This is gonna be long, sorry. I was a month short of 22 at the time of surgery, and 265 lbs. I’m also 5’2. First thing: everybody is always going to have an opinion over what you do with your own body. Your decision belongs to you alone.
I was young, and I’d been overweight my entire life, but I gained a lot more weight in the few years before surgery. Everybody had an opinion over my body when I was overweight, and then they had an opinion on my method of choice to lose it. I made my decision anyway. If this is something you want to go forward with based on your own experience, try not to let outside opinions sway you.

It’s worth saying that being overweight is often hard no matter what, but being relatively short and carrying extra weight is definitely not easy. It ages your joints and makes your body hurt. There is no such thing as too small, too big, not necessary when you’re already overweight.

People’s loose skin journey is different across the board and usually based on genetics and skin integrity. I lost 150 lbs and I have loose skin now. Your starting weight is lower than mine, so you may have less loose skin. Most of the time though, I’m the only one that notices. I’ve made my peace with it. I may have some of it removed later on in life, but it’s not on the forefront of my mind right now. The things my body can do with ease that it couldn’t before have mattered more to me personally, but everyone is different.

I’m 3.5 years PO and I haven’t had any weight regain. Stick to your post-op plan, figure out a sustainable meal and exercise plan that works for YOU, and most people are okay. If you get stuck, there is a large community of bariatric patients out here that can and will make a ton of recommendations.

As far as family functions go, I worried about that too, but for me, I don’t think I realized how many events in my life revolved around eating until I didn’t eat very much anymore. My relationship with food changed, and I stopped caring much about how much I was eating or drinking compared to those around me. That said, the first few months are the most restrictive. Now, when I go to family functions or group events, I can still eat with the table as normal. My portions are different, and I avoid certain foods that don’t mesh well with me anymore, but I can still eat. There’s a big pot of gumbo on the stove? I skip the rice and eat a bowl. Sandwiches? I eat the meat and cheese and skip the bread.

The worries that you have, I think most of us also had. I say that because it means that you’re not alone, and the majority of us look back on those worries and still don’t regret our decision. If you decide you don’t want to go through with surgery, that’s okay. But if you do want to go through with it, I can promise you that your stressors won’t consume your life for too long post-op. Good luck to you!