Are Your Family Members Overweight and Which of Them Supported You?

[Ele marie 92]

All of my sisters except one has had surgery.

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[jea(n__n)ette 98]

My mother is anorexic her entire life, father is out of shape but not overweight. Both parents do have high cholesterol and strokes despite not being overweight. My older sister has been overweight since childhood, her weight gain started when my mother gave her Coca-Cola instead of potentially contaminated Water when they were refugees. When my sister started losing weight from WLS, I gained weight. My little sister was briefly overweight for 1 year during college and has become anorexic like my mother. I no longer keep contact with my family, but all of my close friends have been supportive.

[BelgianGuy 350]

My whole family is "in shape" except for... my mom (well she is now) and one of my two sisters. My mom had a lapband which went wrong and was revised to a gastric sleeve.

She was thus quite supportive and was even the first one to talk to me about the gastric sleeve when she saw I was getting dangerously desesperate with myself and my health troubles.

Everyone in my family was supportive of this decision, one of my grandpa wasn't too glad about it, but now he cheers when he sees how much I've lost.

So all good!

[Madea61 27]

I come from a very obese family...everyone. my mom had bypass but has since passed away (at 62), I had an aunt that could have made it on my 600lb life that passed away in mid 40s, sister had bypass and is now bulimic and underweight, all my cousins and other aunts are big. Ive always been concious of what I eat and never been one to just eat donuts and butter etc...always carefull but still 300lbs. My husband is obese as well, worse than I. All I have here is husband and my 2yr old girl. He does not support my sleeve surgery decision and continues to eat bad. Says we all have an expiration date thats meant to be. I eat perfect for a week then wake up to my favorite Breakfast...his homefries. He doesnt get it. Its so frustrating. Right now battling with insurance to overturn a denial. Told him if it doesnt work Im going to Mexico. He is NOT happy about that.

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I know how you feel. My husband is not supportive of me. He told me that it is just a waste of time and nothing is going to change. Wish I had some one was in my corner.

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[HanSolo1977 261]

@@Madea61 we're all here for you!

[Madea61 27]

@@Madea61 we're all here for you!

Thank you

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[Megall9 268]

No one in my family is overweight or obese, I was the only one. My younger brother always had trouble putting on weight, he is 6'7" and I still remember the summer that he finally reached 200lbs. He was so excited.

I've told my mom and dad, and my brother, all of whom are very supportive and thrilled to see me taking a major stand for my health.

[MsB7 64]

2 sisters that were overweight and had Gastric Bypass. 1 Brother who was always overweight and then 1 day stopped eating properly and he lost a ton of weight but is now gaining back after 10 years. My mother has always been overweight but Not considered Morbidly Obese like us kids. My daughter is 18 and she is morbidly obese she is about 5'2 and weighs around 285-300. I know that she has gained since entering University but She won't let me see her # on the scale.. I have tried so many times to help her lose with me in the past. She doesn't really want to go to the gym or anything. She is still in denial about her weight. I have suggested the Sleeve to her. My mother supports me and 1 of my sisters supports me. My daughter is more concerned with me treating her like she is a "Fatty" (these are her words).

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

@@Madea61 ... I'm pulling for you!

You have already shown great courage by choosing WLS for yourself.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

I've always been the heaviest one in my family (of seven siblings). They range from petite and underweight to tall and athletic.

My parents weren't overweight, although my mother was a chubby child and had been teased badly. As an adult she was 5'3" and weighed 140-145 pounds, which is on the BMI border between normal-weight and overweight. My father was 5'11" and weighed 145 pounds all his life.

My maternal grandfather was very overweight (100 pounds) all his life and probably was a binge-eater. A couple of his sisters were also big (around 200 pounds). One of my dad's sisters was 50 pounds overweight, but the other ten or so aunts and uncles were of normal weight. Some of them managed the post-WWII era's stresses by smoking and drinking heavily.

Prior to my grandparents' generations, I don't think anyone in our family was unusually heavy, probably because they were all farmers and were physically active.

My siblings never bullied me or even teased me about my weight. Nor did my parents. However, some early family events and crises contributed significantly to my becoming overweight starting at age 7. I remember weighing 100 pounds in the fourth grade and was the largest person in my class.

My parents have both passed. My siblings are a very black-and-white lot who don't seek complexity or nuances in situations but tend to think each problem has a single solution. In the year prior to my surgery, I floated WLS as a general topic to some of them, but did not suggest I was considering it for myself. I heard nothing but derision and criticism of WLS's expense, safety and viability. It was clear they wouldn't support my decision, so I haven't told any of them.

My husband is the world's best spousal supporter of WLS. He's all the support I've needed or wanted.

[needtorecover 574]

My whole family struggles with their weight but I'm the heaviest. My mom was on diets my whole life growing up. My dad was always had a big belly. My brothers struggled with obesity for a while but both of them made big lifestyle changes and are in the normal BMI category (one of them is an ethical vegan and the other suffered some pretty serious mental health problems and he's feeling much better after cutting sugar, gluten, and eating a plant-based diet). Neither of them did it for weight loss but weight loss was a consequence of their dietary changes so it works for them!

Part of the reason I had WLS was because I have a young son and I don't want him to fall into bad habits the way I did when I was little. Full sugar soda, lots of candy, processed foods, fried foods... I ate a lot of that growing up because I ate what my parents prepared for me, as with any child.

If I fed my boy the way I used to eat, I'd set him up for childhood obesity and after going through that myself, that's the last thing I want for him. I'm not fanatical about it or anything. I just quietly feed him fruits, veggies, lean meats, whole grains, and cheese without being preachy about it. I don't want him to think food is an issue, something you have to control, something to reward or punish yourself with, or have it imbedded into his emotions somehow. I don't know if there's really anything I can do about that because of our culture but I'm doing the best I can at home to give him a good start and enjoy fresh, healthy foods. I also want to be lighter so I can keep up with him. As I lose weight, movement is easier, and it'll keep getting easier with less fat holding me down. I don't want him to perceive exercise as atonement for a poor diet or something he HAS to do to stay healthy. I want him to enjoy moving for the fun of it (like riding bikes, swimming, running through sprinklers, playing games and sports, etc.). He'll be naturally inclined to do these things as a little kid but I want him to keep moving as he gets older and not sit on his butt in front of the TV like I did.

I see the mistakes my parents (unknowingly) made with me and I'm doing what I can to avoid these mistakes with my son. I know I'm going to screw up somewhere, but I hope I can at least prevent him from developing a weight problem because once obesity happens it doesn't go away without major interventions, as we all have learned.

[jban0307 14]

Mom and Dad are both overweight, brother and sister are both healthy and in shape. My aunt on my dads side had gastric bypass 10 years ago and has recently started gaining back a little. I have 2 cousins (her daughters) that have been sleeved and are both doing fantastic. Everyone- family, friends, coworkers- are extremely supportive of my decision to get WLS, except for my husband. It's a financial thing to him, and he doesn't think it will work. He hasn't said that, but I can read between the lines. He kept promising to pay for it if I jumped through all these hoops. See a doctor, check. Talk to a nutritionist, check. Get a personal trainer, check. Try everything else first, check check check (since I was 16). Now he's still giving me the run around a year later and I've decided to take matters into my own hands. I'm going to Mexico and he is NOT happy. I wish he was onboard to share in my excitement, but I gotta help myself here. I'm so grateful for the support from the rest of my family though. After reading these responses, it appears not everyone is so lucky.

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[Christinamo7 4,042]

Parents both have struggled with weight. Mom lost 150# about 20 years ago, no surgery. she has been an AMAZING role model for loving yourself and accepting the stages in life. has gained back maybe 30#? due to a problem with her heel limiting her walking somewhat. I consider her to be a wild success. My Dad is overweight but not obese. He looks EXACTLY like Santa Claus, sparkling blue eyes and white beard.

1 of 2 biological sisters is heavy, has PCOS. Adopted sister (adopted as an adult, baby sister's best friend who lost her natural family) struggles with morbid obesity.

My husband and all 7 of my children are and always have been normal weight. My husband is the biological father of the two youngest.

Everyone has been very supportive. my parents were afraid of me having the surgery as was middle sister (she is a nurse and so has dealt with and seen things go wrong) but once I was safely on the other side of it they are very happy to see me regain my health. My father's brother had the sleeve 2 years ago, and everyone regards it as literally saving his life. Aunts, Uncles, cousins are supportive because they just don't want to see me decline and die early.

I have a close immediate family though, and even if they disagreed with me they would support my choices and love me. I am very blessed.

I would love for the two sisters who would qualify to have the surgery - but we have not discussed that. perhaps if they see my success. time will tell.

[Christinamo7 4,042]

Seriously though, I honestly don't know if I could have found my way back from my grief without him.

As my bumper sticker says: "Who rescued who?"

I am so glad you had him. I know the feeling. When my twins died, if I hadn't had my oldest Joel (who was little and needed to be taken care of) I think I would have just wanted to go in my bed and stay there until I died. <3

[Montana Gal 448]

Both of my parents and my brother are of normal weight. My father and brother are extreme athletes and very obsessed about their weight and excersise. Both of my grandmothers were also obsessed and very critical of what they ate though neither were overweight. I fought against their obsession my whole life, as a child then as an adult. I turned into a very clever sneak eater!! My mother has dieted her whole life mostly out of pressure from those mentioned, she is also not overweight. Other than one uncle and a great great grandmother, I am the only obese one. The only one that knows of my surgery is my mom and she is supper supportive. For those that have noticed my weight loss believe it is due to a low carb high Protein diet, which is true!!! @@Valentina, I have always found your posts to be so helpful and honest. My heart sank when I read of your loss...I am truely sorry and am grateful you had your little bestfriend by your side. I don't know what I would have done without my little one as well.