Every year for Christmas, my wife and I invite our families over for Christmas Eve and we all exchange presents, talk, but most importantly, eat. That last word made me really nervous this year for a few of reasons. One, the week of Christmas, I was still on mushy food. Two, I know I'm not supposed to be eating sweets (even if they're mushy). And three, I don't want to ruin other people's holidays just because I can't eat, you know? I'm the one who had lapband surgery, not them.

And you know what? For the most part, I worried over nothing. This year a lot of people made sugar-free deserts. My wife made a sugar-free peanut butter pie that was terrific! Someone brought a bean dip with cheese and salsa that I mixed together and ate with a spoon. I even had a couple of Christmas cookies that the kids made (don't tell Santa). Instead of two or three plates of food, I only had one, and instead of half a two-liter of Diet Coke, I had water.

And you know what? Everybody still had a good time. Everybody ate what they wanted to eat and no one made a big deal out of what I was having. To tell the truth, everyone was walking around so much with their plates that I'm not sure anyone even noticed, or cared.

I think people (co-workers and family) are losing interest in what I eat on a day to day basis, which is pressure off of me. I didn't have lapband surgery to become the center of attention. Quite the opposite, actually.