Hello All! Newbie to this forum.

[FRC102415]

Hey everyone!

My name is Fran and I had the gastric sleeve on 8/15/2016. My heaviest weight was 276 and I went in to surgery at 266, after losing 10lbs on my preop diet. My story may be familiar to many of you.

I always struggled with my weight...although now that I look back at my life, I think I may have been average sized and I just had really skinny friends! Anyway, I was 15 years old when I started my first diet...LA Weightloss. I lost 30 lbs that summer, weighing 148 (wow, I remember the number!) But, I met a boy, and you know how that goes....eating habits went south and I gained back ALL 30 lbs and then some. By the time I was in college, I reached 266, and seeing a photo posted on facebook after a party put my ass in gear. I did slim fast for a little while, losing 20 lbs. I then returned home after graduation and joined weight watchers. I lost 55 lbs and then went back to school. I slowly gained that back, what a surprise...I joined Take Shape for Life and did Medifast for about a year and successfully LOST 100 lbs, getting to my lowest adult weight, 127. I maintained beautifully for 5 months and even had an extended panniculectomy (skin removal surgery). Unfortunately, due to depression and food addiction, I slowly gained back ALL of the weight I lost and had ballooned up to 276 lbs. This was my highest ever. Finally considered the gastric sleeve as my last resort..

I have lost around 63 pounds since the sleeve and I have about 40 more to go until I reach my goal. I do not plan on getting as thin as I was years ago. It was too unrealistic for me to maintain that weight. Besides, my husband said I was "too skinny". I was happy! haha

Anyway...thanks for reading. Just wanted to introduce myself and give you my back story.

[Yellow Rose]

Welcome and congratulations on your accomplishments so far. So many of us struggle and yo-yo'd from small back to large and then larger, which is bad on our bodies. Glad you took the bold step to join the rest of us 'losers'.

[johnjohn0304]

Welcome and thank you for sharing your story! We all share a similar story, both in history and our successes, this motivates us all to keep going strong.

[Britngeo13]

Welcome and Congrats!!! I recently joined as well and love this site!

[DesertGal]

Thanks for sharing. You are doing great! We all have things in common and that fact encourages me tremendously. I recently joined as well and am only in the beginning stages. I have my first nutrition class this afternoon. I see the doctor in 2 weeks. Like you, I have lost and gained and gained and lost my entire adult life. I'm tall so I could get away with it... for a while. (Not anymore). I was a thin child; thin teen and thin young wife and mother. But many things happened unexpectedly during the last 3 decades that sent me running to food and comforting myself. I am the Yo Yo Queen of diets and have had enough. My health has taken a turn in a direction I don't like- and my doctor said I am ready to start meds for diabetes, and do not want to go there. I want to be healthy and live. (I have too many people depending on me to do just that- live.) It's time, and I am so grateful this forum exists.

[FRC102415]

We can do it!!!!!

[BelleKreyol]

Congrats...wishing you all the best!!! It's never easy. It's a journey for sure, with bumps and dips on the road. But you seems to be doing great.

Belle

[jerzeygirl]

You'll do great with the new "tool" to assist with building success. Just take it one day at a time and build upon all the successes you're going to have from this point forward. Keep your "eye on the prize" and let nothing and no one get in the way!! Continued success and welcome.

[Christie13]

Welcome Fran and congrats on your weight loss. This is a great place to chat and reach out when we need support or have questions. I know you'll reach your goal in no time.

[Leslieann]

Welcome Fran! Sounds like you're doing very well. So happy for you!! I get my surgery on JAN5 and at this point I just want the surgery to be over with!
Keep on posting!!

[MaggieGreene]

Welcome! Im looking at surgery in Janurary.
I can remember 151 and thinking how fat I was!!

[ghost_ryder]

Good on you for recognizing the issue. We all have an addiction. If you were happy at 127 then your husband will have to live with it. You need to do what's right for you and don't let him alter your course. I am fighting others perception of me and my weight now too. I have another 50 pounds to lose and everyone is telling me a can't lose anymore, I will be too skinny. No, I am still over 250#s and my pant size is still a 40 waist, that is not healthy. I understand I have lost a pre-teen human but I have very large toddler left to go. Normal human is not that guy. I need to get to a 36 waist and be healthy for the long haul.

My wife has come around, when this started I said my goal was 200#s and her initial reaction was the same-No way that is too skinny, I should try to get to 250 and that would be fine. I am now 250 and she sees my point I can lose more healthily.