This post really hits home for me. I just got a date for surgery about 2 weeks ago. I'll be banded on February 12. I've been on an emotional roller coaster since I got my date. One day I'm so ready for the surgery and the next I'm backing up and questioning my decision.

I watched Oprah on Monday (day off from work for Martin Luther King Day). She had her nutritionist/trainer, Bob Greene, on the show, along with some guests who had lost a lot of weight following his eating plan.

Oprah and Bob Greene said there's no miracle to weight loss: eat less, exercise more. They made it sound so damn simple and it makes me want to kick myself because I can't seem to see a diet through to the end. I feel like I've failed a major character test.

Now, I've researched getting the band for 6 months. I have asked questions and gotten great responses, but I still feel like I'm trying to take the easy way out. My head knows that isn't true, but I have trouble forgiving myself for this weakness. I know weight loss with the LAP-BAND® is not a free gift and we have to give as much as we get.

I guess I wonder if people get the band just because their willpower sucks, or because they are so overwhelmed trying to do it on their own. I really need some help here. Are my feelings normal? Do any of you look back and say, "Why did I do this to myself when all I needed to do was eat less and exercise more?" Do any of you have regrets? I don't think I've ever thought so much about something.

HELP! Thanks for listening.

Debbie
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