I am so thankful that I found this supportive community! You guys are the wind beneath my wings and I ain't a lightweight yet so the burden is great helping me fly. I saw a question weeks ago on BYOC... It was "What was the last straw that finally made you decide to get the lapband?" I can't say that it was one thing or another...just too many things to be honest. I love to travel and was finally confronted by an overzealous airline employee who asked me if I bought 2 seats... that was a big embarrassing moment! I asked myself why was it embarrassing? I mean, You're fat and everyone can see that so the crowd overhearing her ask you if you bought 2 seats shouldn't make you embarrassed... but it did. I have a huge fear every time I fly and that fear finally came to light! Anyway, I love to eat out at restaurants and I love booths, when they became uncomfortable for me to sit in, I didn't wait to start sitting elsewhere... so i sat uncomfortable until it was too uncomfortable to bear. I'm back in booths already least than 2 months after my surgery. And.... I started feeling uncomfortable eating "treats" in front of others... cake, cookies, candy, etc made me want to eat in secret... once that started coming on I knew I had to do something about my weight. I couldn't dress cute anymore... I could buy cute things but they didn't look cute on me... like they did on the hanger. I couldn't fit in movie theater, stadium, or theatre seats so I always came in my wheelchair which made me even less active and made me gain more weight... Vicious cycle. Let me stop rambling.... I could go on forever telling you all that my weight has limited me from doing or seeing. The Straw that broke the camel's back was me... I broke the camel's back, literally. I am too heavy to ride a camel when we go to Egypt or ride a horse on the beach in Hawaii... The adventureous life I picture for myself has me still jiggly but thinner.... much thinner. And I am on my way!