I am curious.  Was anyone here overweight/obese from childhood on?  I gained most of my weight during my first pregnancy.  My daughter has been heavy since she was 4 years old.  She is planning on having the surgery and I'm just wondering if the results are the same for those of us who gained weight later as they are for those people who were overweight since childhood.

I went on my first supervised diet at age 6.  I have always been much heavier than my peers.  The last time I remember weighing under 200lbs was when I was 12 years old, and at 175.  I wore a size 24 through high school, and got up to a 26/28 in college.  

I was sleeved in October 2014, and am approaching my 8-month surgiversary.  My high weight was 356, and my current weight is 222.  So far I am having fantastic results and loving my sleeve.  I have quite a bit of loose/sagging/extra skin, likely due in part to the fact that I have always been big.  

But I wouldn't change a thing.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  

Thank you so much for your reply.  So encouraging!

I became overweight at puberty. I had (have) PCOS and didnt know it.  As a teenager I would exercise like crazy, do the low-fat (inadvertantly high carb) diet and only eat a yogurt and kiwi for lunch and STILL not lose weight.

In my 20s-30s (still undiagnosed) my weight would go up and down depending on whether I was starving myself or eating. My family and friends couldnt understand how I could be so fat and eat less than them.

Basically a smart nurse practionier figured it out, then she sent me to an endocrinologist. The endocrinologist put me on metformin AND I ate a low carb diet and lost about 20 lbs and got stuck. The bad part?  My blood sugar was so low that sometimes I would slur my words and I was running on the "stupid" side (not enough energy to think). 

When my endo experienced this first hand, she was like "We cant keep doing this. Surgery is the only thing left for you" (or something like that).

So I had RNY.

And for the first time ever in my life, my weight loss has matched the effort put in. I am picky about my diet (I cant afford NOT to be...)and I work out hard.

And instead of being XXXL, I am either XS or S.

So...I had a happy ending.

This is fabulous!

I've been obese for as long as I can remember.  I can only speak to my results so far, and so far I've lost 140 of the almost 200 pounds I'd love to lose.  

Congratulations!  I'm getting even more excited for my daughter now.

Mom-I am glad you are excited BUT make sure YOUR KID is excited, MOTIVATED and STAYS that way.

I am not sure how old she is...but use positive reinforcement on things she does correctly. Like getting adequate protein, limiting refined carbs, meeting the 10K steps per day, drinking water.

Some weeks, she may do everything right and the scale will not move for a week (this happened to me three times. A week is not a plateau or a stall but at the time it FELT that way). When she feels demoralized at these times, point out how much loser her clothes are, or skinnier her face looks. Or point out how much faster and farther she can walk. Just make sure what you are saying is the truth (it will show) and encourage her by pointing out what she is doing right and how it has paid off in teh past and it WILL pay off in the future.

Having been there, when stalls (even short week long ones happen), it is very easy to forget how far you have come and feel all is lost.

Also, I didnt think I stuffed my emotions with food. A male mentor pointed out that for a period after the surgery...I was a real witch. Capital B kind which. I still think I acted normal and he had a lot of BS about him at that time which I just didnt care to hear about cuz I was taking care of my own issues. Be aware if she pops up with a "I dont take crap" attitude it is because she: a) is short an emotional crutch (dont encourage her to eat), b) she may be hungry (I didnt feel hunger for about 7 months..I knew I was hungry when I got a headache, got angry, wanted to pass out and mixtures of the three), and c) could be having to deal with a lot of hormones being released from the fat she is burning (it is being a teenager all over again!  I even got ZITS!!!!).  Just take a deep breath and love her through it.  

But I am warning you, it could be harder on you than it will be on her.....

She knows not what she does...

I had my surgery 8 years ago, so she's seen me go through EVERYTHING including alcoholism.  She knows it's not an easy fix nor will she end up with a perfect body.  She attends Overeaters Anonymous and has a ton of support in place.  She's 21 and super motivated at this moment, but we know there are ebbs and flows along the way.  Thanks for your input!

So you are vet.

I was preachign to the choir.

Sorry about that...

I am sorry to hear about the alcoholism. I am extremely surprised how fast alcohol affects me now. A previous bf remembers when we could put down 3 bottles of wine EACH in a night. Now I am tipsy after one glass.

I really really can see how alcohol could be a problem. Its numbing effect really "rushes" in now versus creeping in when I was anatomically normal.