I am being banded on Feb. 9th. am so excited. A whole new life awaits me. What is the ONE best piece of advice you can give me?

Congratulations! This is such an exciting time for you -- and February 9 will be here before you know it!!

The best piece of advice I can give is to be KIND to yourself. I see so many people anxious because the healing is taking a little longer, or they aren't able to stick to a "diet" right out of the gate, or they've lost "only" 20 lbs in the first month. :confused:

Immediately post-surgery and the six weeks following are about HEALING, not about losing weight or learning new ways to eat. You have to let yourself take all the time you need to get over the surgery and let your band heal in place. Follow your doctor's instructions and if anything hurts, stop doing it.

It's only AFTER the six weeks are over that you should turn your attention to learning to eat solids with the band. It's very hard to remember that, so my advice to you is to write down that date somewhere and make a conscious effort to be extra-nice to yourself until then. After that you can count calories, measure portions, and worry about exercise to your heart's content.