MacMadame

I usually tell everyone everything about what is going on with me. But the last time I lost a huge amount of weight, I had problems with buttinskies at work who would watch everything I ate and question if I was "allowed" to eat it, and try to monitor my eating, my weight and my exercising. Um, I didn't like that. :biggrin: I think if you invite everyone into your life, then it's a lot harder to say "none of your business" when they get farther in than you intended. So this time, I think I won't invite them in. I'm sure I'll end up telling a lot of people, plus when I make phone calls at work, everyone can hear, so eventually everyone will know. But if I don't run around discussing it with everyone all the time, but let people know gradually and quietly, I think it will work out better for everyone involved.

I'm 5 ft and if I weighed what those BMI charts said to weigh, I'd look really unhealthy. I want to be a size 12. Whatever weight that is. :biggrin:

Here's the corrected link: Brain Scans Hint at Why We Overeat And it was interesting! :biggrin:

Yes, I really worry about that with today's young girls. Apparently the absolutely worst insult you can get on the playground is "you're fat". My daughter has always been one of the tiniest kids in her class. Another girl -- who does have a weight problem -- called her fat one day and she came home in tears. I'm a bit :scared2: that she would take this seriously, but she did. They clearly have some warped views of their own bodies and have absorbed the view of society in general that being fat is a crime of some sort even if she doesn't have a clear idea of what that means.

I am always very open with my kids. My son's attitude is "whatever". He doesn't see it as his business, plus he's a teen and his own issues are so much more interesting to them than mine. :scared2: I was quit surprised by my daughter's reaction though. She has been begging me not to get the surgery because she doesn't want me to change! She says I look great the way I am. She also claims that I don't look any different than I do in my wedding pictures. This is pretty amusing, because I'm about 20 years older and I weight about 90 lb. more, plus I was wearing contacts back then and had curly hair instead of the glasses and straight hair (with pink streaks!) that I have now. So even if there wasn't a weight issues, I clearly don't look anything like I did back then. :wink2: But she's only 9, so I guess that's just 9-year old logic. Anyway, I've promised her that I won't lose so much weight that I'm not still able to give "soft hugs", but I have been firm that I have to do this for my health and to get my life back. At the same times she's quite the little scientist and is very interested in how the surgery works and what is involved. I think I can get her enthusiastic about it if I bring her to a meeting or an appointment.

I can't take off from work until the Fall so I'm actually okay with it taking so long. I'm a bit worried that if I start now, my insurance will be one of those with only a 3 month diet requirement. :scared2: But I'm glad I read here first. Otherwise, I would have waited until Summer to try to sign up and then been hit with the 6 month requirement and that would have SUCKED.

Hi- I live in Northern CA and am thinking about surgery. I've been struggling with my weight since I was about 6 or 7 and went on my first diet at 13. A few years ago, I decided that I wasn't going to diet any more but just listen to my body and see what happens. I think my relationship with food is much better than it used to be because of that, but my weight hasn't changed. Until recently I was one of those people who are prejudiced about this surgery. It seemed like cheating. But two things happened. First, my neighbor got it and not only has he lost weight, but he looks so much HEALTHIER. You can see he has more energy and his face isn't so red any more. I was really impressed by that. Secondly, I realized that my body lies to me and tells me it's hungry when it can't possibly be. As long as that happens, I'll never be able to lose weight and KEEP IT OFF. I am not the kind of person who sits down and eats a bag of chips. I eat very small, healthy meals. I just eat about 4-6 of them a day plus constant snacking. It seems like every two hours my body thinks it's hungry and just having a nibble of something isn't enough. So I've decided to get the surgery and thought that was the easy part. Until I came here! :thumbup: Now my head is spinning with all the different kinds of surgery, how to pick a doctor, etc. I'm also worried now that I won't be covered by insurance ... I didn't realize how many people self-pay for this insurance and how many on the edge of the guidelines (like I think I might be) don't qualify. I'm counting on you guys to help guide me through...

Ooh, I like your Avatar! I have lots and lots of questions. Before I came here, I thought I had actually done my research.

Which doctors practice out of Washington Hospital in Fremont?

I'm also looking. Normally I use Palo Alto Medical Foundation for everything and have for over 10 years. I love them. Had my 2nd kid there, do all my lab work and tests there, see all their specialists when I need to. I've never had a bad experience with them in all that time, either. But according to their web site, they only do RNY and I do *not* want that. I'm kind of flummoxed to tell the truth. I had assumed I just had to make an appointment with my PCP, tell her I had decided on the surgery, and then I'd be slipped right into their system, no muss, no fuss. Now I have to worry about finding someone good, if they are in my insurance network, etc. Anyone else here who primarily uses PAMF and has had this surgery and can advise me?

I had to take heparin injections when I was pregnant with my last kid. I had a blood clot previously and that makes my risk higher than average. It wasn't that big a deal but I ended up with large areas of my lower stomach area all purple-yellow and that was gross.

I am a middled-woman, married with kids, who has been struggling with my weight all my life. Recently I decided to get Weight Loss Surgery to nip my problem in the bud permanently. I have decided to share my journey through this blog: Fatty Fights Back I hope you'll come visit me there. Sincerely, MacMadame

Thanks! I'm about to go clothes shopping now. Pray for me!

I am a middled-woman, married with kids, who has been struggling with my weight all my life. Recently I decided to get Weight Loss Surgery to nip my problem in the bud permanently. I have decided to share my journey through this blog: Fatty Fights Back I hope you'll come visit me there. Sincerely, MacMadame