A Pre-WLS Greeting

I just wanted to introduce myself quicky my name is Aaron and I live in North Louisiana. I've struggled with my weight all my life that I can remember and have hit my highest peek since relocating to Shreveport, LA a year ago. Isolation + stess + boredom nearly did me in and went above 300lbs for the first time in my life. I've since controlled my emotional eating and now am around 280. This past year I've shut myself off to everyone since I moved to a new town partly because making new relationships are tough for me... partly to do with my self esteem issues. A week ago I decided enough was enough and decided to put myself out there in any manner I can find. I decided to start with my peers... gay men. I'm typing today almost shattered. What little self confidence I had in myself I'm having trouble seeing. It gets tough to hear you essentially don't matter to people because of your weight. I do matter. I'm will not feel helpless any longer. I'm here tonight to weight my options concerning different WLS. I'm not even sure WLS is correct for me. I would like to be under 200lbs which would mean a loss of 80lbs. I also can stick to a diet and exercise program for 2 months... after that something derails me I hijack my own brain and then quickly sabotage. I've done a thousand different things at one point or another but I've never had support. I won't make that mistake again. Thanks for listening.

Welcome to this board!

It sounds like WLS might be helpful to you. Your story is much like all of ours. I'd suggest working on your self esteem and not letting others "vote on you".  Your worth as a human is not determined by your weight. It's from your character and your integrity, so work on being the person you want to be. That will make your journey easier in the long run.

Good luck!

Connie