Welcome Christy and congratulations on the start of your new journey. Check out LCat's post "What Newbies Need to Know." It's the best starter kit I've ever read.
Glad to have you with us.

Welcome Christy and congrats on making the choice for a healthier lifestyle! The fact that you are doing so much research will help your process immensely. Knowing more of what to expect can help to alleviate your fears. I found that having a sense of what it will be like will give you a focus throughout your shedding journey. For instance, I had a spiritual experience where I saw an image that I held with me throughout my shedding process. I painted a simple image so I could have the added visual. Even today I have it next to my final outcome. It still amazes me how much the final outcome looks exactly like the image. Committing to staying positive also helps. I made it a point to stay away from fearful posts and people. That is why I came here five years ago. Positive, helpful people. I really needed to stay focused on the positive. Because of this, I went into surgery with an incredible peace. I sailed through and had no complications. Ask all the questions you want. We are here for you!

Welcome to the group! Congrats on deciding to get healthy.
I agree with the others, check out the post called ' What Newbies Need to Know'.
It is a total life change. But it is so worth it! This is a wonderful tool. You still have to do your part and don't ever let anyone tell you it's the easy way out! You still have to stick to your plan to make it work.
It will work though. I have been on every crazy diet going. I have worked out like a slave. Only to lose weight and gain it right back. I've lost 100 pounds and regained it 3 times!
I had my RNY Dec of 2012 and lost 130 pounds. On maintenance I rebounded a little then leveled out. My doctor says I am a textbook case. I never needed pain medication after leaving the hospital after surgery and never had any complications.
I was completely cured of type 2 diabetes. I went from uncontrolled sugar with 5 to 7 shots of insulin plus metformin per day to nothing!
The pre op preparation and the liquid diet I had to do was the toughest part of it for myself. Some folks don't have to do the liquid diet as long as I did. Some do.
Read all you can find and make an educated decision. I even went on line and watched videos of the surgery. That might be too graphic for some?
There's nothing quite like seeing the numbers tumbling down! Then the non scale victories like fitting in a booth and buying clothes off the rack that fit. Trying both shoes your without stopping to catch your breath. Lol! I work on my bikes, I found I could get up off the garage floor without crawling to the bench to get up!
I hope something in all this rambling is helpful. Post often. Someone will respond. Good luck on your Journey!

Thank you all. Knowing that I have such a positive environment to come to for advice is comforting. I did read the Newbies post. Fantastic information, thank you. It really helped answer a lot of questions that I had. I am only a week into this process so I am still very new to it. I am still very scared. I continuously debate to myself whether I should do this or not. Is this normal? I am sure this is probably something that all of you have experienced in your journeys. I think the cost factor is what is overwhelming me, but I need to understand that my health is worth more than $$.

Anyway a little background about myself. I have never been normal weight. I was born almost 11 lbs. I was almost 200 lbs by the time I was in middle school and now I am up to 350 unfortunately. I am tall, so it always kind of got me by because I carry my weight well if that makes sense. I have been on every diet under the face of the sun. I don't have a healthy relationship with food,or with my body image but I am working on it. My family, even though they were trying to help, only made it worse. I am the "fat" one in the family. My sister is naturally tall and very slender and would torture me growing up. My mom and grandparents always had some crazy new diet to try. I have literally done everything from weight watchers (only program that worked for me) to cabbage soup diet, to vegetarian, vegan, low carb, low sugar, atkins, low fat...etc etc etc. I have starved myself, obsessively counting every little calorie, I have worked out to the point I have thrown up or collapsed, I've been to doctors, and nutritionists, and therapists. I am still overweight. I lose some weight, then gain it back plus. I tend to binge when I get stressed, but thankfully I am getting better at that. I am a 911 dispatcher so I deal with a high stress environment very often, but this is my passion. Hopefully through this experience I can find my "zen". I really just want to be healthy and comfortable with myself. I would love to not have to obsess over whether I am going to fit in a chair or plane seat or amusement park ride. I am young and I would really like to live my life! Sorry for all the rambling. It feels good to talk to people who are familiar with my situation. Thanks everyone!

Christy, debating with yourself over choosing WLS is common. I took eight years to research periodically. There is a lot of mental and emotional processing involved. And it doesn't stop there. There is a lot more to process over the years. Even five years later like with me. This is why many of us make good use of counseling. My social therapist does phone sessions which really works for me. I find that I am more open when I am not face to face. And she specializes in weight and body image issues. She is awesome! Getting to our core beliefs and making changes about how we talk or what we say about ourselves takes serious commitment. I recently had three sessions to help me past a stuck place that has helped me to get back on my tracking. I swear by tracking because it keeps me aware of my choices and what they cost me. For me, tracking takes any thoughts of dieting out of the picture. It is all about accountability to and for me. It won't be long before you can change the acquired belief that you are the fat one to, you are the skinny or thin one in the family. Skinny or thin have their own issues to process. And then you might even have to deal with the new ways of labeling. We need to stay aware of these kinds of beliefs so we can work to reframe, heal, and move on from outdated labels. We are not our labels. A 911 dispatcher is probably one of the higher stressed kinds of work you could have even if it is your passion. I hope you have found a good way to find peace and balance time in your life. As you know those pesky stress hormones only add to our weight. You know, cortisol and adrenaline. The fight or flight system activated through stress only adds to weight gain. Using meditation or some other type of process to lower stress is crucial for balance. Quality sleep makes a difference too. My favorite meditation time is when I am gardening, painting, or doing a project that takes me out of my head. I do best with moving meditation time like these. It is important to find our zen every day. There is no need to be sorry for rambling. This is what we are here for! It won't be long at all before you fit in plane seats, restaurant booths, and riding all the amusement park rides. We call these NSV's (non scale victories). Every day you can celebrate a new victory! In the meantime, focus on what you are grateful now and enjoy the ride!

Here is a short list of some good books to help you prepare.

Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth
When Food is Food and Love is Love Geneen Roth
She has other good books too.

Excuse be Gone how to change lifelong self defeating thinking habits by Wayne Dyer
You can heal your life by Louise Hay
Losing your pounds of pain, breaking the link between abuse, stress, and overeating by Doreen Virtue

Constant Craving - What Your Food Cravings Mean and How to Overcome Them by Doreen Virtue
She has an extensive list of foods and their corresponding issues. I recently addressed a returned sugar addiction as I looked up a specific sugary item. Once I delt with the connection to it in my life my sugar cravings have diminished.

The emotional first aid kit by Cynthia Alexander
Course in Weight Loss 22 Spiritual Lessons by Marianne Williamson

I'm sure others could add to the list.

This one helped me immensely, as I was deciding if the surgery was right for me:

The Weight Loss Surgery Workbook: Deciding on Bariatric Surgery, Preparing for the Procedure, and Changing Habits for Post-Surgery Success
by Doreen A. Samelson EdD MSCP (Author), Arnold D. Salzberg MD (Foreword)

Thank you all so much! I am definitely going to look into those books and do lots more research.

Hi Christy. I'm 29 and the same weight as you. I'm attending my seminar tonight as I start this process. It sounds like we have and will continue to have a lot in common. You'll be slightly ahead of me in the whole process. I was hoping to have the surgery in January but don't know the requirements yet. I may have 6 or more months of preliminary stuff beforehand.

Hi there. If you are looking at surgery in January you are actually ahead of me in the process. Right now it's looking like March or April for my surgery as long as all goes well. I go for my first nutrition education class September 17th and I am looking to go to my first support group meeting next week. I am a week into my pre surgery weight loss and I weigh in on Saturday. Right now I am doing as much research as I can possibly do. The more I find out the less scared I seem to be. If you have any questions I can help you with don't hesitate to ask. I am still very new at this but I am more than happy to work with everyone to support one another. Again, thank you everyone for your responses so far, the support really is comforting!

January is what I had in mind but it is looking to be closer to March/April if I start the process now, but it may not be until January before I even START the process, so it may be closer to June before I have the surgery. It is too early on at this point to know the exact course of action. I had my seminar tonight that was great. I will be scheduling a consult and getting insurance info from them tomorrow. :)

Welcome Christy! I'm happy that you found us and I hope we wil all be able to answer your questions and help you through your journey. Your fears are normal but you are going to be one happy person as things progress

I have to call my insurance company yet, but I have very good insurance so I am hoping for good news. On a positive note I had my first weigh in today and I am down 10lbs! I have been tracking my food and walking an hour or more every day. Also sticking to 1800 calories a day by my doctor's orders. My hubby, naturally lost more weight than me at 13lbs, but I'm excited about my accomplishment. I am already a third of the way to my surgery goal weight. Yay! I also ordered two books to read about the journey with weight loss surgery. I am looking forward to getting them. Hope everyone is doing well!

On another note: how is everyone getting their water intake every day. I'm having such a hard time drinking enough water and it is effecting my digestive system. My doctor was not thrilled about my lack of water. Any tricks on drinking more water?

Water intake... prior to WLS I kept myself in a perpetual state of dehydration. I just didn't think about it. It was initially tough for me to increase my intake. I had to set reminders on my phone - and it worked! On my doctor's plan, ANY liquid counts (some plans insist it has to be actual water, yuk!!) and I don't have a problem with artificial sweeteners, so flavored water works best for me. I love Crystal Lite Peach Ice Tea and drink lots of that during the day. I also drink decaf coffee, decaf tea, regular water sometimes, and also for me, SF jello and popsicles count as well. A typical day for me is a cup of decaf in the AM, peach tea and protein shakes during the day, a cup of nice cold water here and there, and decaf coffee and/or tea in the evening. I get at least 8 cups in, and usually more. So, that's what I do.

I feel like I am in a constant battle with myself right now with the water intake. I can not for the life of me get it up to where it needs to be. I will start the days with good intentions and then end up only drinking like 6 glasses. And my urine is dark in the morning so I know I am dehydrating myself. Plus I am working out every day, so my water should be up not down. ugh it's so frustrating.