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

Boy oh boy! Where do I begin? I have tried several diets over the years. I was always dieting. I was also always cheating. I of course was good when something was coming up, but I seem to pretty much be self defeating in my head. "I am not going to succeed!" "I am a loser!" I did not really like myself very much. There was also a "fear" thing. I figured that out when I finally quit smoking after 32 years. I realized that it was actually fear that kept me from quitting. Fear of failure in others' eyes. It was really in my head. I had to figure it out for myself. It took a few years after that to apply it to my dieting ideas. I knew I needed more help than just dieting. I decided on the bariatric surgery. I did that almost 5 years ago. It has taken this long for insurance purposes, and my inability to diet. FEAR again.

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

There are so many worse things. One is my diabetes. I also have COPD. Another is the mirror. I cannot reach parts of my own body to take care of myself. (I am hoping to cut my own toenails inside a month or so!) One other thing that really pushed me over the edge was my grandson. He really wants me to play with him and I am afraid to get down on the ground. When he was three years old, (he's 5 now) we had played by kicking a ball in his back yard. We did a few other things too, like played with cars and a wagon. When I was getting in my car to come home, he came to the window, knocked on it, and said "Thanks for playing with me Gramma!" It broke my heart because I felt like I did nothing. I really did so little, but he enjoyed my company.

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

It hasn't been long enough for me to do much more, but I can get up all 3 flights of stairs at once! I used to have to stop once or twice. It still puts me out of breath somewhat, but not as bad.