Just wanted to say hi

I've been lurking for months, and I thought I'd introduce myself.  I'm a 31 year old mother of the most amazing nearly 10 month old baby girl.  I've been heavy pretty much my whole life, with the exception of 1.5 years before I was married.  I'm still not 100% sure I'm going to have the surgery, but I'm about 95%.  The 5% of uncertainly is fear.  I've never had surgery.  I'm basically healthy just obese.  I do know that it is just a matter of time before that is not the case, and being the best mom I can be means being the healthiest mom I can be.  I've thought about WLS for years, but I didn't actually realize all of the options and I didn't get serious until after I had a baby.  Thanks, in large part to this board in combination with my surgeon and nutritionist, I've decided on the sleeve.  I had originally thought of doing the lapband, but I think the sleeve is the best surgery for me. 

Random facts about me - I work in finance doing operations and compliance, I've been married for almost three years, I love kickboxing, reading is probably my favorite thing to do, I'm loud and confident and opinionated, and I'm terrified of this surgery but I think it's the best thing for me.

I hope to get to know you all better, and I hope to become an actual active member of this board.  

Howdy.  Welcome.  Congrats on your daughter--enjoy every minute. 

Welcome!.  Surgery is a huge decision...make it your own! There is a lot of useful information on here...enjoy!

Fay

Welcome! I am at the beginning of this process as well. Looking forward to hearing more from you!

Hello and welcome!

 My son was a big factor in getting my life strait with vsg.. (he is 9 months right now)

I just thought back to when I was a kid and how hard it was in school being overweight. And I wasn't even that big compared to now. But kids are brutal. My sons dad is normal size so I am hoping he takes after him I guess. But I am also going to set a better example for my son and do everything I can to make sure he is healthy size.

I think my fear of him being tormented in school overrode my fear of the surgery. Good luck in your decision :)

Have you had your surgery?  If you have, what was it like taking care of a baby?  I'm fortunate that my husband is quite helpful (although not as helpful as I think he should be, but who is?), and my mom is close by.  I was teased when I was younger, and I wasn't even that overweight.  I'm also hoping my daughter takes after her father as he's very thin. 

Thanks everyone for the welcome!  I'm glad fear seems to be normal.  It's a huge decision to make.

Welcome! This forum has been a great help to me and getting to know all I can about VSG. You are in the right place! I would be more worried if you didn't have fear about getting VSG. It's a huge decision and we were all terrified at one point or another. You are not alone there. I'm a little over 2 weeks post op and feeling great. I'm getting the hang of my new diet which is evolving everyday. There are so many great suggestions on this forum. I'm already down 19 lbs...unbelievable!

I'm tracking my diet on myfitnesspal.com which I highly recommend. It just makes it so you don't have think so much about it. And you can log in through a free app on your phone. So there is NO excuses not to be accountable to everything you put in your mouth. You can have friends on MFP so you can see what others in the same situation are eating for ideas. There are a BUNCH of people on this forum on MFP too.

I have 3 kids...ages 20, 16 and 7. They are a huge inspiration to motivate me to make a change. My weight kind of crept up on me over the years until I wake up one day and OMG I'm obese! Nothing I tried in the past has worked and my weight keeps going up. Scary! Time for a change! I really feel like it is important for my kids to see that when things are not as they should be, you can take charge of your life and fix it. You gotta do the work, but anything is possible.

Nice to meet you!

8 days post op and I will tell you that I have no regrets. Best thing I have ever donefor myself and my children (19,13,8,6) I will be around and healthy to do all those things I have struggles with. I truly wish I had done this about 15 years ago..feel like I lost out on so much of the older childrens childhood being obese and not being able to interact so well. They young uns..they are in trouble cause mom has the energy to chase them around..lol

Good luck with your decisions..only wish I had done mine when I was younger!