My thoughts on how to do a food Funeral the right way:

These are some thoughts I had today, about how to 'justify' having a food funeral and doing it the healthy way.

1. Make a goal that you need to have 10 days this month that you eat under 1000 calories before you can have your food funeral. They don't need to be consecutive.

2. Do not have any food funerals, do not eat any fast food - if you do - try salads MCDs has an awesome Southwest salad.

3. Swear off Soda now, you're not gonna be able to drink it post-op, and it hurts the lining of your stomach - so it might make surgery go smoother if you just don't drink anything but Water from here on out (if you're like me and can't do water, try propel - I love PROPEL! )

4. Do it on YOUR terms -have a plan before you go in, on what you're gonna order and how much you're going to eat. Take a friend and split your entree with them, try eating less - and when you do eat take very small bites and practice eating the way you would post-sleeve. For instance I'm planning 1 food funeral before I go under.. till then I will try my hardest not to cheat - which I've done a pretty good job.

Normally when I go to my favorite restaurant I stuff myself full of wings - I eat about 15 - I'm going to order 7 next time and a side salad. It is still a lot of calories but its a smarter choice, and that's what this is all about!

When you do it on your own terms, you can't feel guilty about it because it's 'allowed' and it's not cheating. Plus this way you won't feel like you need to have one every day at all your favorite places, because it's almost like a challenge to do your best, then you get this one reward before surgery. It's also healthy to think that this isn't goodbye forever, you'll see that food again, it's goodbye for a hundred pounds or more... It's goodbye with court ordered time with the food every once in awhile but lot less amounts hehe...

Enough with analogies, that's just my thought on how to conquer some of the 'mental' stuff going into this surgery, and to still have your favorite food (but you will need to pick your most favorite, which I know can be hard hehe - but you can do it!)

Of course, I'm still a pre-op'er, I would love to hear some post-op'ers views on this.

Well...I was really really bad. My doc requires a two week liquid diet, so beforehand I went hog wild, so to speak!! Krispy Kreme, Mc Donald's, Arby's, favorite restaurants, favorite Desserts... the list is long and fat and sugar laden. Do I regret it? Not for even a second. Should I have done it? Probably not, because I could be down 10 extra pounds that I had to get rid of first. BUT...I know me. I would have been pining away at the things I loved that I wanted to taste one last time before I changed my habits and my life. My future may even include "one bite" of some of those things down the road in maintenance land. Those items do not haunt me, and I don't even really care about them anymore. (oddly enough, some of those things don't taste the same anymore).

That said- it's a brilliant plan you've laid out and VERY good advice. No time like the present to start changing one's attitude about food. It's hard to do pre op, but it gets TONS easier post op. I wholeheartedly agree about the soda thing. Ditch them now and never pick them up again. (even aside from the debate about sleeve stretching, they are full of poison and NO one needs them.)

Good thoughts Patrick!! Keep 'em coming!!

Thanks, not judging those of you who went 'hog wild' - just think that the more healthy you are the day of surgery the less likelihood of complications, and why chance it? Plus I got a lot ot lose so starting early will just get me to my finish line faster.

I read that diet soda is worse than regular soda - in causing obesity: Reason : aspertame makes your body 'think' it just got sugar so it is expecting it and releases certain hormones, when it doesn't 'get the sugar' it says hey, "where's my sugar! damnit!" -- then you pig out and overeat. Pretty sure splenda doesn't have the same effect, but not many soda's sweetened with splenda. The acids/carbonation though do weaken the stomach and is just not great for ya, and who knows it could be a minor cause of complications in surgery. . I'm no doctor, but it just seems better to go under the knife in the best condition possible in the time alotted.

I definitely had a few food funerals. I probably gained about 6-7 pounds in 2.5 months before surgery. Oh well, it is what it is! But all I can say to a pre-oper about this is that you will more than likely be able to have anything you want post op in small quantities. I do completely..... including soda. So don't look at it as you will never eat your favorite foods again-- you will just eat 1/6 of the quantity you used to eat and feel satisfied. The sleeve is the best gift ever!

Well from a stand-point of changing your life, I don't see any 'health' value to soda at all. There is no reason to drink it and it DOES have negative effects: 1: The acid and phosporous in sodium leech Calcium from bones, teeth, etc. 2. Stains teeth. 3. Have you seen what soda can do to a penny if you leave it in long enough?

my point is that there are a lot of better choices out there, and I personally feel soda should be avoided from here on out, it's a personal choice - but the dr will also recommend no soda following surgery - mine doesn't want me drinking it 10 days before either.. so there's gotta be a good reason for that.

I didn't have any massive food funerals, but I did eat a few things and traveled "one last time" to eat something I knew I wouldn't have for a while and tried things over the last few months before d-day. I don't regret it. I do wish I cut out soda and oj further before, I really miss and crave them. Oddly, fountain soda, I don't miss cans or bottles. I also wish I slowly cut off 2 things I love and miss most: acidic fruits and sushi. Especially sushi rolls drizzled with spicy sauce and soy sauce

Thanks, not judging those of you who went 'hog wild' - just think that the more healthy you are the day of surgery the less likelihood of complications, and why chance it? Plus I got a lot ot lose so starting early will just get me to my finish line faster.

I read that diet soda is worse than regular soda - in causing obesity: Reason : aspertame makes your body 'think' it just got sugar so it is expecting it and releases certain hormones, when it doesn't 'get the sugar' it says hey, "where's my sugar! damnit!" -- then you pig out and overeat. Pretty sure splenda doesn't have the same effect, but not many soda's sweetened with splenda. The acids/carbonation though do weaken the stomach and is just not great for ya, and who knows it could be a minor cause of complications in surgery. . I'm no doctor, but it just seems better to go under the knife in the best condition possible in the time alotted.

The common name for Splenda is sucralose. I have noticed there is less and less being made with aspartame and more things I am finding made with sucralose.

I gained a couple of lbs on my food funerals. My family and I did a buffet, sushi twice, pizza once and homemade guacamole with chips on the last night. I guess my food funerals could have been a lot worse, but like mentioned above, I know me. Had I not done it, I would have been thinking about it constantly. I started my preop diet a day early and managed to lose 13 lbs in the week before surgery. I don't regret it in the least. I had already cut out soda months before (that is my real weak spot and is my only "never again"). You have great recommendations though, if it helps you do what you need to do guilt free then go for it! Life is going to be so different post op do what you think you need to do to prepare.

The whole aspartame thing is wildly bunked and debunked, and as a former caffeine (read: diet soda) addict, people need to stop trying to peg things on ingredients that they don't research themselves. My father is better shape than I am (VERY good shape actually) and he drinks diet soda to the tune of about 2 a day. He has variations, everything from diet dew to Pepsi Max, etc.

People who peg diet soda as the "cause" behind their diet or food issues need to stop trying to spread the blame on a product that they willingly purchase. I'm a little tired of people targeting it so blindly when there's no real conductive proof that states it is as bad as "they" claim.

I did quit my diet drinks cold turkey the day that I started the low/no carb diet and it didn't present any complications.

Diet Soda is the video games of the food world. It's only bad if the person who's drinking it is bad. (coincidence? People who drink diet sodas think they can have non diet items because they "offset" with the diet soda, which is how they get into that whole trap in the first place)

This is not completely true. Preliminary studies are showing that those who drink diet soda are heavier in general and that it doesn't "seem" to have anything to do with their diet or Water intake. Also, aspartame has conclusively shown to cause cancerous tumors in rats when consumed in large quantities. This was shown in multiple studies, but the amount needed to be consumed was so high in humans that the FDA felt there was no reason to put warnings on it. I was still guilty of not caring enough and drinking plenty of diet soda. Just like you claim that there is no real conducive proof of soda being harmful, you cannot claim that it is "people who are bad" without the same proof to back it up. Some people actually choose diet soda because the others are too sugary, not because they think they can offset the calories elsewhere.

My mom is super healthy too and she smokes cigarettes, does that mean she won't ever catch lung cancer? probably not.. because one person you know who drinks or does something is healthy now, does not mean it's still good for you to do it. Just sayin'.

My sleeve is scheduled for the 25th and I had my food funerals last weekend. My program started us on a pre op diet as soon as we entered, all food, no shakes, and I've been on that diet for the last 3 months. This weekend I ate my favorite foods and snacked away like I used to and it made me a bit sick. It actually relieved one fear I had about post op life- what would happen if I stopped liking favorite foods? I've already stopped liking them and they way they make me feel, and I'm OK with that.

Yeah, but cutting out soda can't hurt... and I'm certain drinking more water is definitely a 'better' choice in most cases.. but that kinda got off on a tangent lol .. my point was that - I think you can do food funerals of you also practice control - cause that's what this whole process is about -learning self-control.

My sleeve is scheduled for the 25th and I had my food funerals last weekend. My program started us on a pre op diet as soon as we entered, all food, no shakes, and I've been on that diet for the last 3 months. This weekend I ate my favorite foods and snacked away like I used to and it made me a bit sick. It actually relieved one fear I had about post op life- what would happen if I stopped liking favorite foods? I've already stopped liking them and they way they make me feel, and I'm OK with that.

That's awesome that you're already learning how to live post-sleeve. My biggest worry was not being able to stick to the preop diet the first few weeks and hurting myself which is why I'm being very careful now - so that I know for a certainty I can do it, and I think I can - plus every pound I lose now, brings down my chances of complications.

I did not have any "food funerals" before my surgery... I started my "pre-op" diet about 4 months before my surgery, so my desire for the bad foods was very low. My pre-op diet was simply very, very, very low carb.

Post surgery I won't deny myself anything. I rarely "crave" anything, so it isn't a big deal when I do, if I have a coffee frappuccino from starbucks (with added protein! did you know they can do that?). I'll take the cal/carbs hits. Or if i'm with my family and they are having ice cream... give me some too! The difference? i'm satisfied after an actual serving size and I don't feel the "omg I have to more now" feeling that I used to get. I can walk away from it now.

For the most part, I'm really, really good about my diet. But I felt that if I always deny myself or even "wait till maintenance" that I would end up sabotaging myself. My surgeon's partner likes to compare us to drug addicts (he includes himself in this analogy, I hate it, which is why I didn't chose him lol). He says carbs are our drug so we have to stay away from them completely. I would agree, IF it was possible. We actually need food to live, so instead of denying something 100%, I find it better to limit it. That way the urge doesn't become overwhelming. At least for now, it seems to be working for me.

Soda in general - diet or regular - is bad for the body. It inhibits the ability to absorb water, the carbonation causes irritation to the stomach lining, and it has also been linked to ulcers, kidney problems, and other issues. Sure, ONE is okay every once in a while and it won't hurt you when done in moderation. But how many of us are on this board because we've done things "in moderation". Rather than preaching to people about research, maybe you should do some yourself ..?

I will be doing a food funeral for sure: I plan on hitting my favorite buffet! Yum

I did not have any "food funerals" before my surgery... I started my "pre-op" diet about 4 months before my surgery, so my desire for the bad foods was very low. My pre-op diet was simply very, very, very low carb.

Post surgery I won't deny myself anything. I rarely "crave" anything, so it isn't a big deal when I do, if I have a coffee frappuccino from starbucks (with added protein! did you know they can do that?). I'll take the cal/carbs hits. Or if i'm with my family and they are having ice cream... give me some too! The difference? i'm satisfied after an actual serving size and I don't feel the "omg I have to more now" feeling that I used to get. I can walk away from it now.

For the most part, I'm really, really good about my diet. But I felt that if I always deny myself or even "wait till maintenance" that I would end up sabotaging myself. My surgeon's partner likes to compare us to drug addicts (he includes himself in this analogy, I hate it, which is why I didn't chose him lol). He says carbs are our drug so we have to stay away from them completely. I would agree, IF it was possible. We actually need food to live, so instead of denying something 100%, I find it better to limit it. That way the urge doesn't become overwhelming. At least for now, it seems to be working for me.

Great insites Emily.. definitely sounds like the life I want to live - first I got to get there, and I want to work as hard as I possibly can personally to speed up everything cause I'm impatient which means working extra hard at the gym, and not eating any of my fave food or very little of it anyways.

I have a LOT to lose I want to lose at least 200 pounds in the next year.. 300 would be better but seems a little daunting - I think it could be done if I really push at the gym. Once I lose the weight the sleeve will help me keep it off while I enjoy all my faves. Frankly I'd be ok with weighing 300 pounds again. At 650 that would be a huge improvement.