Hello my name is Jessica, I'm 26 and am due to have my gastric banding procedure August 1st so just a couple of weeks away.
A little bit about myself; I live in the outer suburbs of Melbourne and am currently finishing my diploma of nursing (only 3 months left). I have been working as a PCA (personal care assistant) for 3.5 years up until recently. Which is part of why I have chosen to have the surgery I have noticed my weight holding me back in my personal and professional life and want to start my new career healthy. I heard about this website from a friend and thought it would be a good idea to join, it would be great to have the support and knowledge from others who know first hand the long hard journey that I will be undertaking.
So I look forward to getting to know some of the people here and taking advantage of the resources provided.

Hey Jessica,

This is a Melbourne thread, we're all friendly! So feel free to introduce yourself there and have a bit of a read,

www.bariatricpal.com/topic/306037-australia-melbourne/

Congratulations on your upcoming surgery date! So natural to have jitters beforehand. What you say about weight holding you back really resonates with me. I don't think I had any idea just how far that had gone for me -- the low self-esteem, less energy, self-consciousness about my weight and everything else. I wish this had been available to me sooner in my life (I am twice your age). Meanwhile, banded life is great. I have loved dropping weight of course, but I wasn't really prepared for how much confidence I have now. I think that has to do not only with my physique being trimmer but the thinking and obsessing about food all the time was wearing me down. So wonderful to have the appetite monster off my back and all that chatter gone. My life is so much simpler and I am so much happier. And happy to report that I still love food, just in small amounts at appropriate intervals. Best wishes to you -- glad you found the forum. It's a great place to get ideas and information. I learned more here than I did from my hospital.

My name is Lisa and I am just starting my lap band journey. I must admit this decision is a little scary for me. I am having a hard time understanding how you can survive on 3 ounces of food per meal. Is it the way that I think about food? Which is years of training from childhood. I am trying to get to the core reason why I am so scared, and I keep coming back to the 3 ounces of food. I know something must change I am 5feet, 200 pounds, and 48 years old and I have tried everything. Thanks for listening.

Welcome to the board Jessica and Lisa. There's a lot of information on here. If you perform a search on a particular topic I'm sure lots of links will pop up. Good luck on your journey.