very brief moment of questioning

I have a close friend who has struggled with her weight for some time, though her highest weight was considerably less than mine.  She has been very supportive throughout this process.  She and her husband have been working on losing weight for several weeks now, and I've very happy for her.  She started a specific protein shake regimen 2x/day with 1 meal, then they have 1 "cheat day" each week.  We also work together, so see each other a lot.  I commented on how good she's looking and we talked about our mutual situations.  She is losing about 1/2 lb. a day, on average, which is roughly where I'm at.  On the way home, I had a very brief moment of thinking why did I take this drastic step, if I could have lost at the same rate without it.  Then I came back to my senses, realizing that I could never have sustained that type of diet for more than a couple of weeks, if that, and, even if I did, any loss would come right back.   Gratitude then flooded me and I knew I had taken the right step for me.  I will have to continue to do the work required to lose and sustain that loss, but with this tool, my chances of on-going success increase by a gazillion!

I feel the same if we could have done this on a strict diet after trying so many times we would not be were we are today.... But this is just a better tool to help us get healthy and live longer and one that we can manage with learning and friends like on this forum. It is all about our health now and how we can make this change for the good. It will be better for our bodies and mind than all that back and forth yo yo dieting that will either make us sick or kills us eventually! So yes this is just a huge blessing that we are able to have this chance to get this tool and I myself feel very very grateful! Good luck on your journey and best wishes to you! I hope to see you on the looser bench soon! Take Care!

Good luck to you on your upcoming surgery!  I'll look forward to you joining the losers' bench - there's always room for more!

i felt the same way when i saw friends who had lost weight through diet/exercise alone.  a few fleeting thoughts of, is this really going to be for the rest of my life has crossed my mind.  there's times where my mind wants to ravage a whole box of oreos, but then the realization that "i can't do that anymore" comes in and brings me back to reality.  those compulsive thoughts and binging is what got me 150 pounds overweight to begin with.  without the sleeve i know i'd still be 50 pounds heavier than i am right now. 

I lost 100 lbs and kept it off for 10 years.  Then i had some life stuff and gained back 50lbs.  I realized after two years of dieting, falling off, dieting falling off...you get the picture that i needed help.  I'm not losing weight as fast now as i did before but i believe when i do i will be able to maintain it. 

This is it for life and I do have those temporary thoughts that I would like to dive into something that I ate before.  That's why, without the sleeve and just doing things the traditional way, I would not be able to  stop myself from acting on those thoughts, at least not consistently.  I've gone through too much and also don't want to cause any complications by doing that diving, so this wonderful tool stops me in my tracks before it's too late.