I’ve been overweight my whole life. Not always dangerously, but still fat. I can say that it has been both a blessing and a bane to me so far... being 'fat' has caused me to toughen up emotionally. I was bullied as a child but at some point I learned that others can't hurt me or use my weight against me unless I let them; I no longer felt inferior because of it. But, as with most 'fat' people the bad far ‘outweigh’ the good.

Late last year (2017) I decided to consult a doctor and make a change before any weight related health issues started to pop up. I weighed 128kg. After some tests, some options and lots of thought I decided to undergo a sleeve gastrectomy; which reduces the size of the stomach and the amount eaten at any one time.

I had surgery early this year (2018). I lost about 25kg very quickly.

I ran into some complications which had me sick and hospitalised for a significant amount of time. My weight was controlled and maintained for healing purposes. At the moment I cannot say if I would or would not get the surgery all over again; my circumstances are rare... but I will have to see how I feel later.

In recovery my calorie count is required to be quite high for healing but I have still been losing weight.

I am slowly adjusting my diet to be a more regular high protein and veg diet (recommended by bariatric dieticians) with an almost non-existent carb content (they tend to take up too much space in the stomach). I have around 20kg to go until I reach the goal weight recommended by my doctor. So far I have only really controlled my intake with non-existent exercise because of my illness. To reach my goal weight I will have to step up the exercise game.