My turning points to decide on WLS, what were yours? With pics

My turning POINTS...

I am turning 30 this year...nothing like THREE DECADES of LIVING to make you want to make changes for the next 30

I wanted to experience ALL that life has to offer and not miss out on anything

I am TIRED...of the looks, the stares, the snickers, the small talk surrounding my weight, everything that goes with being treated differently because of how I LOOK when it is something that is entirely within my control to change. I can't change being a woman. I can't change being black, by SURELY I can CHANGE being overweight

Sleep apnea, high blood pressure, diabetes, leg swelling, profuse sweating, persistent cough/colds/illness, high cholesterol, depression, unhappiness, losing out on LIFE...all between the ages of 25-29 I was diagnosed with these things...

Insurance covers it and potential job changes in JUNE made me get on it NOW

Great family/friend support to know that I CAN do this...I can put my mind to ANYTHING that I dream and complete it!

And most of all...I DESERVE IT!

I deserve to be happy, healthy, fit, active, beautiful inside and out, and for people to love me for who I AM and not just what I look like. And I want to be able to have that opportunity and not let my weight always be the thing that I think keeps people from getting to know who I really am.

Those are my reasons...and as I go on this journey I am sure I will find many more...

BTW...I have now lost 21.5 lbs on my pre-op diet (in about 2 weeks of shakes and low carb).  GO ME! :o)

I had lost 150 pounds on my own through a great deal of work on food changes, exercise, food addiction abstinence, therapy, etc. I mean a LOT of work. I can't even explain how much of every day I spent working on my weight issue. Despite not ever having the portion control in check, I still managed to lose the weight slowly, over 3 years of hard hard work.

Very strict dieting and exercise managed to over-ride my large portions/calories. Well then my mother died suddenly, and I was still trapped in an emotionally abusive marriage that was killing my spirit. I became very depressed and quickly gained it all back, even though I didn't even cheat that much.

In less than a year I gained every pound back plus 8 for good measure. The day I saw that I was back where I started, I cried. I felt so defeated. I remembered how hard I worked for those 3 years and felt defeated that I had to start all over. I just couldn't fathom doing it all over again.

I just didn't have the strength anymore, and was very against WLS, because I felt that I had worked so hard on other changes, and lost on my own, and felt that it was important to make other lifestyle changes that I didn't see a lot of WLS folks that I knew make. Plus I hated about the side effects of the other surgeries. For me starting to look into WLS was like giving up; admitting that I failed.

Then I went to Dr. C's site based on a recommendation from my therapist. That was the only place I looked. I read about the VSG and KNEW right away that was what I needed.. the tool I needed to complete all the other changes that I made. I have NEVER been able to get a handle on my portions on my own.

I believe my stomach was stretched out from years of binging. I still am unable to tell most people about my VSG. It bothers me a great deal if people think or assume that my surgery was just magic. I still work just as hard every day that I did when I lost the weight the first time. Except with the portion control in place it has been much easier and much faster, making me feel much more hopeful and successful.

I still make my food for the day every morning, planning my day. I still pack my food and take it everywhere I go. I still eat a relatively strict low carb diet, and probably cheat only 3-4 times a year, with very intentional planned cheats. I still go to therapy and support groups and post on OH.

I still check in daily on my scale and drink as much as I can. I expect to do this for life and I have surrendered and stopped resisting that this is my reality. It could be much worse, and in the end all of the work is worth it for how much more wonderful my life is without 189 pounds on my body.

 Great thread!

I used to be thin and I want to feel that way again! I was 122 on my wedding day (13 years ago). When I was around 160, I would diet because I wanted to look better. But now it's past the point of vanity-carrying this weight on my frame HURTS. It's hard to get up off of the floor and I just feel uncomfortable all of the time. I don't want my thighs to rub together--I want to wear dresses and skirts again! I want to wear cute clothes. My husband has even said that he misses me wearing cute clothes.   My feet hurt from plantar fasciitis, which I'm sure is related to my weight. I also dread social situations if I'm going to see people I haven't seen in a while.  I know they will think, "She sure has let herself go."  

I just want to do it to physically feel better. And I think I will feel better mentally and emotionally once I lose some weight. I think my weight depresses me much more than I acknowledge.

I was just tired of always being on a diet and of putting on 15lbs over the holidays and building on it every year.  I was also tired of having 5 sizes of clothes in my closet and having a screaming fit every time i had a formal affair to go to. It sucked. it's like that definition f insanity that everyone likes throwing around "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result".  I was done. 

It took me years to finally decide to have WLS. I thought about it many times & have known people that have had it. I have been in denial saying "oh no, that's not for me, I can loose it by myself. That's for people *****ally need it & have medical needs too." What an idiot I was! LOL

  I started limiting my public time when I was walking out of a Best Buy & some guy that was flying through the parking lot screamed out at me, " Hey fat ass... move it!"
  Then there was the verbally abusive ex- husband that when we got together I was 137lbs & he continued to put me down & I gained & then he told me he was cheating because I disgusted him.
  Then 3 years after my divorce & the abusive boyfriend that told me I was fat & gross.
  I met Brian & he has a young son that I have been less & less able to keep up with physically.
 There was the I'm not comfortable in my own skin, let alone jeans or other clothes feeling.
 
The final I think was a combination of struggling with depression, anxiety, & being told by my doctor he believed I had fibromyalgia & I have meralgia paresthetica. My mother has coronary atery disease & had a heart attack at 47 & has 2 stents. She also has fibrmyalgia & I have watched her on bad days & then all the pills she takes & how not involved she is after that. I want more!  I researched & found the paresthetica is cause from excess weight on that nerve, so get weight off heal thyself. Then that the hormone mess that obesity causes contributes to the depression & anxiety. Also went to see neurologist for some points of pain (fibro symptom) found out caused by previous injury & am seeing PT to help who said once weight off he believes most pain will dissapate.

I want more out of life than sitting at home & popping pills for every ailment I brought on myself by allowing myself to get that big. I want to know happiness & feeling good both physically & emotionally.

Just wanted to say, I too suffered from alot of depression pre op. My dad has been clinically depressed for his whole life, so I always wondered if it was the familial component or situational.

Post op, from the fat release of hormones, I was a mess for several months.

But as I got closer to goal my hormone levels evened out and I was rid of the depression. I was situationally depressed, because I was overweight, I hated going out in public, hated being judged, hated being the biggest one always, hated feeling like I was worthless, hated shopping in plus sized stores, hated bathing suit shopping, hated activities that i really secretly loved because they showcased how big i was.

My life was on hold because of my obesity, thats why i was depressed!!!!!

I am hoping you find relief from your obesity also. Working with a conselor post op helps too, to sort through the reasons why we were obese and the reasons why we put ourselves in bad relationships we dont deserve.

i hope you get your freedom also .

kristen

My turning point was going through a binge eating program, learning how to "eat mindfully", but still steadily gaining weight!  The program did not guarantee weightloss at all...  so it in no way failed me.  It was eye opening to realize that if I "listened to my body", and "ate only when hungry", etc, that I still consumed more calories than I burned :(  That, combined with some of my good friends successfully going through the WLS journey, made me realize that WLS was the only path to me losing weight and keeping it off.

Edited to add:
I have been overweight since age 8.  I spent most of my life trying various diets, workout plans, programs, etc.  I would lose 10 lbs, 50 lbs, etc, and gain it all back.. and more!  I think it was 3 years ago, when I realized that what I was doing just wasn't working!  I went to the doctor, got a full lab workup, and asked what I should do- see a dietician, something else?  She said "I don't think you need a dietician- you seem to know a lot about what it takes to lose weight.  There is something else keeping you from being able to lose the weight and keep it off.  I think you should see a therapist."  So, I went to a therapist.  She recommended that I go into a binge treatment program.  The binge treatment program was AWESOME!  It taught me great skills for managing binge eating.  It helped me figure out why I binged.  But, as I mentioned above... even when I stopped binging, my weight continued to climb :(

There were lots of "I need to lose weight" moments in my life, especially in the last 5 years:  Random littl kid saying "look at that fat lady".  Being unable to buckle the seatbelt on Air China.  Being stared at while in foreign countries.  Starting to panic because the highest size in the store (3X) wasn't fitting me.  Being told by the doctor who did my gallbladder surgery that they had a hard time getting my gallbladder out because all of the fat packed in there, and that I was starting to get a fatty liver...  All of this stuff is what added up to push me towards surgery.

I had considered WLS before but I listened to my family and friends who said to try again. I always did with the same results, weight loss, weight gain and the emotional beating that followed.  March 2011, I decided to take matters in my own hands and started the process for VSG.  This time I told NO ONE, including my husband for fear of being talked out again.  We celebrated my 38th birthday in Las Vegas and I saw the photos, I resembled more of an eggplant than a person. I cried for 3 days and then decided it was time.  My surgery was August 1, 2012. To date I have lost 78 lbs and have not regretted it for a moment.

my husband didn't find out till a week before the surgery and my family still doesn't know because when I asked for their support in July i was greeted with nasty, negative comments on how i was so pretty regardless of my size.

VSG surgery was the best present I have ever given myself.  I look forward to my 39th in June. 

I was SICK of ME! The way I looked, how I felt and most importantly how I was slowly killing myself. I also had high blood pressure and diabetes.  I am so glad I made the decision to change my life with this surgery.  Sassy you look fabulous! I am so inspired by your success and your stories. You are AWESOME! God bless!