And I'm determined to do something about it.

I recall weighing 100 lbs at age 10, I recall weighing 145 at 14. Those are the lowest weights I've ever recall seeing. I'm 4'11.

Family history has a lot to do with my situation, in my opinion, whether you want to call it behavioral or genetic or both. My paternal grandmother died at over 600 lbs -- my mother, three of her female cousins, and one of her male cousins have all had gastric bypass surgery. Both of my parents were only children. My dad was always skinny, now he's having a hard time keeping weight on (he's been dxed with HIV since 1992, he's doing pretty darn good I'd say) -- but while I continually offer to give him the 20 lbs he needs to gain, we just can't seem to make the transaction work.

My high weight was 244, that was when I was using birth control pills and on thyroid medication. I came off of birth control and that's really all I recall doing and 30 lbs came off. I lost more when I moved out into the country and was eating hippie food and working in the garden all day, but never got below 150. I was happy at the 180 I settled to when I got back to sedentary work, but was determined not to gain. Yeah, I was fat, but my BMI was more than 15 less than it used to be, so I was a lot healthier than I used to be.

I don't want gastric bypass. My mother did suggest something, and she says she almost wishes she'd done it first before doing gastric bypass but her health condition was a lot worse than mine is (she was a BMI of 52.9, my highest BMI was just under 50 before I came off of birth control pills). For quite a long time after the surgery, you have to eat a liquid diet that is a VLCD because your gut can't handle anything else, and that's when most people lose their weight.

I'm tempted to ask my doctor about seeing if he'll supervise me on a VLCD with the goal of losing 50 lbs, then start going toward a stepdown version of it and focusing more on exercise to hopefully lose another 25. I try to exercise but after I messed up this knee exercise hurts it worse, and I know the reason it's not getting better is that I'm fat. Losing 50 would put me at a 31 BMI, and will certainly be a lot easier on my knee so I can get it better and start exercising again. If I was able to take down that additional 25, I'd be a 26 BMI.

I'd be thrilled to have either a 31 or a 26. I'd still be classed as "overweight", but only by 5 pounds if I was able to pull off a total of a 75 lb weight loss. Hell, I'd be happy to just lose 25 lbs, but I think it's going to take at least 50 to get my knee much improvement.

Anyone here ever done the Optifast program? I'm not sure if my doctor utilizes it, but any one else tried a VLCD that was doctor supervised?

Moriah, good for you for thinking of ways to work on your health. Many people are in the same situation with painful joints and excessive weight. I also thout to myself the same thing. Why not try low cal diet and try to bypass the surgery. 1. I think a vlcd is very hard to do and maintain. the gb surgery makes people puke if over ingestion so it has a viscious deterrent to it. I think you would need to have an appetite suppressant to make it work. I have not tried optifast. I did try the medifast products. The soup,oatmeal and chili stuff was absolutely gaggy. The texture, the taste, the smell. I would rather eat vomit than some of those I tried. Before you buy a boat load of meals and sign up for an expensive program you might want to consider just buying 1 each of several of their products to see if you can stomach it. For me atkins short term helps alot. I do like my carbs to excess so this takes away my trigger foods for me. Let me know what you do and what works. I am cheering for you. best wishes mmyp

If I was you and had the funds to do so, I would try to see about a lap band. Its reversible and seems to a lot safer then bypass.

Have you tried taking Phen? Would your dr prescribe it? It makes you forget to eat. So if you have say chocolate cravings, by the time you are off the phen those cravings go away (because you are no longer eating it). If you start eating mostly vegetables you'll start to crave vegetables. I know it sounds weird, who could possibly crave vegetables? I do. It's all I eat and I crave them. I'll plan my dinner around veggies, potatoes, corn, carrots, broccoli etc and I'll start to get hungry and think mmm I can't wait to eat that potatoe and squash. I know it's a bit strange. It sort of makes sense tho. If people eat chocolate say for example they start to crave it so they continue to eat it. I got rid of my chocolate craving by taking phen and then when I went off it I was only craving vegetables again. (Oh and soda of course, but I continued drinking soda). The only time I didn't crave it was day 5 of my water only fast. The minute the fast was over I drank a soda and was back to square 1.

The thing about any stimulant for weight loss is that after your 12 weeks are up (or when ever build tolerance to it), if you been letting the it do all the work, the weight will come right back. You have use the extra will power it gives you est a good diet AND exercise program that will last after you get off of it.

This is very true, but sometimes people no longer crave foods they once ate if they haven't eaten them in 12 weeks. This would be beneficial to those that eat high calorie foods.

Of course exercise should always be, if possible, a part of one's lifestyle not just diet.

Yep