So I'm just feeling like I need to eat everything I don't think I can eat after I get banded!! "Oh, I'd better get some (insert crappy food here) since I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat it again!!" And I do and I eat it.

I am about 2 months out or so from having the lap band done- I have to do a 6 month physician monitered diet - November is month 5, December month 6 then submitted to insurance, so surgery sometime in January or February 2012.

I know some people can eat whatever they want, just small amounts, some people have things they just cant' eat- and I know it's different for everyone! Thing is........

This is all completely mental.

Mental as in all in my head- I'm not hungry for this stuff, it's just the thought of MAYBE not being able to eat it again in my life!

So dumb

but help.

It's ironic that I decided to read this post because just today I was reviewing how some of my old eating habits have crept back now that I am counting down my 34 days till surgery. I have started having muffins every morning instead of my greek yogurt and going to my favorite places to eat a little to often and having that bowl of frosted flakes at night. I think I am psychologically thinking that I will never see these foods again. I have only gained one pound but I feel that I am going backwards instead of forward. I am going to try and modify my eating as well as my attitude. Hearing so many people say they can still eat things but just not as much helps me realize that it may not be the end of many of my favorites but just a reduction in quantity. Thanks to all those who have shared supportive words it really makes a difference.

It's been 4 1/2 months since my banding and i still remember my last meal before the pre-op diet - yummy cheese cake factory! i can still eat whatever i want but i am close to restriction so maybe after this next fill in a couple weeks i won't be able to. Funny (or not so) story i heard from my nutritionist. She had a WLS patient and he gained 30 pounds right before surgery doing a FAREWELL TOUR of all his favorite restaurants every night for a month before surgery - he especially liked buffets like Golden Corale! 30 pounds in 30 days - i'm not sure if she was exaggerating or not - but once i heard that it pretty much put the stopper on my own ideas for a farewell tour! who wants to suddenly start 30 pounds heavier and have to lose that before starting on the real weight! ugh - not worth it!!!

You are right, it is a major "mental" thing.

I think we all think of food in our own way. Pre-op I was so desperate to be thin I didn't care if I had to eat gruel for the rest of my life. I figured I had eaten enough pizza and other things like that to last a lifetime. I am now pleasantly surprised that I am not living on gruel.

I do have quite a list of things I can no longer tolerate, but I don't miss them. I'm ok with the list.

Thanks for posting this!!! I have been waiting on getting my cardiac clearance and blood work for about 2 wks. All I could think about was which foods I wouldnt be able to eat anymore due to possibly getting stuck. So yes, I started eating and mourning. In that 2 week period I was supposed to be starting my preop diet before seeing the surgeon to schedule the appt. The nurse called me yesterday and made my appt for monday so I can have my surgery in December. UH OH I have gained 4 pounds!!! So today I start my preop diet and hopefully I can lose those 4 pounds by monday. I am so glad I am not the only one who has done that!

Thanks for posting this!!! I have been waiting on getting my cardiac clearance and blood work for about 2 wks. All I could think about was which foods I wouldnt be able to eat anymore due to possibly getting stuck. So yes, I started eating and mourning. In that 2 week period I was supposed to be starting my preop diet before seeing the surgeon to schedule the appt. The nurse called me yesterday and made my appt for monday so I can have my surgery in December. UH OH I have gained 4 pounds!!! So today I start my preop diet and hopefully I can lose those 4 pounds by monday. I am so glad I am not the only one who has done that!

I was totally freaked out about that before I got banded, too! I told myself that if I absolutely hated it, I'd get it out after 6 months. BUT.. then I had the surgery and realized that if you have no fill in your band, you can eat absolutely anything. I wish someone had told me that!! I would have been so much less worried.

I am just over 3 years out and can tell you without reservation that I love my band. I actually enjoy food MORE now than I did before -- because I can eat pretty much anything (though in smaller quantities) and I never, EVER, have to feel like sh*t about what I ate, what my weight is, or how my body looks. Food tastes exactly the same as it did before (the surgery didn't alter my taste buds, after all!) but I'm totally satisfied earlier. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to order dessert in a restaurant, or to eat ice cream in public (even at the beach) without feeling like everyone else is thinking ... "Should she REALLY be eating that?!?"

I've been keeping a blog since just before my surgery (and I have a link to a bunch of other blogs in there). Feel free to give it a look (especially the beginning) because I wrote a lot about what it felt like, what I was eating, and what being banded is like. You can also see pretty clearly that I haven't had to give up my love of food at all. I hope that helps to demystify this process for you -- it's honestly the best thing I have ever done for myself.

Best wishes,

Catherine