Hello to you all. A little bit about me, I am 42, nearly 43. I have a wonderful family, a husband to whom I've been married 24 years. I have spent the last 4 years losing and gaining back the same10-15 pounds. Recently I was faced with the option of weight loss surgery. My insurance will pay for it. Having said that, I opted not to do it because other than being fat, there is nothing wrong with my health. I want to get this weight off. I want to do so many things that this life has to offer, but lack the strength to do it on my own.

Anyone here on a similar path, do you know what it's like to look down the road at trying to lose 200+ pounds and what that feels like? I'd really appreciate your support and ideas.

Hi Freedom,

Well I spent the last 2yrs losing and gaining the same 30 lbs. But have been yo-yoing my entire life. I'm 44 and have been married almost 27 yrs to a great guy. My doctor has suggested WLS a few times. I have 100+ lbs to lose but unlike you I do have medical issues. Type II diabetes, HBP, high chol. But I don't think my insurance will pay for it, but even if they did, I don't think I could afford to miss the time from work. Besides, I am scared beyond belief of the surgery and fear going thru such extremes and then gaining back or simply not losing all of the weight. So I have decided to seriously try and do this again. Whether you have surgery or not we have to make changes. We can't live the way that got us where we are now. I would love to know what it's like to not have this weight on and to not have to take so many pills in the morning, but with time I will. I must. I'm kind of running out of time. So if I can do it, you can do it. So since we both have so much to lose, lets look at it 10 lbs at a time. Looking at the big # is overwhelming. Look over some of the challenges on the board. I am starting a challenge that begins 4/18 and end 6/6. Its on the WW general thread. I did not join WW but I am following the point system. I tired of gimmicks and just want to eat whats available and learn to make the best selections and portions. I've only been doing it a week but I can see changes already. Unfortunately it's a lot harder and takes a lot longer to form a good habit then a bad one. So you will find lots of suggestions here. Browse around it's a great place. You can also private message anytime. Hope to here from you and

Hi DonnaD and welcome to the boards Freedom2. I just stopped in because I saw the title of your thread being "300+...". I'm from the "300+ And Ready To Try Again" area listed under "Support Groups". You're both welcome to stop in over there and see what's up.

We're an eclectic group made up of different sizes, from different places, working on different plans. We like to share inspiration and motivation and we LOVE to have new people join us.

If you stop by, be sure and check out our whole little area. We have a recipe thread, a bio thread, an article thread and much more. In order to say "hi" look for the thread that is followed by a number (like 515, 516, etc.) because that is where we all go everyday to catch up with each other.

Hope to see you around.

Thanks for the response. I'm sure I'll get used to the threads but I am a bit lost. Any tips for quick reference and finding things?

Hey Donna, That was one of the big decision makers for me. Regardless of doing this with or without the surgery, I realized that without the lifestyle changes needed it wouldn't help. I saw someone I know who had that surgery sneak a donut in the middle of church. That's when I had that ah-hah moment!

I think I'll pop on over and see what I can find in the support group. Thanks!