After much, much, much thought and consideration, after much talking to my doctor and talking to a surgeon, and looking at things on the internet, and all of that...

I have made the final decision to have the gastric bypass surgery.

I know, I know... it's a scary prospect, and their are risks involved, and practically everyone has a friend who has a relative that had the surgery and ended up dying for one reason or another. I appreciate the concern, but quite frankly I take a bigger risk driving on I-75 southboung through downtown Dayton every morning on my way to work than I do with having this surgery.

Believe me, this is not a decision I have made lightly. I'm sure many of you recall what I have now come to think of as my fat manifesto that I posted here in December '06. I truly never thought I would ever consider something like this... but I have to face reality. I am 38 years old, and I have 180 - 200 lbs to lose (I can't believe I just typed that number here...). I have tried it 'on my own', and obviously haven't gotten very far.

I also can't ignore it when I read things like this and this. I would qualify for the LapBand procedure, but for people with type II diabetes, the positive results are much greater with the gastric bypass than with the LapBand.

So there you have it. I'm sure there will be more posting to come on this, and I walk through the steps to meet the qualifications so that my insurance will cover this. Oh what a fun ride this will be...