I've been banded six months, and so far have done pretty well. I've been able to stay on track, and keep myself focused on how to live with my band. My weight loss has been pretty consistent so far, and I've been pleased with my progress. I've also been pretty spoiled by my ease of contact with the outside world. I take my instant-access Internet usage for granted, I spend a lot of time at my full-service local gym, and I enjoy eating a select number of band-friendly foods. So my band journey has been very straightforward.

But then, life happened and gave me a reality check: Vacation plans that were made over a year ago, long before I was banded, finally came about. It was a week's trip to a mountain cabin near Glacier National Park in northern Montana. Hiking, spending a lot of time outdoors, and generally getting back to nature. What a wonderful vacation! But when these plans were made I hadn't decided to get banded, and it never occurred to me that I should reconsider my vacation plans. So I went.

Suddenly I was away from my entire post-op bandster support system. No cell phone service most of the time. No Internet access. Even my Bodymedia armband wouldn't work there, as there was no Internet available, required to sync data. I was freaking out! I'd have no way to gauge what I was doing, and I was pretty hesitant about it all. How was I going to manage to eat right and not gain a ton of weight?

After thinking it through, I used the time as a test to see how well I'd do out in the real world. I didn't measure or track anything I ate. I ate as smart as I could, using common sense, and avoiding foods I knew would be a trigger for me to overeat. I was able to eat in restaurants several times, but a lot of the foods I ate weren't part of my normal eating plan. I ate more than I would have otherwise, and I was concerned about the long-term affect of eating that way.

I got home late last night, and after unpacking, I had a great night's sleep in my own bed. This morning I stepped on the scale to face the music - and see how much weight I'd put on. Imagine my tremendous surprise and total mental backflip to see I weighed a quarter pound less than I did the day I left! Yeah!!!

If you look closely, you can see me doing a little happy dance here...

Dave

P.S. In retrospect, I guess it was a bit of a Scale Victory, too.

That is absolutely wonderful!

Good job!

Way to go Dave...I'm glad to hear you had a great vacation!

I am like you...totally obsessed with tracking everything I eat as well as calories burned. I can't imagine going a week without it...awesome job!!!

You did excellent! Goes to show this is really a lifestyle change and we really have to go with the flow. You got to eat some things you normally wouldn't, and some larger portions but didn't gain. Nice job!

That's great news! Life is good . Nice job Dave.

Great Job!

Great job. You give me hope that I can get to the point where I can eat as normal people do and not have to be obssessed about keeping a tight and limited food regimine as I now live under, That occasionally on vacation or for specail events I can eat differently and still maintain my weight. Thanks for keeping my hope alive.

Happy for you. I ll bet all that hiking was alot more fun than it would have been 6 months ago. Another NSV !!!!!! Right ?

Good for you Dave!! Congratulations!!

That's fantastic!!!

Ah, the real world is not so scary, is it??? I am going to the Land of Bread and Sausages---Europe---next month. I hope I am as successful!

Ah, the real world is not so scary, is it??? I am going to the Land of Bread and Sausages---Europe---next month. I hope I am as successful!

LOL! No, it's not that scary. But in this case, I'd become quite accustomed to a certain way of working my weight loss, and I took it all for granted. Suddenly none of that was available to me, and I had to forge off on my own. It was like a bird learning to fly. It was cool to see the end result was not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Proof that good habits work, I guess.

@lakegirl88: Absolutely true! The hiking I did this time was enjoyable, and I had a lot of fun. In my previous existence, the only hiking I'd have done would have been to get my fat rear from the refrigerator to the sofa. LOL!

Dave