Hello everyone,

I am home and banded....my surgery was on Friday! I feel pretty good and am trying to stay positive about transitioning into this new lifestyle. It's hard to picuture the end result when I just came home from the hospital and I'm drinking broth and crystal light! I hope I made the right decision. Now I know what people were talking about with "saying goodbye to your best friend- food." I know that the best is yet to come, but....any words of wisdom are appreciated! Thanks!

You have come a long way, you are too far down the road to a healthier you to turn back now. Picture yourself this summer.

Don't worry....VERY soon you will see the pounds melting away and that will be your motivation to keep going! I remember sitting and crying a few days after surgery because it felt like I'd just lost my best friend!! This will pass I promise you! Your new best friend will be the new you!

Keep your chin up sweetie!!

oh my weight loss ticker is outdated and I can't even figure out how to take it off my signature page!

31 pounds lost today.

Yea me!!

Hi Hazel-eyes. First, congrats on being banded! Welcome to the club. There is a lot of advise I can give you. I've been banded for 21 months. First, the first 6 weeks are time to heal and not necessarily lose weight. Make sure you follow your postop diet to a tee. It is very important to stay on course when it comes to the liquid, mushies and solid phases. Second, you may or may not be hungry which is quite normal. If you are starving during the liquid phase you can have anything that fits through a straw. Creamy soups made with milk were a life saver for me. Third, once you reach the solid phase try and keep your portion control to 1 cup of food 3x a day. High in protein first, then vegies. Try and eat very few carbs. Fourth, the more you exercise the faster your weight loss will be. I didn't do a lot of that so my weight loss is much slower. Most important in the next few months is to be very patient. Fills take a little time to get the right restriction level. It may take you a few months to get to the point that you have good restriction so be patient. I think it took me 5 fills to get there. You may find that after your first fill or 2 you still don't feel restriction. That is true. Often times it takes at least 3 or so to get there. It is quite common to be able to eat normal portions during that time. Don't get discouraged. This is not about will power, its about getting the right restriction level so be patient. Let me know if you have any question. Welcome to bandland!