Before I realized how desperately I needed a surgical means of helping with weight-loss, I was worried how changing my body's ability to eat (and enjoy) food would effect my life-- after all, I was a "foodie", loving the preparation, serving and consumption of all things edible.  What would the quality of my new post-operative life be if I couldn't eat what I wanted, when I wanted and how often I wanted?

• I realized that I would no longer be able to enjoy a big ice cream sundae, but I knew that for the past few years, I was too embarrassed to order such a big dessert and, anyway, was too big for the chairs in most ice cream shoppes.
• I figured that I wouldn't be able to soothe myself back to sleep by gorging on late-night snacks, but I knew that by losing my weight, I would no longer be woken up by my sleep apnea and significant joint pain so I wouldn't need to worry about eating myself back to sleep.
• I had the painful realization that, after the surgery, I would never be able to return to eating normally again, but then I realized that I  had probably never eaten normally in the first place (or else why would I be contemplating gastric bypass surgery for my out-of-control weight problem?).