Have you inspired anyone else in your life to move more, lose weight, or have WLS?

I am very open about having had WLS. Couple of my friends asked me if they could give my contact info to people who they knew were considering it themselves. One lady called me and was so on the fence. She did have WLS after that and now she calls asking for advice, which I am always happy to give.

It also goes the other way though. My sister has said many times that I am brave, and she could never, ever do what I did, and to be honest there is a lot of judgment from her. She thinks it would kill her to give up food. I guess that is where I got ahead... I have so many physical problems from having been obese, it is a constant reminder of what I did to myself for so many years.

I too became very open about WLS after getting to goal. I was more reticent prior to that because I didn't want to hear the "I had a friend who had WLS, lost a lot of weight, then gained it all back" stories at that point.

I have two friends I had spoken with about my experiences who chose to have WLS. One had it about 11 months ago and the other is pre-op. Unfortunately another friend who has very serious health issues mostly because of weight has stated to me a few times that he thinks my having WLS was too drastic. Every other time I see him he is heavier and his health issues more severe (the alternate times are when he is dieting for a few weeks and eating healthy).