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As a young child, I grew up poor. We rarely ate out or got special treats. As I got money of my own, I spent it on the foods that I wanted but could never have. I am sure that this was a large part of me becoming overweight. Everywhere I would go, I would think about food. Where would I eat? What would I eat? I almost felt like I needed to eat everywhere that I went, even if I wasn't hungry. I think it was because I could eat in these situations, where as a child/teen I would have never been able to eat.

Fast forward to my 3 week post-op experience... I went to a baseball game last night for a buck night special. Hot dogs, beer, pepsi, and popcorn were only $1. Its a good thing I am still so close to surgery, because it was hard to refuse these items that really are on the top of my favorite foods list. It rained, which I think helped too. At least that way I didn't have to smell the popcorn.

food has such a hold on so many of us. Its a daily effort to remember why we had surgery and why we are changing our lives. Let's all drink a Protein shot to our successes and move on from our failures.

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As a young child, I grew up poor. We rarely ate out or got special treats. As I got money of my own, I spent it on the foods that I wanted but could never have. I am sure that this was a large part of me becoming overweight. Everywhere I would go, I would think about food. Where would I eat? What would I eat? I almost felt like I needed to eat everywhere that I went, even if I wasn't hungry. I think it was because I could eat in these situations, where as a child/teen I would have never been able to eat.

Fast forward to my 3 week post-op experience... I went to a baseball game last night for a buck night special. Hot dogs, beer, pepsi, and popcorn were only $1. Its a good thing I am still so close to surgery, because it was hard to refuse these items that really are on the top of my favorite foods list. It rained, which I think helped too. At least that way I didn't have to smell the popcorn.

food has such a hold on so many of us. Its a daily effort to remember why we had surgery and why we are changing our lives. Let's all drink a Protein shot to our successes and move on from our failures.

I grew up in the exact same way, and have often wondered if that's part of the problem.. Congrats on staying strong at game and I just did my Protein shot ????

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The hard part for me is "clean your plate", "there are starving children in China", "willful waste makes willful want", "take what you want, but eat what you take". Non of these mom-isms (is that even a word?) are wrong in themselves, but OMG the guilt I suffer in throwing out that last bite on my plate, or funky week-old leftovers that I never got to. But I have to come to understand that I can either respect the capacity of my sleeve or just tape the extra food directly to my hips.

I think one reason that I used to eat so fast was that I came from a large (six kids, 63 first cousins) family, and if there was any thought of a second helping, you had to out-eat the others. One of the tragedies of growing up poor or struggling is that crap food is cheap and nutritious food is costly. When I was gowing up in the 1950's and 1960's it cost nearly nothing to bake a cake from scratch, but fresh fruit enough to satisfy six growing kids was harder to justify. Kraft macaroni and cheese was 4 boxes for $1, fresh meat was harder to come by. The vegetable that we had daily was potatoes. I never met a potato that I did not like. Often a snack was "sugar bread", brown sugar sprinkled on a piece of bread. Most of my diet was bread, potatoes, rice, home-made noodles, pancakes, dumplings, biscuits, spaghetti - you get the picture.

It is so hard to un-learn bad eating habits while economizing with healthy ingredients. I did not like the discomfort of the three month pre-op diet, the two week liquid diet, and the post-op stages of introducing food to my new tummy, but I am so thankful for it. I had to learn to eat all over again. What I thought was a will power problem was actually the death-grip of salt, sugar, and grease.

We do not give ourselves enough credit for making the decision to move forward with bariatric surgery. People call us weak, but they have no idea of the strength it took to get us here.

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Great posts @@Stephanie Stroup McIntosh and @@Miss Mac! And I totally hear ya both! So much of my eating is habitual and based on how I grew up. For me, food was/is a reward system.

Now that I'm so much more aware of how few calories I need to maintain a healthy weight, it's rather disturbing to think how much food I used to slam down my gullet. I think I've successfully changed my habits. I don't really think of food in terms of rewards...it's for health.

Hopefully I can maintain this way of thinking. I've done the yo-yo of course, so there's that fear that all of us have, but feeling really confident that the surgery is helping me for the long haul. And right now that long haul!

Best of luck to everyone!

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    • Prdgrdma

      So I guess after gastric bypass surgery, I cant eat flock chips because they are fried???  They sell them on here so I thought I could have them. So high in protein and no carbs.  They don't bother me at all.  Help. 
      · 1 reply
      1. NickelChip

        It's possible for a very high fat meal to cause dumping in some (30% or so) gastric bypass patients, although it's more likely to be triggered by high sugar, or by the high fat/high sugar combo (think ice cream, donuts). Dietitians will tell you to never do anything that isn't 100% healthy ever again. Realistically, you should aim for a good balance of protein, carbs, and fat each day. Should you eat fried foods every day? No. Is it possible they will make you sick? Maybe. Is it okay to eat some to see what happens and have them for a treat every now and again? Yes.

    • NovelTee

      I'm not at all hungry on this liquid pre-op diet, but I miss the sensation of chewing. It's been about two weeks––surgery is in two days––and I can't imagine how I'll feel a couple of weeks post-op. Tonight, I randomly stumbled upon a mukbang channel on YouTube, and it was strangely soothing... is it just me, or is this a thing? 
      · 1 reply
      1. NickelChip

        I actually watched cooking shows during my pre-op, like Great British Baking Show. It was a little bizarre, but didn't make me hungry. I think it was also soothing in a way.

    • Clueless_girl

      How do you figure out what your ideal weight should be? I've had a figure in my head for years, but after 3 mths of recovery I'm already almost there. So maybe my goal should be lower?
      · 2 replies
      1. NickelChip

        Well, there is actually a formula for "Ideal Body Weight" and you can use a calculator to figure it out for you. This one also does an adjusted weight for a person who starts out overweight or obese. https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/68/ideal-body-weight-adjusted-body-weight

        I would use that as a starting point, and then just see how you feel as you lose. How you look and feel is more important than a number.

      2. Clueless_girl

        I did find different calculators but I couldn't find any that accounted for body frame. But you're right, it is just a number. It was just disheartening to see that although I lost 60% of my excess weight, it's still not in the "normal/healthy" range..

    • Aunty Mamo

      Tomorrow marks two weeks since surgery day and while I'm feeling remarkably well and going about just about every normal activity, I did wind up with a surface abscess on on of my incision sights and was put on an antibiotic that made me so impacted that it took me more than two hours to eliminate yesterday and scared the hell out of me. Now there's Miralax in all my beverages that aren't Smooth Move tea. I cannot experience that again. I shouldn't have to take Ativan to go to the lady's. I really looking forward to my body getting with the program again. 
      I'm in day three of the "puree" stage of eating and despite the strange textures, all of the savory flavors seem decadent. 
      I timed this surgery so that I'd be recovering during my spring break. That was a good plan. Today is a state holiday and the final day of break. I feel really strong to return to school tomorrow. 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Now that I'm in maintenance mode, I'm getting a into a routine for my meals. Every day, I start out with 8-16 ounces of water, and then a proffee, which I have come to look forward to even the night before. My proffees are simply a black coffee with a protein powder added. There are three products that I cycle through: Premier Vanilla, Orgain Vanilla, and Dymatize Vanilla.
      For second breakfast on workdays, I will have a low-fat yogurt with two tablespoons of PBFit and two teaspoons of no sugar added dried cherries. I will have ingested 35-45 grams of protein at this point between the two breakfasts, with 250-285 calories, and about 20 carbs.
      For second breakfast on non-workdays, I will prepare two servings of plain, instant oatmeal with a tablespoon of an olive oil-based spread. This means I will have had 34 grams of protein, 365 calories, and 38 carbs. Non-workdays are when I am being very active with training sessions, so I allow myself more carbohydrate fuel.
      Snacks on any day are always mixed nuts, even when I am travelling. I will have 0.2 cups of a blend that I make myself. It consists of dry roasted peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, and Brazil nuts. This is 5 grams of protein, 163 calories, and 7 carbs.
      Breakfast and snacks have been the easiest to nail down. Lunch and dinner have more variables, and I prepare enough for leftovers. I concentrate on protein first, and then add vegetables. Typically tempeh, tofu, or Field Roast products with roasted or sautéed vegetables. Today, I will be eating leftovers from last night. Two ounces of tempeh with four ounces of roasted vegetables that consist of red and yellow sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, small purple potatoes, zucchini, and carrots. I will add a tablespoon of olive oil-based spread, break up 3 walnuts to sprinkle of top, and garnish with two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. This particular meal will be 19 grams of protein, 377 calories, and 28 grams of carbs. Bear in mind that I do eat more carbs when I am not working, and I focus on ingesting healthy carbs instead of breads/crackers/chips/crisps.
      It's a helluva journey and I'm thankful to be on it!
       
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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