Thank you @Mattymatt for sharing. This post was so helpful to me, as were all of the responses. I am slated to have surgery Thursday, and I didn't know if I could keep it off. I don't want to fail at this. I feel like I've been on a diet my whole life and keeping it off has always been an issue. Another issue I have is that I am allergic to many artificial sweeteners. Which makes some diet food literally painful to eat - especially drink. And I just don't think it is realistic that I will only drink water for the rest of my life. I am trying to take this step for myself, but I am terrified. I really do appreciate all of you that post regularly. I read through all the time and I've found a lot of support here. I'm hoping I can do this.