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Just a little over a year ago, I wrote about what I thought 2012 would be like for me. I was experiencing a lot of stress at the time thinking how drastically my life would transform by having weight loss surgery, adopting a baby and potentially changing my job; three major life changes. The weight loss journey has been a unique ride into a bizarre world where I am valued and found to be attractive by people around me. While it was difficult physically, it was not any harder than what I had expected. Mentally and emotionally, the journey has been surreal. I’m still not sure what to make of everything and I’m still trying to get used to this new life. I was very anxious about my surgery. I was worried about having medical complications and I was concerned about the impact the surgery would have on my life. Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about. The surgery and recovery went smoothly. I was worried about standing out in a crowd or drawing attention to myself because of my dietary needs. My anxiety was unfounded as I have discovered that I am no different than anyone else except that I eat less food. I don’t mind telling waiters and fellow diners that I’ve had surgery and therefore am not able to eat large quantities of food. I am not ashamed of my surgery in the least. I know I could not have lost this weight without the surgery. Last year, I had a lot of new experiences with food and people. My goal this year will be to take what I learned last year and apply it. I still have 60 pounds I want to lose. I need to focus on my recovery and weight loss once again like I did a year ago. It is necessary for me to use what I learned about protein shakes, eating slowly, and making better food choices to take my journey to the next level. I bought bicycles last year but did not use them very much. After losing weight I was more active than I had ever been before. I went on several walks and then there was that infamous kayaking trip. It is very easy for me to revert back to my old sedentary habits; therefore, I need to make a conscious effort to continue to stay active in 2013. Finally, this year I need to learn to become more comfortable in my own skin. I need to learn the social skills required to make new friends and confidently talk to strangers. I think this has more to do with my self-esteem and confidence than anything else. I don’t believe in making concrete New Year’s resolutions, but I think some lifestyle and behavioral changes are always a positive thing. In a push to grow as an individual, I will make an effort to be more active; more social; and practice healthy eating behaviors. As it is getting late, I will discuss the adoption and career at another time.

When you say liquid, there are 2 types, a clear liquid diet and full liquid. Not sure which you will be on but typically ppl are on clear first then full liquid. For clear liquid I had: Chicken/Beef Broth G2 or Vitamin Water (for the electrolytes) Jello Herbal Tea (Chamomile did wonders for my stomach) Once I progressed to full liquid (the liquid should roll off spoon like milk) 100 calorie greek yogurt that has been thinned with skim milk and strained to remove fruit seeds/bits Cream soups (potato, cheese, broccoli) that are made with skim milk, and then thinned with skim milk and strained I made peanut butter bananna smoothies using skim milk, greek yogurt, banana, and PB2 (powdered peanut butter) IT WAS DELISH (just strain first) Also Trop 50 OJ cut with 50% water has been a great way for me to get a big old scoop of protein powder down in the morning. I've also had Coco wheats made with skim milk, thinned with skim milk and a little sweetener. Don't go out and buy a ton b/c you are going to be shocked at how little you can actually consume!! I'll be moving to puree/soft foods in about a week so I'll let you know what stuff seems to work well for that stage

wow! amazing u look so good! its encouraging for me....Ive hit a low spot..Im down 20 pounds since my gastric sleeve surgery nov 30 2012. but it wont go past that!!! I need to do something more I guess lol. But thank you so much fro posting this, it really helped me

Betrayal comes from many aspects of our life. From friends, family, spouses and children. Everytime you are betrayed by people you love it hurts. So why with the band do you betray yourself by eating things you are not supposed to and in the long run feeling guilty and hurt by your decisions. Life isn't always easy and we have enough stress without letting the band stress us more. It's supposed to help us feel better about ourselves not feel miserable. As the new year approaches, stop betraying yourself with the band. Follow your instructions that you were given and even if your weight loss is slow, a pound loss is a loss no matter how you look at it. I betrayed myself for years with tons of food, feeling miserable, feeling overly full and depending on food to get me through rough times. I stil have rough times, but I don't use food as another means to betray myself. I use it to make myself feel good by getting rid of the horrible self image I had when I was almost 300lbs. Sometimes it's not easy dealing with problems without the comfort of food but I have learned to stop letting meaningless things get on my nerves. Happy New Year with a new attitude about band life!

Good luck girlfriend! You have a positive attitude which is half the battle!! I was sleeved on July 2nd and have lost 129 lbs to date. I told EVERYBODY and I'm proud of it. There is one person in my family who didn't support my choice, but that's her problem. My friends have been super supportive. Just remember...it's not an easy fix, you still have to work at it. Now that I'm almost 6 months out, there are a lot more foods that I can eat that I couldn't at first, it's come to the point where I have to make the right choices. My biggest advice to you after the surgery is GET YOUR PROTEIN. I can't stress that enough. Protein, protein, protein. I still have a Carnation milk chocolate no sugar added protein shake with 1% milk every morning. Oh yah, take lots of before and after pictures too!