CJ: "Gosh, I can't say I wish that there was something that I had known before I had the surgery because I did so much research before I had the surgery. What I wish I had done was had the surgery earlier. I felt as though I was ready and prepared. So there were really no surprises on what I had to do afterwards or what I was gonna feel like. But I just wish that I had done it sooner."

Steve: "I think on average most people look into it two or three years before they actually come down to making that first appointment with the surgeon and actually taking the steps to go through with having the surgery. So I think a lot of people weed out those surprises. I don't think that there's a lot that surprises anyone."

CJ: "Absolutely."

Stephen: "And you know that is a very important factor to it. You need to be involved prior to doing this. I mean I got involved in the support group months before I had the surgery to know what to expect, you know, to hear these people's stories. So I can only stress that you need to be involved way before, because there are people out there that..."

CJ: "You know that's so true. I mean, if you don't, if you can't spend the time to do the research beforehand, it makes it that much harder for you afterwards, and so then, you know, inevitably you'll feel like a failure or whatnot because you don't know what to expect."

CJ: "And you have... and you have baby steps, absolutely, and you have to just be positive and just move forward in your way of thinking, and make it part of your life. I mean it's a lifestyle. It's not something you're just doing for the minute, it's something you do for life, so..."

Teresa: "When you fall off the bike you get back on it. I mean, that's the only way to make it right. You're gonna struggle, everyone's gonna struggle."

CJ: "Yeah, absolutely."

CJ: "So I think it's really important for people to know that first six months to a year, that's when you're building all of your good habits, and that's when you're really building the core you."

Steve: "And I think that before surgery, before you even make it to the surgeon's office, you need to take a good, long, hard, honest look at your life and decide, 'Is this really something that I'm committed to doing? Is this really something that I can do?' And I'd even recommend to people to almost walk the walk for a few months before, you know. Try to do the diet. Try to cut down your portions. Try to do some more exercise. Try to almost emulate what your life is gonna be like after the surgery to see if you're gonna be able to stick with it. To see if you're gonna be able to do it. And take a hard, honest look at what got me here to begin with."

Steve: "And I think that you really need to work on that and do a lot of work pre-surgery in order to be successful after. To give yourself permission to be successful, and to lose the weight and to keep it off, and to be the person that you always knew that you could be."