Today, my aunt told me this:

"I hope you are getting back to normal! Remember food tends to be part of our socializing. You need to teach yourself that you can have just as much fun without eating whatever is in front of you or sounds so good. with the small amount of nutrition you can fit in your body, its important to make it count."

via Facebook. She was telling me about something else and just threw this in. I thought it was a really helpful and insightful thought. I eat socially A LOT. Eating is a huge part of being with people. Food brings people together. I know it will be a huge challenge for me to overcome but I HAVE to and WILL remember that my body is the only one I've got and I have to take care of it.

Tonight, my sister had a farewell gathering of family and friends. Of course, there was lots of yummy food present. I brought an Isopure Protein drink, a greek yogurt and my trusty Water bottle. It's been about a week and a half since surgery, so I'm still in recovery mode, kind of weak and tired. Everyone was giving me great feedback, saying I looked good (I looked a bit sickly during and after my hospital stay) and being very kind and sensitive to my lifestyle change. It was so encouraging. Some of my friends jokingly said they were trying to not eat if I was looking at them. I said no, please, just be normal. I need this. We talked and laughed for the rest of the evening and I had so much fun. I really needed this.

In conclusion, laughter is the best medicine. I don't need food to be social and active. I am ever so grateful for the support of my family and friends. I CAN and I WILL succeed in my weight loss/health journey, and I can't wait!

Does anyone have any good support stories they want to share?

Thanks for sharing and what a nice note from your Aunt. She loves you - they all do. We must change our focus. My life long girlfriend came to visit this past week and we had a blast. The biggest gift she gave me was to be herself and I learned how I needed to eat and react. Everyone voted on Chinese food!! I had no idea of what I was going to do. Everyone else does not know about the surgery. Anyway - I just stated I wasn't that hungry. Had some hot and sour soup/took a chicken finger and took all the fried stuff off and even had a half of a rib (that took me at least 20 minutes to work on (very funny to me) I didn't order a meal, just stated I wasn't ALL that hungry and picked from their pu pu platters. Anyway, I did fine and most important because I wasn't stuffing food down. I got to enjoy the company and had some of the best conversations with people I love in years!! They said " my goodness, this was the best visit ever !! for me too. It's working and I am adapting. So happy and looking forward to being in the 100's. Onederland here I come.

It sounds like you have a great support system with your family and friends , you are doing good and making good choices, this is a learning experience that is positive because you are learning about you as well as getting healthy everyday. Congrats on your choice to be healthy.Keep up the great work my friend.