What's your motivation?

What's your motivation? Yesterday a friend and I were talking and he asked me "What's your motivation?" He went on to say I'd tried so many diet over the years that never really worked for me, that he wondered what was really different this time? What was it they gave me the willpower I'd suddenly found, what was it that kept me on the right track? It didn't take me long to respond, I told him about a woman I met in the surgeons waiting room, I wasn't even approved for the surgery yet, but was there to attend a mandatory education seminar that the surgeon required before he'd operate. This woman and I started chatting, and it turned out she was a post-op. She at first asked if I wanted to see her scars, and I was very interested so she lifted her shirt and I was amazed at how tiny they were. She told me she was there for her 6 month checkup, and that she really wasn't doing that well, she'd lost 48lb. since surgery. I was surprised because this woman was my size or larger and I was then weighing 374lb., I know some people loose slow, but 48lb. is 6 months? She then started telling me that she was a snacker and nibbler, always had been. She would eat her kids leftovers no matter what they were, a half eaten sandwich, chips, half eaten cookies, she just couldn't waste it. Instead of eating 3 meals a day she said she grazed all day long, a handful of goldfish crackers, a handful of nuts. Two other women sitting near us joined in the conversation, they were both 1 year post-ops. The first woman told us she could eat 2 tacos or 2 slices of pizza with crust at a meal, and the other ladies were shocked. She told us she was going to ask the DR what he had done wrong? It was then and there that I decided WHEN I was approved for surgery I would not be like this woman. I was so thankful that God had sent her to me, so I could see that you could sabotage yourself, and that my eyes had been opened. I decided then and there I was going to stick to my DR's rules. If I had done all this work to find the very best DR and get approved by the insurance company, there was no way I was going to ruin what I was asking for. There was no way I was going through major surgery and not have the outcome I wanted. Her mistakes were and still are my motivation. I think of her daily and wish her nothing but the best, but as I think of her I make sure I'm following my DR's rules and doing my very best to become the healthy person I want to be. So tell us - What's Your Motivation?

That's a very good post, Jan. I am motivated just by reading it! My motivation is my mom. My mom was overweight most of her adult life, though not as heavy as I have been. She, like her parents and her aunts, developed diabetes in her 40's. She, like her mom and her aunts, died too young, all alone at home, from a heart attack. The diabetes had so damaged her heart that it finally stopped. She was 62. Well, I was 39 when I had surgery six months ago, and I was seeing the signs of metabolic syndrome, the precursor to diabetes. I knew what was going to happen to me. I had to do something drastic, as I have tried many, many other times to get weight off and KEEP it off. I couldn't do it alone anymore. This surgery has been such a blessing to me so far...93 pounds are off of my body, and with about 60 more pounds lost, I am considered "low risk" for developing diabetes. That is a great motivation for me. Can't wait to read more! Steph