Hi, I'm just starting out on my pre-op journey and considering all the impacts to my life...the good and the challenging. Im not worried about feeling full, but rather some of the behavioral and lifestyle impacts.

Even when dieting, one of my biggest challenges is eating healthy when I'm with extended family. If you have an ethnic family that thinks nothing of sitting around the table for four hours - talking, eating, drinking, coffee, dessert, more coffee - how have you dealt with it?

My other challenge is travel. Although I don't travel a lot for work anymore, I do go on road trips, planning Europe next Spring, etc. I typically have a hard time when I'm out of a routine ... Nothing like a bag of Doritos and Diet Coke on a road trip! I don't necessarily need suggestions of road-worthy food, but am hoping for insights and suggestions for the behavior.

If these challenges were yours too, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks!

My family back home are all food addicts. They don't live to survive on food, they live for the pleasure of eating every day like it's Thanksgiving. Just imagine an Italian family of 10 at the table. It's all about the food, the wine and talking.

The biggest wake up call is a picture of yourself at your highest. Carry that with you everywhere. When you feel like falling off the wagon, pull that picture out of your pocket and look at it long and hard. That is the person you are exhausted to be. That is the body you want to leave behind and start fresh.

Think about all you ever wanted to do but your weight kept you from doing it.

My husband's family eat constantly. They don't know about my surgery, so it's a double whammy, and they comment about what and how much everyone eats. We are getting together with them the day before Thanksgiving this year...I can't be around an all day eating fest. They are doing Thanksgiving brunch, and then having dinner at six, with snacks all day in between. I'm six months out, I just can't do it this year.