Maybe I'm just having a bad moment, but I'm thinking this surgery may have not been the best idea. I don't like eating. I've gotten to the point where when I get hungry I get really angry because I know that what I can eat, I don't want. In any way shape or form. So I'm at the point where I'm just eating to fulfill protein and caloric obligations and there is zero enjoyment doing so. I have no regards for taste, look, color, etc...if it has the right amount of protein then I'll have it. If I don't like the taste I just chug it down just to be down with the whole ordeal.

I'm such a sad eater LOL!!

Hi There and sorry to hear you're having a rough time. Food you do want is it just bad food or are you having a hard time taking in food because of the band? Only reason I ask is because if the band is not letting foods go down that is no way to live. I guess what I am asking is it a physical issue or is mental?

i feel the same way some times because i have discovered that if i'm stressed, it's hard to get anything down. i also don't do the whole high-protein thing because i felt the same way- i would just not eat because it disgusted me and not eating is not healthy. i try to eat more of a balanced diet including fruits and veggies with my meats- i even have small amounts of rice and pasta, and every now and then a little bread. if i listen to my stomach and not my head, i can have what i want and enjoy eating without eating too much. don't choke down something you don't like- enjoy the tiny amount of food you get to eat!

Its easy to concentrate on what you cant eat instead of finding new food to enjoy that u can eat. All WLS will make eating food difficult, i basically can eat what i want to now, that doesnt include junk food as i have never liked it, but i hardly think of the band now, i have a super sharp knife and am expert at slicing anything as thin as paper, and it doesnt get stuck. You dont mention how long u have been banded or what food u are missing .. we might be able to help a little more if u give a bit more information.

I'm only about 6-7 weeks post op and I had one fill of 4cc's. I don't have any problems getting food down but it's just moreso what I can eat, I don't want. It's totally a mental thing. I don't think of meals as enjoyable anymore...it's just necessary now if that makes any sense.

So you are eating to live instead of living to eat............It is a hard thing ..eating to us fatties was a social occasion, a comfort when we were sad, a way to celebrate. food provided us with some of our best times and caused us to hate ourselves. We spent so many hours planning what we were going to eat when we were going to eat and where we were going to eat it.

So when thats gone we think wow I miss that food... but do you miss wearing bigger clothes every season? do you miss not being able to walk with out hard breathing? do you miss shopping at Omar the tent makers shop,? Do you miss a stroke a heart attack or diabetes? Do you miss pills? Do you misss the moments when you re all alone and you hate what you see reflected in the mirror? Do you miss trying to find something to wear that looks halfway decent on you, and cover those rolls. I think you are just missing the party in your mouth that food gave you for a few minutes then I bet you regretted that too.

You may be giving up something now that is familiar but you can replace it with something so much better then that food ever gave you.

I'm only about 6-7 weeks post op and I had one fill of 4cc's. I don't have any problems getting food down but it's just moreso what I can eat, I don't want. It's totally a mental thing. I don't think of meals as enjoyable anymore...it's just necessary now if that makes any sense.

there is always a time when we miss certain things we had to give up, stay with it and u will find u will get more expert at feeding yourself and enjoying food again, the food and nutrition forum here is a good resource especially the what did u eat today thread, also google is your friend, make this a mission in life to find some food to eat u do like, that is band friendly and good for you .. remember concentrate on what u can eat not what u cant !

It sounds like you are on a special post op diet. That should change. You should be back to real food soon which includes meat and veggies and carbs. You are still in the healing phase. I am 4.5 year post op and lost 90 pounds eating normal food.

Good luck!

Most of us who got banded it was because we have poor eating habits. If you expected to get banded and keep the poor eating habits then you are in for a surprise and possibly a painful one if you try to eat around your band. Being banded requires a lot of learning and self assessment and forming new, better eating habits. It's not to say you cannot ever indulge from time to time but a change is necessary for success.

Hang in there. You will soon find comfort, and actual joy in losing the weight instead of eating the food. Like me, you need to find and focus on other ways to get the security and pleasure you once got from the food. And the good news is, you will find that the pleasure and joy will be real and lasting, rather than just the temporary relief you once gained from eating food. It's up to you and what you are wiiling to do for yourself. I wish you the best. Keep us posted.

Most of us who got banded it was because we have poor eating habits. If you expected to get banded and keep the poor eating habits then you are in for a surprise and possibly a painful one if you try to eat around your band. Being banded requires a lot of learning and self assessment and forming new, better eating habits. It's not to say you cannot ever indulge from time to time but a change is necessary for success.

I didn't expect to eat the foods I ate before which is why I don't. The point I'm trying to make is that I don't like to eat the foods that I CAN eat and when I do , I do it because It's necessary and there is no joy in that. As someone stated before eating to live instead of living to eat. It's a very hard transition, especially when a large chunk of your social life revolves around eating. When you go on a date it's usually dinner of some sort. Holiday cookouts, thanksgiving, etc.

Like I said before I'm just having a bad moment and I will get through it and I will have to find joy in other things.

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across so brash. So much of learning to live with a band is mental. Change usually isn't easy especially if you've been doing it differently for so long. Hang in there hopefully it will get better.

try to explore new foods and maybe you will find something that you like. for me its been fresh fruit. I never really ate a LOT of fruit before ... but now that I know it fills me up AND is low in calories, I'll eat an apple as a dessert or snack, and I HATED apples before!!! Grapes, bananas, prunes, you name it, I'll take that 80-100 calorie snack over a bag of chips.

What about egg and cheese quiche for Breakfast? Yogurt? Explore the world of Soups that's out there - tomato, crab, chicken, chili, the list is endless.

I get annoyed that it takes me FOREVER to eat a sub sandwich, or fried chicken ... so I eat those things less. But Im forcing myself to be in the mindset that those items arent healthy for me anyway. Im only 4 months post op but you will get into the swing of things soon. Hang in there.