"Failure is not an option!!"

I read it on someone's blog and it is really helping me because I feel the same way.  Tomorrow it will be 3 weeks since I was banded.  I am down 22 lbs as of this morning and really feeling great.  I am following all the rules - eating 4-5 small meals every 3 hours and while I don't really feel the restriction, I am full after a small amount.  Drinking a lot of water, not drinking an hour after meals, and I have been walking on my treadmill for 40 minutes every day.  I do have to use willpower a lot with foods that I know I wouldn't have any trouble with the band.  But everytime I get tempted I just think about the extreme that I had to do to lose weight.  Honestly I remember myself lying in pain in the recovery room and the couple of days after surgery.  (For anyone not banded it was not terrible and I would do it again in an instant!) I am determined not to give in to the Bandster Hell. 

Today we went to visit my cousin for her birthday and my sister stopped by.  They hadn't seen me since 5 days out - when I was down about 8 lbs.  They both totally saw the difference and that felt good.  When we said good-bye I said "Next time you see me I will be smaller" and it felt great because I know it will be true.  We live about an hour away and I likely won't see them until the end of the month at my son's birthday party.
Tomorrow I go on a business trip to Bermuda for our semi-annual senior management meetings.  I will be with a group of 30 eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 3 days.  I am actually not even nervous.  Last time I was there (pre-op diet) I just told people I was doing a protein shake diet if I felt the need and will likely do the same.  I have packed up some protein shakes.  The person planning knows about my band and told me there will be soup at every meal so I will just stick to that. And I am sure there will be plenty of yogurt too.  There is a store across from the hotel that sells Chobani.
I am really looking forward to being away.  My boys are exhausting and since I work at home when I am not traveling I really look forward to these trips.  I will actually be away a couple of days next week too but just in NYC and Baltimore.  Luckily my husband is fantastic, we have our au pair that lives in, and a babysitter that helps out 3 mornings a week.   

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Will post from Bermuda and maybe get a nice picture or two to put up. 

xoxo Susan