Hi everyone -

I am being sleeved July 15th and there is no doubt in my mind that this is exactly what I want. I have been practically living on this forum reading everything I can and it has been so helpful. I see that post op, the intake is so small, and even am reading that from people who are a few months out from surgery. My question is, do you ever get to a point where you can eat a regular meal again? Or is it forever just a few bites and then you are done? I think I am subconsciously starting to mourn the loss of food after eating so much over the years. That being said, I am willing to give it all up if that is what it takes to help me get healthy again. I do worry some about how you have enough energy to get through the day when you aren't eating very much. I work in a really busy ER and I am afraid I will start feeling weak and shaky at a moment when I need to be on my toes. Would love to hear anyone's input on this - thanks

Kathy

Hello,

I just had this conversation with a customer/friend the other day. At first I did miss the food, the dinners that spread out over an hour visiting, eating, drinking, eating, and on and on. But now at almost 6 months out, I don't miss it that much anymore. I still can go out and visit, eat a little, drink a little, and socialize. I just stop eating long before anyone else does. The only time that I truly miss the big meal is going to a steakhouse. I used to eat a big old steak dinner and loved every juicey morsel of it. All my other favorite foods I can take home and reheat for left overs the next day, but steak just doesn't work that way. So it is hard to justify going to a steakhouse and buying an expensive cut and only eat 4 ounces of it. GF likes her steaks cooked Med and I am a rare to Med Rare guy. Oh well, no biggie(me included).

Bill

Hey Bill, i take steak home and slice it thin and put it onto salad and drizzle with sweet chilli sauce for lunches. That seems to work well with those left-overs.

Cheers, Jane

Tiffany - this is GREAT. I think this is what "normal" thin people eat. Isn't it wonderful??!! If things stay this way, I pray that I will do what I am doing now. On this trip to Texas for my surgery and the two weeks we have been here for my follow up visits, I am 'eating out' with my husband....we were at El Fenix just last night. I 'ate' - not because I was hungry, but because it was totally social. I realize at some point in a couple of months I'll be able to eat more, but I ordered a cup of tortilla Soup and it 'tasted' marvelous. I ENJOYED it even though I only ate a teeny, tiny bit of it. I wasn't hungry, but I needed to eat a little something and he was eating, so we had dinner together. The atmosphere was nice and I brought the rest home to his sisters house. I'll have it this evening. I am curious, are you hungry now or do you eat because you need to and because it tastes good?

Since about 7-8 months out, I've been eating what I consider normal meals. I think what everyone considers normal maybe different.

I can tell you what I ate today at a year out, and maybe that will give you idea of what I consider normal.

Breakfast: 1 soft poached egg with a chunk of sharp cheddar cheese

Snack: 1/2 sandwich - made with 1 slice of whole grain bread, mustard, 1 slice of deli turkey, and 3 Cool Rand dorito chips crushed up into the sandwich, minus the crust.

Lunch: 3 or 4 (I can't remember exactly) tiny pepperoni and cheese bagel bites with Ranch dressing, and 3 baby carrots

Snack - 3 saltine crackers with 1 Kosher dill stacker pickles (you know the thin ones you put on sandwiches, but they are long in length) and 1 chunk of sharp cheddar cheese. About 3-4oz of Sweet and Hot beef Jerky. This snack lasted a long time, I was kind of grazing before I did a bunch of yardwork. It's 92 degrees today, with 90% + humidity and our heat index was at 105. I knew that I would need to eat a decent snack before I went to work outside this afternoon.

Dinner: I made a chicken enchilada mexican stack. Out of it, I ate 3oz of chicken breast with the homemade enchilada cheese/salsa sauce, 1/4 of a flour tortilla, 1/4 cup of homemade Mexican rice with queso mixed in along with corn, red and green peppers. 3 jalepeno slices chopped up and thrown over my entire plate.

I will probably not have a snack tonight because dinner ran late due to my husband having to stay an hour late.

I've had 8ounces of coffee with french vanilla creamer, 12 ounces of strawberry lemonade, about 8 ounces of Juicy juice grape juice, and 60oz of Water.

Oh yeah, and I had 1 Heath miniature, and 5 pink Starburst at random times throughout the day. I'm ovulating, what else can I say? Ha ha ha.

Tomorrow, I have a feeling I'm going to want a bunch of veggies. So, I'll probably have one meal, and one snack that consists of just veggies and cheese. My body pretty much tells me what it wants/needs. It wanted some carrots today, and I don't even really like carrots, but they tasted good and I felt good after I ate them.

Some mornings I don't eat Breakfast food at all. I eat leftovers, or I'll roll up some deli meat with the flavored cream cheese. I might have about 1/2 cup of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal with a little milk if I have a hankering for cereal. I'm not a big fan of breakfast food, but I feel like I eat normal meals, normal foods. Nothing is off limits for me at this point. Everything is in moderation at this point.

Hope this helps just kind of give you an idea how I live day in and day out further out.

Tiffany - this is GREAT. I think this is what "normal" thin people eat. Isn't it wonderful??!! If things stay this way, I pray that I will do what I am doing now. On this trip to Texas for my surgery and the two weeks we have been here for my follow up visits, I am 'eating out' with my husband....we were at El Fenix just last night. I 'ate' - not because I was hungry, but because it was totally social. I realize at some point in a couple of months I'll be able to eat more, but I ordered a cup of tortilla soup and it 'tasted' marvelous. I ENJOYED it even though I only ate a teeny, tiny bit of it. I wasn't hungry, but I needed to eat a little something and he was eating, so we had dinner together. The atmosphere was nice and I brought the rest home to his sisters house. I'll have it this evening. I am curious, are you hungry now or do you eat because you need to and because it tastes good?

Ohhhhhhhhhhh how I miss El Fenix ! ! !

I never feel hunger, and I only eat because I know I need to do so or because I want to eat. As long as I'm staying in my calories, I eat. I have normal cravings just like skinny chicks. A lot of times I crave Mexican and Thai food. If this happens, I go eat Mexican or Thai food. I try to make the best choice just like I do at home, but if I want 5-6 tortilla chips with salsa or queso, I'm eating those chips. If I want to eat Pad Thai, I order Pad Thai with chicken or steak. I eat 3oz of the meat, wait a few minutes, and then eat some noodles. Box up the leftovers, and eat it on it for 3 more days.

Skinny people have cravings too. It's the choice we make once we read the menu that makes the big difference. I eat fajitas when I eat Mexican. I eat the meat, Beans, and sauteed onions first. Then if I have any room left, I eat rice. I load everything up with sour cream and cheese as well.