I've lost 33 pounds in 42 days! WOOOO HOOOO!!!  I never imagined it could be like this.  I was so afraid of this surgery and how I would feel after having it.  A friend who is considering surgery asked me recently if I've been mourning for food.  The strange answer was "no".  I really thought I would be having a hard time with it, but so far I haven't mourned for anything.  In my past, the reason I over ate was the desire for the "full" feeling.  For me, the sensation of being full made me feel calm and it relieved anxiety.  The problem was, the more I ate, the more my stomach stretched, the fatter I got in order to get that feeling of fullness.  With this surgery, that familiar and comforting feeling comes with 4 bites of food.  I've learned to stop immediately upon feeling satisfied, and the comfort and relief of anxiety is still there without the 1200 calorie binge.  I'm so thankful for this new pouch and how it's helping me control my eating.  On Thanksgiving day, I put a teaspoon of each food on my plate, ate it very slowly, and I was satisfied for the rest of the afternoon.  I could never have done that before.  Of course, my dad said I "ate like a bird", but that's ok, I know he's proud of me.  I'm amazed every day by how this surgery has changed the way I feel about eating.  I want to shout from the mountain tops how happy I am!!!  Thank you my OH friends for all your support and encouragement these past several weeks.  I think of you all like family.  {{{{HUGS}}}}

I will be having my gastric bypass surgery next Tuesday, I'm so excited!  My fiance' Jim is taking me to L.A. for a few days to celebrate.  I need the time away to mentally prepare myself for this too.  I was in the doctor's office yesterday and I met some people who were one week post-op.  It was so great to see how well they were doing.  It relieved a lot of my anxiety to see them up walking around without difficulty, and the big smiles on their faces helped too!  I've been wanting WLS for a very long time, my first consultation with a doctor was back in 1993.  Something about it just didn't "feel" right, so I didn't do it.  I'm glad I waited because this time everything feels perfect.  I'm prepared in every way, and I have a great support system.  Jim had the Lap-Band procedure last December and he is doing great.  He's lost about 80 pounds so far, and it was his experience with the surgeons and their staff that led me to persuing my goal of gastric bypass surgery.  I'll be back next week with an update :)