I've been reading these forums for the past couple of weeks and thought I would post my first reply on this thread.
I'm 31 years old and weigh 325 -heaviest I've ever been. I have tried all diets; structured diets like Jenny Craig; book diets like South Beach, Atkins, the Zone; fad diets; and medication (Phen-Fen, then the other Fen when one turned out to be dangerous, Meridia, Glucophage...). My doctor tested for thyroid problems and I am fine.
I guess I have tried everything but never long enough and that is what I find to be the key. It's all about committing to something long enough to see results (healthy eating
and exercise. The problem I found with me is that it was always too easy to not take responsibility and blame my weight gain on something (genes, fad diets, bad knees so I can't exercise...).
I went to a nutritionist the other day to help me design a healthy eating plan and she said that I should look into surgery. I politely declined and said that I rather spend the time going over an eating plan. She said she could give me some literature to look at but that I should strongly consider surgery. Surgery is fine if that's what you want but I don't want it for a number of reasons but look how easy it is to get it pushed on you.
Anyway, sorry for the long post and sorry if I offend anyone. These are just my thoughts on this issue
