Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.

I come from a thin, active family and I used to have a normal BMI, though I was never as naturally thin as my siblings or cousins. I started gaining weight after college, and after a few abuse situations, I ballooned from 5'4'' 135 to 200+. I gained over 50 lbs in one year alone. As I dieted, I would end up gaining more than I lost by double each time, until I eventually hit an all-time high of 273. I decided to pursue VSG because though I knew I could lose some weight on my own, I also knew that I would eventually put all that weight back on and then some. I know I'm one of those people who has to eat 800 calories a day to lose weight.

What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?

Honestly, lots of things about being overweight are terrible. The sweating! I sweat if it's over 65 degrees out. I have an active job as an OR nurse and I sweat like crazy all day long. It's disgusting. I didn't sweat like this when I was a normal weight. I've lost friends, stopped going out, lost family members, avoided going to weddings and even funerals. Seven of my cousins have had weddings and I haven't gone to a single one of them because I'm fat. Being fat means I'm treated as invisible or worse. I'm treated VERY differently than I was when I was a normal weight. I hate that my hands and feet have grown. I hate that my joints ache. I can't climb stairs or sit down without my knees creaking loudly. I hate that I haven't been on a proper vacation in over nine years, and I hate that I can't ride my bike to work anymore. I hate that I haven't been on a date since 2008. I hate that my family has given up on me and none of them talk to me anymore because I am an embarrassment to them. I hate that I'm SO tired all the time, and so sad. Basically, life is terrible. I work to pay my bills so I can live a terrible life until I die. I'm looking forward to having the surgery and losing weight so I can start living my life again.

If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?

I hope to have a surgery date soon. The biggest thing I hope to accomplish is going on vacation. I want to go somewhere nice and hot in the winter, and I want to go to Amsterdam next summer.