Forgot that alot of you might now know who I am so here is a bit of info. I am 35 years old. 5’9″ tall. blonde haired blue eyed hour glass figure..just too many hours in the glass. I have struggled with my weight forever. Don’t ever remember being thin. Most of my family is all obese or morbidly obese also. Hopefully my mom will be joining our forum and you can meet her and maybe see some pics of her. she had the gastric bypass a little over a year ago and has presently lost about 120 pds (8 st 8 pds) which was about 43% of her starting weight. When I look back at pics of me each year in school, I was not fat. But at that time i thought I was since all my friends were twigberts. even then I was well developed and advanced for my age. I went to Peru South America to live when I was 19years old. before I left I think that i may have balloned up to about 250 pds..not sure. I was weighed at 230 pds a month or so before leaving. during the six months that i was there I dropped down to about 180 pds again. I think that antoher 10 would have been perfect, hence the 170 pds or 12 stone-12.5 stone goal that I have for my weight when this surgery is done. at the size of 180 pds (12 st 12 pds) I was wearing a size 14 USA/16 UK. I would be happy with that again for a permanent basis. I have curves so I don’t want to go lower in weight than that or I would become a twigbert and that doesn’t interest me. it took very little time for that weight to come back on. and in short haven’t been below 300 pds in almost 10 years..except once when I hadn’t eaten for 4 days two years ago. ahah that was when I was on the Atkiens diet and went from 340 to 300 in about 5 months or so..but when I went off the diet I went poof, gained it back and another 10 to boot. stayed there for 1.5 years and now suddenly gained maybe 25-30 pds more this last two months since coming off the atkines diet. I was on it the 1.5 years that I was stable. I wasn’t losing but it was keeping me stable. I have back, hip, knee problems..all injuries unrelated to weight. My weight just aggravates and exaggerates them all. I may have the sleep apnea also, and my blood pressure has begun to creep up this last year with me being stressed about my weight constantly as I keep going up. I have a serious suspcison that I am what they call insulin resistant. This is usually a stage for about 10 years or so before a person develops adult onset diabetes. I have horrible reactions to surgar and have cut my sugar intake down hugely compared to several years ago. I can eat a bunch of choc frosting and exhibit all the signs and symptoms of being drunk..and it is all due to the sugar. Mr P has said that is basically what the dumping is all about. the headache, nasauea, lightheaded, whoozy, hot flashes, sweating, diarraha..I get all of that if I have even one or two glasses of alcohol or eat alot of sugar. If I eat something like pasta, even the non wheat kinds, or have alot of potatoes, or rice, I get some of that as well as fall asleep. also a sign of sugar being too high. so carbs and me don’t agree. but I am sick of eating just meat and veg and fat. yuk. I like meat mind you..but I do like rice too. or porridge, or potatoes …..masssshhhed potaotes…mmmmmmmm I have always been active.more so than many skinny people. I like to lift weights, bike, walk, hike, dance, and swim. Recently, I find that it is hard to find the motivation to exercise even though i know that i enjoy it and feel better. been easier to sit on the couch. isn’t that I can’t do it, just don’t. I have done some rather large exercise trips when i was younger, although i was still quite heavy at the time. the difference now is that even with more weight on I am probalby more fit than I was than. sad to say, I don’t think that when i was young I bothered to exercise much at all. I did the trail of the Incas through the andes mountains in peru that ends in Manchu Picchu. I did that at probalby at least 15 stone or more and seriously unfit as well as very very high altitudes. also i have been on a cycling tour. did that at probably about 12.5 stone and not fit enough for that either. Younger I was more gutsy to just do it, prepared or not. Now I have to be fit becuase of the injuries that I suffered with my back from my car accidents, but my motivation level is lower even though I am more fit. so it is a catch 22. this surgery is going to break that catch 22 and I am going to get back to my smaller younger size and shape but with my older and wiser knowledge and fitness levels and beyond..so that is me. Glad to meet ya!