Hard thing to ask..

I went into this with a similar attitude to what you said. I expected there to be hard day's, but it has been the hardest thing I have ever done.  First off like many have said it is about the connection you have to food and what role that food play's in your life. For me food was one of my #1 pleasures. Also the first thing I wanted to turn to after a bad day or a really good day- also the way I celebrated. You are forced to change in the beggining and you can be displined for awhile, but as the weeks pass on you start to mourn the loss of food in your life. You must teach yourself new eating habits and new ways to handle your stress and lifes issues, because life still happens after surgery and you will not be able to coupe the same way. That is hard to except..believe me.. Now some real negatives - I also was one who got sick for over 2 months after surgery several times a week, and because of it I have what is called a vocal injury on my left vocal cord from singing even though I had been throwing up. A combination of acid and a possibly a blood vessel that did not heal formed a growth and now I will have to have outpatient surgery to remove it. I am a singer so it has really given me great heartbreak. Thank God it is treatable, and I will be able to sing again, but it is hard to take when in addition to that I have had allot of hair loss. My hair was not that thick to begin with so it was so noticable - so this past weekend that I got a wig. I cried all weekend and mourned the loss of my hair. It will grow back, but still painful and has made me very insecure. I thought " Oh I won't lose my hair - I get in all of protein in and take my vitamins and I am faithful about it- dosen't matter sometimes and most of time you still will lose ALLOT of hair. Prepare yourself and know that is a possibilty.  Now postives - I have lost 85 pounds in 4 months and I am off my diabetes meds already. I thank God for the chance to use this tool, but God is changing from the inside out. If you do not change the role food plays in your life you will gain weight back. I am 4 months out and I can eat most anything and do not get sick anymore.  Go in with eyes wide open...yes is it worth it....to me yes....BUT you must go into it knowing that it will be real work and up to you to use this tool- there are no gaurentee's that I can promise you. I choose what and when I eat and how much. I am the one who has to excersise and keep it up. May God Bless you! Faith

I hope I didn't give the impression that I'm not ready to commit to this surgery or the lifestyle change that goes along with it. I feel like this is my only chance for a do-over, so to speak. I am doing this surgery before I have any co-morbidities to deal with. My parents both have issues directly related to (in not caused from) their obesity. I don't want that. I'm taking the pro-active role. I have tried weight loss attempts, as everyone has. My problem is I eat too much. And of course it's the wrong foods. This is going to be the tool I need to restrict my consumption of food, which is what I need. I am trying to keep a positive attitude about the surgery and not think that I'm going to have complications or weight regain. It's hard sometimes to stay positive when I have an adorable 15 month old son cuddling on my lap. The thought of not being there to raise him scares me...yes. But the thought of sitting on the couch while he's playing outside, scares me more. I'm doing this to be better myself. I do understand what everyone means by "hard work". I guess I just thought that all comes with the surgery. I can't thank you all enough. I hope by me posting this it helps someone who's just reading and lurking on the boards. Thanks again.