yourself a Leslie Sansone Walking Video. She uses weights, bands and lots of kicking. I found that her exercise videos keep me wanting to exercise.

Hit 189 today, haven't seen this weight since high school! Pic on the left is a year ago June at my daughter's bday party. Photo on the right is today, while buying size 12 AE skinny jeans!! Highest weight 297 Jan of 2012, day of surgery 277 on Sept 17 2012. Amazing journey!

I, too, have told only one other person besides my husband, and that other person was someone who had been sleeved herself, so of course she was completely supportive. What I find so incredibly ironic about the people who judge us for doing this, is that they are the same people that judge us for being overweight. Sometimes you just can't win. It's so easy for people to say 'you are taking the easy way out' or 'why don't you just diet and exercise'. That proves how misinformed they are about this process for sure.
I like the other posters suggestion of 'this is the best course of action as determined by myself and my doctor'. End of story.
Best wishes to you!

I wish you all the luck in the world and thank you for serving our country.
The year will actually go by much faster than you think. I was supposed to have surgery 7 months ago but due to wait lists, hoops, etc. with the insurance company it took over a year. Sure 7 months ago I could have had the same experience I'm having now (or even better)...
But, I am so thankful for the extra time. I've learned alot about myself in this time. I've done work that I know deep down I wouldn't have been able to do post-op. I've also found myself much more prepared to take on the challenges I've had, thanks to the longer pre-op period.
Please advocate for yourself, but also realize sometimes the things we need are the exact opposite of the things we want. Hope everything works out for you in the end!

I, too, have told only one other person besides my husband, and that other person was someone who had been sleeved herself, so of course she was completely supportive. What I find so incredibly ironic about the people who judge us for doing this, is that they are the same people that judge us for being overweight. Sometimes you just can't win. It's so easy for people to say 'you are taking the easy way out' or 'why don't you just diet and exercise'. That proves how misinformed they are about this process for sure.
I like the other posters suggestion of 'this is the best course of action as determined by myself and my doctor'. End of story.
Best wishes to you!

I've been through the initial visit, and just today had my first of two psych appointments. Have my second psych appointment next week. Nice to 'meet' you!

Just to give you a little insight from someone who was overweight all of her life:
I will never forget the bullying (although I don't think they called it bullying back then), that I was on the receiving end of in high school. The day that the 'mean girl' started the entire bus chanting ' (insert my first and last name) IS A WHALE!' over and over for the entire 15 minute bus ride was probably the most horrifying day of my life. I was made fun of over and over again for my weight. I also had a cruel 'parental figure' who tried to 'fix' me with forcing me to eat hardly anything in front of my family, while I watched them all eat a normal dinner, because she just knew I would lose weight that way. I was made to eat gross salads while everyone else ate their regular dinner, I was forced to leave the table early so they could enjoy their dessert...in her mind, since I was the only overweight one, she needed to fix me because I was the embarrassment.
What this truly led me to (and please don't think that I am indicating that your daughter is doing the same thing, this is just MY experience) is that, yes, I was on every diet in the book, but when the cat was away, I was trying to sneak anything I could just to not feel hungry or as deprived as I was. When I was at my friends house, I was eating everything I could get my hands on because I knew I would go home and be starved again...and surprise, I never lost the weight.
Move forward to college...my first time out of the grip of the parental unit, and inside the world of pizza parties, late night Taco Bell runs, lets take a day trip to such and such place for fast food...you name it...that's what college students do...and it seemed Ike it was all the time...having a bag of chips and soda in the tv lounge, the 3 am donut calls, etc.
I'm prefacing my post with all of that to just say this...I can't imagine going through high school or college in a situation where it was pizza night, or a early morning doughnut run where I would have to follow the restrictive portions you need to eat after the sleeve. I can't imagine people not wondering what was wrong with me because I was only eating a cup and a half of food, and I can't possibly imagine what I would feel like sitting there while everyone else was doing this in front of me.
I'm not going to give you my opinion on whether or not you should let your daughter do this...I just want to give you a look at what my reality was and just put out there some of the things she might face on the other side. It's sometimes difficult for me to process the change I am making in my eating habits with my friends now and I am 41 years old..it's hard for us adults to process and change, I can't imagine the difficulty I would have faced as a teenager.
Again, this is just my experience, but it was my reality, and just something to keep in mind.
Good luck to you and your daughter.

I was 322 lb when I started and I'm now 238 lb

Just to give you a little insight from someone who was overweight all of her life:
I will never forget the bullying (although I don't think they called it bullying back then), that I was on the receiving end of in high school. The day that the 'mean girl' started the entire bus chanting ' (insert my first and last name) IS A WHALE!' over and over for the entire 15 minute bus ride was probably the most horrifying day of my life. I was made fun of over and over again for my weight. I also had a cruel 'parental figure' who tried to 'fix' me with forcing me to eat hardly anything in front of my family, while I watched them all eat a normal dinner, because she just knew I would lose weight that way. I was made to eat gross salads while everyone else ate their regular dinner, I was forced to leave the table early so they could enjoy their dessert...in her mind, since I was the only overweight one, she needed to fix me because I was the embarrassment.
What this truly led me to (and please don't think that I am indicating that your daughter is doing the same thing, this is just MY experience) is that, yes, I was on every diet in the book, but when the cat was away, I was trying to sneak anything I could just to not feel hungry or as deprived as I was. When I was at my friends house, I was eating everything I could get my hands on because I knew I would go home and be starved again...and surprise, I never lost the weight.
Move forward to college...my first time out of the grip of the parental unit, and inside the world of pizza parties, late night Taco Bell runs, lets take a day trip to such and such place for fast food...you name it...that's what college students do...and it seemed Ike it was all the time...having a bag of chips and soda in the tv lounge, the 3 am donut calls, etc.
I'm prefacing my post with all of that to just say this...I can't imagine going through high school or college in a situation where it was pizza night, or a early morning doughnut run where I would have to follow the restrictive portions you need to eat after the sleeve. I can't imagine people not wondering what was wrong with me because I was only eating a cup and a half of food, and I can't possibly imagine what I would feel like sitting there while everyone else was doing this in front of me.
I'm not going to give you my opinion on whether or not you should let your daughter do this...I just want to give you a look at what my reality was and just put out there some of the things she might face on the other side. It's sometimes difficult for me to process the change I am making in my eating habits with my friends now and I am 41 years old..it's hard for us adults to process and change, I can't imagine the difficulty I would have faced as a teenager.
Again, this is just my experience, but it was my reality, and just something to keep in mind.
Good luck to you and your daughter.

Thank you for sharing your pictures. Congratulations on such wonderful success. You look amazing!

My life changes. I have my first appointment with the general surgeon's office and NUT. I hope I can sleep tonight I am so excited!

Good luck!

I hope everything goes well at your appointments. I am still in the process of getting all my clearances. I am already insurance approved. We seem to be on almost the same schedule!

I'm just a step across the border in WI!

Hi everyone, I am in Northern Minnesota, and am super excited to be starting this journey towards my surgery. Many years ago I was ready to have the Lap Band done, and because of my insurance at the time, they didn't approve it for anyone. After having my hopes and dreams dashed so many years ago, I got back 'up on the horse' and am starting the process again, with insurance that will pay for it.
It feels like a blessing because I now know that I wouldn't have wanted the Lap Band (hindsight is always 20/20 right?)
So, I have my initial 2 hour appointment (1st hour with nurse and 2nd hour with dietician) coming up in about a week and a half, and am really looking forward to moving towards the goal of the VSG.