I was starting to feel like a Peeping Tom..... had to post something

Welcome to the site whisper!!!



I think we all lurk prior to jumping in. We all wait to see if it is the right fit with us. But once you make the leap - oh boy, what a ride!!! LOL. It is such a great place full of great people. There is lots of information in all of the threads. Good luck and I will enjoy watching your journey. Only 10 days to go!!! how exciting!

Welcome, whisper (and all the other newbies and lurkers).

I, too, lurked for months before taking the plunge. I felt I was gaining so much info from this fantastic site (and I still am) that it was about time I acknowledged the fact and tried to contribute.

Welcome, Iam only new here myself and only posted s few times but rwading ur story its so very much like mine. I wish u all the best and like u lurked for a while but this site surley did help me also make the descision to go tho with this and reading everyones wonderful stories and posts has been a great experience. Best of luck with the op.

Thank you all for your genuine sentiments, I appreciate it deeply :)



Lib - I am on the sunny (maybe not so much today) Gold Coast.

Great introduction Whisper - good luck on Opti. It is exciting I think as it is the start of your new life.

Keep us in the loop - we can all repay your "lurking" by watching your progress.

Hugs
Caz

Well said chrisbychic. Lovely words to encourage people to join this magnificent forum that is a life saver.

Hi whisper and all the other newbies, lurkers or not...
What a great post to start off with. For someone who was afraid to join, you've certainly jumped in now!
For those of you who are still lurking, rest assured that many of the people on this forum have been through what you are going through, in part or in full. The others on the forum will have been through their own stuff, and will understand where you are coming from.
I'm not saying that we are all perfect - we aren't. But we do get it - from chocolate to champagne, mental health issues to abuse, optimism to optifast, we are all here to support one another.
Come on in and join us!

Welcome to the forum!! A place of solace and advice in all the confusion. You will find an answer to every question you could think of here, and if you don't just ask it!! Our journeys are all different, but in some ways so very similar.

Good luck with your surgery, I look forward to seeing you around!

Are you in Brisbane?

Hi whisper,
I add to the others who say welcome, and it's good you"came out" .... of lurking anyway. Because every time you add something to your posts - we are gifted.
Good luck for your surgery date. You will get plenty of support here.
Hugs
sassysmum

Hi Whisper,

Welcome aboard. Like you I too peeked at all the threads on this site before joining, you're not the 1st and I dare say won't be the last. Everyone here is so wonderful & supportive it makes you question why you waited.
You sound a lot like me in the way you explain things. And like you I have just started my Opti journey (not the 1st time) so not to bad.
But the other wonderful thing is we are both having surgery on 30th August. I would love to make contact with you so we could share experiences. Please 'inbox' me and I will send my number.
All the best.

OMG! I am a very new newbie - I don't even have a confirmed operation date as of yet - but reading your post just made me realise just how important and necessary joining this site was - I thought I was the only one that felt and thought the way I did but I see I am not alone - funny how we all stay in our own little world without realising there ARE poeple out there that will understand your fear, pain and self loathing! I wish to thank you Whisper for putting it to beautifully into words that I was always thinking but didn't know how to say (on almost all points! :P) You will be another inspiration for me - and I look forward to sharing your journey with you on here - as much as you are willing to share! Best of luck to you!

Hi Whisper,

I'm a newbie here but I too have been 'lurking' in the background for the past couple of months. I only joined the day I got home from hospital after surgery (3 days ago) because I was sooooo grateful & inspired by the courage and determination shown by everyone who participates in this forum I felt it was only fair to 'come out' and join in.

Congratulations and keep posting - I read your post to my husband (thru my tears) - it reads like my own life in SOOOO many ways. My husband has seen me at 78kg and 148kg - and has loved me unconditionally the whole while. I have only told my Mum, husband & best friend. My husband (obvious why he knows) my Mum coz she is morbidly obese and I love & accept her for who she is & my best friend because she is running my business while I'm incapacitated & knows the sheer hell & self loathing I've been through to get to this point.

Good luck with the surgery - you'll fly through. I hope you take great comfort from the strength of numbers who will support you from this end.

Langers249

Hi Whisper and welcome to the forum. I too have soaked up every bit of information from these pages and would not be as confident about my op as I am if I hadn't have found this sight. If you haven't already done so come on over to the August Sleevers and meet everyone else who has/is being sleeved in August. I'm the 22nd so not much more waiting for me. Again welcome and I look forward to following your journey.



Cheers

Kate

Welcome Whisper... and don't apologise!

This forum quite literally saved my life. without it, I would still be fat, miserable and sick. Now I am not.

It is really that simple. I get where you are coming from about your family. I come from a family who are all high achievers and beautiful to boot. Being fat is tantamount to a crime! They were all very loving, but VERY judgmental.

I lost weight for ME, not for them. But they think it was THEM. Shhh.... Don't tell them!

im glad youve had to courage to join in!

Goodluck with your journey,we are all here to support you!

shelly

Welcome Whisper:)

What a great intro! I can't wait to follow your journey.

Hi Whisper (Peeping Tom haha!),

Thanks for coming out of the shadows to rectify your 'bad manners' LOL. Welcome. Stick around and we'll all try to support you through your exciting metamorphosis. All the best.

MiddleWoman

Hi all,

I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce
myself. I've been lurking in the background for a few months now and I
have read almost everything that's been posted, ever. In the course of
my lurking, I feel like I've come to know a lot of you, and lurking
started to feel like I was creeping around peeking through curtains.
Finally today I cracked, and decided it was bad manners to keep doing
what I've been doing, so I decided to make a post. :)

What can I tell you about me? Here are the important points in a nutshell.

- I have a lifelong history of being overweight, dating back to when I was a toddler.
- I crash diet like an absolute champion, and am not exaggerating when I
say I have tried most of them, and have even been relatively successful
on many of them. BUT my success was always followed by regaining the
weight after I went off the diet.
- I am fortunate that I do not have
any complications or additional health issues relating to my weight.
About 2 years ago I decided that I needed tools to assist with long-term
maintenance of weight, not just weight loss. So I toddled off to the
doctor, to the internet, and to some seminars I had seen advertised.
-
I first looked into the options for WLS, following one of the seminars I
had attended, in mid-2009. My GP was very supportive; however, after
almost 10 months of correspondence with APRA, my application for
funding was ultimately declined.
- I signed up for PHI in mid-2010
and played the 12 month waiting game. I made a conscious decision to
have year off dieting while I waited.
- Here I am a year later. I'm booked in for the 30th August. :) :) :)

I
don't like numbers.... I hope you will all forgive me and understand if
I don't publish my weight and BMI and milestones. I have an ideal
weight in mind of course, but I prefer to focus on the improvement to my
heath and happiness as the major achievement for the moment. That's
not to say that I won't choose to shout all the facts and figures from
the rooftops at a later date, but for now I prefer to keep my numbers to
myself.

I have a wonderful partner who adores me, has seen me at
my best and at my worst, and is 100% supportive of my decision to have
WLS.

I have a family whom I adore, but who openly consider me as the failure in our family because I am fat
- despite my career success, relationship success, or any other factor.
I don't hold it against them because the family dynamic is what it is
and it will never change, and I still love them and they love me; but I
choose not to tell them about this surgery because it's easier for me that way.
I won't apologise for that choice, I make it for my own reasons. On the
same note, I choose not to tell my friends at this stage either.
Perhaps I will, when I'm ready, but for now I want to keep this to
myself, just for me. Selfish, much? Probably. I don't deny it, and I
won't apologise for that either. Again, I make this choice for my own
reasons.

I am on day 2 of the optifast pre-op diet and so far it
hasn't been too bad. I have done the optifast diet three times
previously in my crash-dieting days, and I guess my body recognises it,
because it has slipped back into diet mode as easily as slipping into a
warm bath - hello darkness my old friend. I sure do miss the optifast
tomato soup, though.

What more is there to say but this? I want
to thank you all, from the top posters to the newbies. As I said, I have
read just about all the posts on the forum - even the ones just for
men. (Sorry - but only a little bit sorry!) I have read many of your
diaries, and followed your blogs, and watched your videos on Youtube.
Without me ever having had to ask, you have allayed my fears, filled my
knowledge gaps and given me confidence in my decision.

I'm not
sure how often I'll post, but I''ll try and stay involved and give back
something to this community, which has already given me a lot without
ever knowing it. I'm usually the fat girl lurking quietly in the back,
not necessarily asking questions or drawing attention to myself, but
taking everything in. I'll try not to lurk here. I'll try to contribute
meaningfully. But old habits die hard.... be gentle with me. :)

W.