I had surgical consult the other day for gastric bypass surgery. At 32 years old I've struggled with my weight my entire life at my heaviest a couple years ago I was 550+ pounds. I am now as of yesterday 462 pounds. I just recently got back into diet and exercise and am losing weight at a steady rate which makes me think I can lose it on my own. I made it clear to the surgin my goal is not to have surgery. He did not encourage going the non surgery route and instead talked about how I would benefit combining my already successful diet and exercise with the surgery. My concerns are, I really want to be able to help other obese people in guiding in weight loss and exercise and don't want to lose any credibility in doing so. Also I've been struggling with my weight and yo yo dieting so long I don't want to lose out on this opportunity.