Introduction

Hi all, 

I'm new to the forums, but I've been reading for some months.  I've been waffling on the idea of WLS for years and I'm finally sold on the idea.  I'm meeting with my (hopefully) surgeon for the first time on December 2nd.  My insurance (UHC) only requires a psych eval, no six months of nutritional oversight or anything, much to my happiness.  

I don't know how swiftly this process will move along, but I'm sort of hoping to have surgery early in January.  I'm opting for VSG due to all of the reasons I'm sure you all know - I hope it won't be too hard to convince my doctor to do the procedure I want.  

During the next week I've got to fill out a lot of paperwork for my first appointment.  Some of it seems overwhelming and I need to write a bit about why I want to have surgery.  I'm sure they're expecting something more detailed than "being obese sucks."  

And, as for stats - I'm 36, I've been fat all of my life, I've varied between 260 and 300 over the last 15 years.  And, of course, I've "tried out" many diets and exercise plans.  I currently belong to a great gym and elliptical on a regular basis - my main challenge will be (and is) the whole food thing.  Sigh.  

Welcome and good luck to you!  

Congratulations on your decision!

Why does being overweight suck?  There's your answer ;)

This is what I ended up writing -- 

How does being obese affect my life?  How doesn’t it? 

Being fat keeps me from seeking medical help I need, because I never know if a doctor is going to focus on my weight instead of me.  It’s never helpful to be told, “you just need to lose weight” in response to a sinus infection, kidney stone, or knee pain.  While losing weight will, I hope, improve my overall health, it’s demoralizing to have a doctor focus on the weight, as though it’s something I can snap my fingers to remove, instead of what’s going on with me.  At points in my life it has been easier to ignore my health than deal with the judgment the health community is so ready to dish out. 

Being fat keeps me from traveling as much as I’d like to.  Flying certainly isn’t comfortable even for thin people these days, but it’s significantly worse for the obese.  I hate that period of anxiety pre-flight, wondering if the arm rests will go down, wondering if I’ll squish my traveling companion or, worse, if the random traveller next to me will complain.  I hate never knowing if I’ll need to ask for a seatbelt extender and how the flight attendant will treat me when I ask for one. 

I’m tired of getting into a work out routine only to be waylaid by another injury that might not have happened if I wasn’t obese.  And then, when I start up again, I always feel like I’m starting from scratch, no matter what sort of progress I made prior to the injury. 

I hate not being able to be as active with my family as I want.  Even as a child I opted not to join my family in activities because I feared I’d not fit or get stuck.  (I sat in the car at Mesa Verde because I didn’t want to get stuck in one of the tunnels that the tour went through.  I was 10.) 

I’m tired of judgment from others.  I realize that this doesn’t go away, because people are always judgmental, but I’d like to know that I’m not being judged for my weight.  It makes me feel both invisible and, at the same time, completely exposed. 

My life is filled with small moments of panic – will I fit into the booth at the restaurant?  Will I be able to sit at the bar stools with my trivia team?  Will I look like a fool when I’m standing up?  Will everyone be staring at the fat girl in the front row during my choir concert?  These moments are too numerous to list, but they happen with regularity.  I’m sure that I’m not even aware of them all anymore since they’re just a part of who I am now and my brain’s wiring.