<p>IF OP, you are still serious about this surgery, you need to find out what your insurer requires as pre-requisites to complete to qualify for the surgery. You also need to find out if you would qualify for the surgery & take those steps that would help you in any case, such as supervised weight loss, etc.</p>
<p>For starters, you need to address the snacking you mentioned and figure out how to stop it, as well as increasing your exercising.</p>
<p>OP, is your family on board with helping you with non-surgical weight loss? In other words, are they willing to change the way they eat around you? If your family members are ordering pizza for dinner and stocking the pantry with donuts (or whatever your favorite snacks are), that will make it super tough to change.</p>
<p>The NY Times had a great article about willpower and how to maximize it. The big one is making it easier on yourself by removing temptations from your environment. You need your family’s help to make that happen.</p>
<p>[New</a> Year?s Resolutions Stick When Willpower Is Reinforced - NYTimes.com](<a href=“New Year’s Resolutions Stick When Willpower Is Reinforced - The New York Times”>New Year’s Resolutions Stick When Willpower Is Reinforced - The New York Times)</p>
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<p>I think you need to have them on board if you have the surgery, too.</p>
<p>My heart breaks for the OP. Can you see what she is up against, with some of the crazy comments here? Jeez. Just lose it, anyone can do it, lose three pounds a week (and BTW that will take her SO LONG that she will likely give up), blah, blah, blah.</p>
<p>What she needs is to lose a large amount of weight, safely, in a condensed period of time. She needs to get her glucose levels and likely high blood pressure under control (just guessing at these, as some really young folks do NOT suffer from them (yet), despite being hundreds of pounds overweight.)</p>
<p>She needs her family to be on board, but I’ve seen it work even when the environment wasn’t perfect. If we go round and round about all the things that have to be in place before one does this step, the OP may never get up the courage to do it. And it does take courage…it is NOT an easy fix. It will forever change the way she eats, and thinks about food. Which…is kinda the point, right? Yes…it is possible to slip up, and some, sadly, regain the weight. The greater majority keep upwards of 50-75 percent off in the long term. </p>
<p>Sorry to rant. I just hate to think that there is someone out there truly suffering who might read some of these asinine comments and fall into despair.</p>
<p>Those who encourage researching, counseling, trying to lose some now pre-surgery…you are on the right track. Keep up the cheerleading, because this kiddo needs it.</p>
<p>Keep us posted OP…I am cheering for you! You can do this.</p>
<p>I would like to see the OP start by getting referred by a physician into a counseling or weight loss program specifically designed for people with morbid obesity. This is probably required by her insurance company, and I think it could be an excellent learning experience, too, especially if it’s a group program.</p>
<p>Weight Watchers is great, but in my experience it’s dominated by people who started out with a BMI in the high 20s or low 30s and the goal of losing 25 to 75 pounds. These people – and I’m one of them – have legitimate needs, but their needs are different from those of someone like the OP. </p>
<p>I think the OP could greatly benefit from meeting some other people who have needs similar to hers and who are working toward the same kind of goal that she is. </p>
<p>Most of us on CC (and hopefully elsewhere) have become sophisticated enough to recognize that depression and substance abuse are medical problems and should be treated as such. It’s time to realize that we need to think the same way about obesity.</p>