Anyone considering weight loss surgery needs to know that it is not always going to be pleasant (two to four weeks post op of Clear liquids and I did not die). It's going to be a fight until your band is adjusted correctly. You will feel probably for the first time in your obese life hunger. Real true hunger after surgery that you never knew existed. Why? Because we never let ourselves get hungry before. Some of you will get down right pissed off about being hungry and wonder why do I have to starve this isn't what I signed up for. I signed up for weight loss surgery and for the weight to come off instantly and to put no work into it or do anything but sit on the couch and watch my body disappear. Well in the real world that would happen and you can see some cartoon that would represent a fat woman or man who took a magic pill and the fat was all gone. Well let me tell you this: it is not always going to be easy, it is always going to take work from you, it is always going to take patience because the weight is not going to fly off your hips like a stork delivering a baby. It's going to take devotion, restraint, the ability to want to never live in an obese world again. It's going to be down days and no move scale days and everything else in between. food is going to get stuck and you are going to wish that you could just die at that moment because the pain is so bad the food can not pass fast enough. But in trade for all those bad things will come no more back pain, no more pain medications, no more blood pressure or insulin, you will be able to walk a long distance and not need to sit down because you can hardly breathe. You will get the life that you were robbed of because food was holding you captive. You will be able to travel, sit comfortable anywhere your bootay wants to sit. You won't be the fatest person in the room, you will take a million pictures of yourself instead of hiding from the camera. Hard work pays off but the thing you have to remember is that this little thing is there to help you not to do all the work. You will in the beginning have to diet yes diet because the band won't help you in the first months. You will have to have will power from bad foods but you will make it. I love to feel hunger now because that is my body telling me its time to nourish me. But I fill it full of good healthy Proteins, veggies and once in a while fruit. Do I splurge on ice cream? Absolutely because that is one thing I wouldn't care if they made it from grass I would eat it.

Cheryl great statement.. everything you said I have found out. I knew going in that it wasn't the easy ride people think but I did think I would not be hungry. the sacrifices are well worth the rewards.. I do not ever want to go back to being obese. my life is so much better than before as far as mobility and feeling better. no more diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.. I am praying that this will be the lifetime change I needed.

I agree Cheryl....well said and SO true....its been an interesting 5 months for me but SOOOO worth it. And I feel proud to have only 4 pairs of terrific size 16 pants in my closet to wear because I threw out every size larger than that because I will never EVER go back to those sizes (18-24) again. And I do not want to have too many 16's because my size will go down some more.!!!

And it IS hard work....and I WANT it....and I WILL have it from here on out!!!!

well said Cheryl. good post

i hope cheryl that every person who needs to read this DOES

and actually lets the words sink in.........this post was wrote by a successful bander so it def shows how to work the band as intended.

Now this is truth!! Great post!! Congrats on your hard work, it's paid off!

Cheryl, great post and well said. I needed to read this. I guess im a newbie banded dec 2013 so reading this has definitely gave me some encouragement. I love reading posts by you:-) keep them coming!