Let's talk by message and email.  I am a good positive support buddy.

Hello everyone,

I am new to Obesity Help and wanted to greet everyone. I have reviewed several of your posts and have already found helpful information in them; thank you for sharing your experiences. 

I'm a married mother of five and I have been dealing with my weight for quite some time, but the last 10-15 years have been the most challenging. I have decided after much research and much procrastination to take action to take charge of my health and my life. I have decided to pursue self-pay gastric sleeve surgery in Mexico, and hope to get it done this fall, God willing. 

A lot of what has prevented me from seeking the surgery all these years was denial. I felt that if I just I applied myself I could "do it on my own without surgery." I maintained that state of mind for years, yet nothing changed in my life. I've since realized how much I have been gaslighting myself. There is NO shame in seeking help for this condition. I slowly came to this realization once it began to dawn upon me how much better I was getting as a person by treating my depression and other issues and how I would be concerned if a person with a psychiatric disability/mental illness was determined to "do it on my own." Should we take initiative and be an active part of the process? Yes. But we cannot let a mindset like that reign if it prevents the process from even getting started!

Nothing will change unless we make it change.

I welcome any/all feedback from you all, as I personally know no one whose ever had the gastric sleeve; only the bypass and lap band. And I seldom hear much from our people - not that we aren't having the surgery, but I have mainly come across posts from white people as opposed to people of color. I'm not discounting their perspectives, but as a black woman it's helpful to me to know more about what other people from my background have experienced. 

Thank you. 

Hi Willie,

Congrats on your original weight loss. Most people experience a 10 to 20% bounce up after the initial loss, so nothing out of the ordinary here.

Regarding calories, everyone needs are different. I'm a guy and eat way more than many of the posters but most of them are woman and I'd expect them to eat fewer calories. Your surgery type versus other people's will also influence how many calories you need in maintenance mode.

Lastly, I don't think it matters what anyone's goal weight is. Your body gravitates to a natural point of equilibrium. 

Good luck with your journey!

You are  SO brave and resourceful

I am going to be scheduled for the same and there isn't a lot of information.  I can't find much on results.  I'm really torn.