I have read alot of these articles before my surgery and thought i would be prepared for it when it was my turn, but it is so much harder than i thought. Watching my kids and hubby or my twin sis go out to eat or even my mom's cooking I miss, it is so hard. Most times I end up crying and breaking down. I know in the long run I will be so happy with my descision, right now it is just hard to see beyond this moment. Only 5 more days and I get to eat solid food. Feels like forever. I dont have the hunger for the foods it is all in my head but I haven't gotten ahold of myself yet. Hopefully eating solid foods again will calm me and make me feel more normal. Just being on all this liquid and watching everyone eat is killing me. And it seems that the more I heal the worst I am sleeping lol I can't sleep on my right side but i can on my left and now making my shoulder hurt. So annoying. And also it seems I am always thirsty, I drink my water and can't get enough of it, but can't drink that fast or that much. I am trying to get all my protein in but I am not reaching my amount but I read alot of people don't get their reccommended amounts in. I hope I am not alone in this. Also just read a post about the spit no swallow lol I did that just recently and it helped sooooo much.

One question if any read this.. does anyone ever use ketchup or mayo type stuff on there foods? I was wondering cause I always ate ketchup on my eggs and when I can eat them again i was wondering if i would be able to put just a tiny itty bitty smidgen on them as i eat? just to have a little taste. Ok enuff venting sorry for the long post just having a hard time.

The mental game is by far a lot harder than the physical one. I also had a really hard time. My whole social life revolved around food and drink. It is hard to separate the two. Eventually I realized that it was about the people we are with and not the things we consume that matter. You need to surround yourself with people that will be there to support you and that you can lean on. If your Physician has a support group, go to it. Exercise and do activities that will help you adapt to your new lifestyle. Give yourself plenty of leeway and expect to stumble along the way. This isn't a quick fix, it is a lifelong commitment. by 6 months out or so, you will be able to eat a normal albeit much smaller diet. Your feelings are normal, you are at the beginning of an incredible journey. Embrace the successes and learn from your mistakes. You can do it, it just takes a little mental toughness.

Hi

I'm two wks out today and like you I went through the same thing. I felt deprived n Soo hungry.

I didn't feel good n I just wanted something to eat n comfort me! Boy was I pist off, wondering

why did I do this to myself, why couldn't I just except myself fat! I was trying foods I shouldn't have

just makin myself feel even worse. I've decided this is for the best and I'm feelin a lot better as

far as the healing goes. So its gettin easier, I've been makin egg salad with a little mayo

n mustard just eatin about a teaspoon n a half for Breakfast or lunch n its filling and I'm gettin the Protein

I drink warm Water cuz that's all I can drink evrything else makes me barf. My tastes have really

changed.

N e way I hope this helps, is deffenitly a learning curve to find out what n how much.....

Good luck,to u! Michele

Sweetie I'm so sorry to hear you are frustrated and sad. This isn't an easy thing we are going through, but know that you have so many people on here that have gone through similar things!

I'm 7 weeks post-op now. The day I was released onto soft foods, I had a major breakdown because my husband, thinking he was being nice, picked up fried chicken and fries and brought it home to Celebrate. He didn't understand that I still couldn't eat those things! I just sat on the floor and cried and cried. Every step is a learning experience. Our family went out to dinner on Friday night and I looked at that menu and nothing looked good. I ended up not ordering anything and just sat and talked to everyone throughout the meal. I felt awkward, but knew that just eating to eat was not the right thing.

I do use mayo, mustard and ketchup. I don't use much. I can't eat scrambled eggs without just a little ketchup on them. Plus it helps them go down better when you first get to start eating again. Everything seemed so dry to me I needed that touch of ketchup so things wouldn't get stuck on the way down.

Keep your chin up. It does get better!

This is the hardest part. Some of this you'll get over soon, once you're off liquids. I remember in the early months feeling horribly frustrated by my inability to eat anything more than a few bites. Getting in my calories was a struggle and nothing ever sounded good or even tasted as good as my food memories!

You'll get through this. You're going to learn to live with your sleeve. You're learning your limitations. And you're doing the right thing - you're following your dietary guidelines so that you can heal properly and avoid complications. With time you're not only going to be used to life with the sleeve, you're going to love it.

Yes, we all mourn the old eating habits. We don't realize how much of our lives revolve around food until we can't eat non-stop! Once I had surgery I realized food was everywhere and part of every social thing we did. Muffins at work, lunch with friends, dinner and drinks with the husband and even our get togethers with extended family revolved around a meal. It's hard to learn to enjoy these things without feeling like you have to eat to enjoy yourself.

I promise, you will get there.

In the meantime, let your body heal. You're only a few days away from realizing that the food you're salivating over now isn't going to taste nearly as good as you remember, and you're only going to be able to eat a few bites of it anyway.

~Cheri

Yup, this part of the surgery, I don't think anyone is ever ready for it. You'll find the holidays really tough, you'll actually have a major pity party with yourself cause you can't eat as hearty as you used to. You'll cry and feel sorry for yourself over that too. . but you'll do ok, just remember that the holidays are for family and friends and how we are blessed to have them in our lives. It's not about the food and how much we can stuff into ourselves. We had our surgeries because we needed help in a big way and our wishes were answered, but with wishes come consequences and now we can't do anything about that. Now we have to eat to live, not live to eat. You will do ok and the first year is the toughest. You'll be fine, just be thankful for all you have been given and love yourself enough to be grateful. Good luck and a very blessed holiday season to you and your family!

Big hugs!! I'm so sorry you're feeling bad. Here's some things to think about.

One, many folks have a very emotional reaction to anesthesia and surgery, so some of your feelings are probably chemically-induced and will pass as the anesthesia leaves your body (it takes a while).

Two, keep reminding yourself that this is a stage of your healing and will not last forever. You will not be deprived of food forever, you just have to soldier on through so you'll heal up right.

Three, before you know it, you will be feeling just like yourself, only not able to eat as much.

I came on the forums to look up for my sister (Lele!) if we might be able to eat a bit of catsup with our scrambled eggs when we first are able to eat a few bites of food. Searching through here, I found her post as the first one brought up, and it just broke my heart. Let me say right off this girl is one tough fighter and has been my source of inspiration to get get through this surgery we did together. I also found all of your support for her and each other very heartwarming and a great mental lightener. I too have been struggling with the same things she has, and our joke has been the word of "Disneyworld" which we will be going to in March of 2012. I am glad to hear we can use an itty bit of catsup with eggs, because without them they are just a bit yuk. Thank you all for the support for her, and now to, myself, as I plan on being on here much more myself seeing such a great support system. I love you Sis, and am here for you day or night.....because my sleep has been null for the past week too:)

Thank you all and of course my wonderful sis!!! Today is Thanksgiving day and after reading all of your supports and warm messages it makes me feel alot better. And alot of the advice has opened my eyes and I do realize all the things yall are saying. And I know I will still have a few more breakdowns but I will be ok. Also tommorrow I am headed back to the gym to the treadmill lol and gonna start me a small routine to get me going and can;t wait for my month out to start a few little weights. Gonna try to get myself in a better frame of mind.

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving !!! ty again for the advice and warm messages..

I've had a tiny splash of ketchup on my eggs and I've used a tiny bit of arby's sauce on my bun-less sandwich- it hasn't taken me out of ketosis- but I watch my carbs and put everything down into myfitnesspal.com so that I can keep track. Also that bun-less arby's small sandwich lasted me for 3 days- so I think if the amount you eat is very small - if you have to have it- try it and see how things go. I also use full fat mayo but I use mayo very rarely- only in tuna or just a little on a wasa flat bread. I lose at a steady pace when I keep my carbs around 35 per day- but not everyone is led to be carb conscious. I'm very carb sensitive.

This has been me the past 9 days, I feel like I'm falling into this deep deep depression. I can't eat, I don't feel happy and I feel this entire surgery was a mistake for me. I am angry, I feel secluded in my feelings and I just wish I could turn back the hands of time and tried really hard to lose the weight naturally without surgery.

My husband is a natural toothpick , slender as is the rest of the family. I however have always been either thick , chubby and lately i was super fat. The thing is I know I can eat pureed foods in like 4 days but I feel I am losing my grip with this entire surgery. I am sad, constantly thinking of food and barely getting in my Protein. When does it start to get a little easier? I have broken down 3 times in the last week and I feel totatlly helpless. at this current moment i am regretting my surgery, hope this changes soon. I feel this post was written by me. I am so down.........all I need is for my hair to fall out and complete my agony.

I'm at day 9 and feel the same. My surgery was 5-16-17. I'm still only able to drink broth, water and isopure. It's very frustrating for me to have no energy.

Anybody on here care to give an update? I have surgery next week & this is not encouraging! I kind of wish I wouldn't have read it. I want to know if you're all able to eat the same meals as everybody else now just with much smaller portions? Perhaps kids meals or the kids menu?

Edited May 25, 20179 yr by SEAHAWKS FAN!

I'm four and a half weeks post sleeve and I must admit to having lots of the same feelings as the original poster and others on this thread over this time. I too miss food.

I've been thinking about this long and hard as there's no way back. Would I really want to go back?!

I guess it all boils down to why I did this and took this extreme measure to change my weight. For me, I was literally heading for an early grave. I had a BMI of over 45 and I smoked around 30 cigarettes a day. I know, giving up smoking and my food addiction as well as surgery - crazy dude!!

So fast forward a month and I've lost 35lbs and not had a single cigarette since surgery. That has got to be worth the loss of stuffing my face on a regular basis.

I'm learning to live with this new stomach. Food and eating have kind of lost their appeal recently. Tiny portions and the full (more like pressure from the gut up) feeling kind of spoils most of my meals. So I eat cause I have to. Soup, soft stuff, yogurt. Not my first choice before the sleeve but it kind of works now.

The trade off - I feel better, lighter, fitter already. Started exercising again which is a plus. Weight keeps dropping. No more cigarettes. Has to be worth it right?!

Anybody on here care to give an update? I have surgery next week & this is not encouraging! I kind of wish I wouldn't have read it. I want to know if you're all able to eat the same meals as everybody else now just with much smaller portions? Perhaps kids meals or the kids menu?

I am 4 and a half weeks out. I was on shakes for 2 weeks, puréed 2 weeks and now soft food. Everyone will have a different experience and I found that eating was the last thing on my mind and just getting liquids occupied me more. It was a little boring as there is not a lot you can do and only so much tv you can watch but other than that, it was fine and the incentive is seeing the lbs drop off. Having different soup flavours and protein shakes helped but there is really not much appetite initially anyway. I got a little bored of puréed foods as I struggle with that texture but was fine with porridge and yogurt.
I am struggling a little bid with portion control and real hunger as opposed to head hunger and feel I can eat more than recommended but was advised to take 20 minutes to eat and then when full, throw the rest away, this really helps. The hardest is letting go of old habits. I am 30lb down and feel great. I honestly found it very easy as I work better with boundaries and structure. I sympathise with those who don't but a few weeks of restriction is nothing in the big scheme of things. We are all doing it for the same reason and the end result is worth it.
I think children's portions or a started is the portion we aim for
Good luck with your procedure. You will be absolutely fine