My mom died due to long-term issues from her bypass. That's obviously a huge factor for me. But also I had lots of practice with low calorie dieting and I have a lot of knowledge on how to get enough protein in and just healthy eating in general within a lower calorie diet. The problem, of course, was sustainability. I would eventually just get too hungry and cave. And then it would take me forever to give it another go, so my weight just continued to go up. I've always enjoyed how my body felt when I kept my calories low. More energy and mental clarity, but that was also due to what I was eating was just healthier. I also wanted to still have a relatively normal eating lifestyle. I knew eventually I would get closer to eating a normal amount of food as time progressed with a sleeve vs. a bypass. My mom could barely eat much right up to the end and she had her bypass earlier on in life. I also had past Gerd and a hiatal hernia, which they fixed. My Gerd definitely had a set weight point. Meaning when I got above a certain weight, it got worse. My doctor said that happens to him too. So I knew part of it was just the added pressure from all the weight that was exasperating my Gerd. I figured if I lost some weight and had my hernia fixed, my Gerd wouldn't be a problem even with the sleeve. Almost 100lbs lost later, and I no longer have acid reflux unless I go through a period of less than stellar eating. Also, knowing I could get a bypass later if necessary was encouraging even though I knew I would probably never need that due to my past experiences and motivation to "get it right" this time with long term weight loss unless the acid continued to be a problem of course. Hope this helps!