So I made a list of cons today and every one of the cons had something to do with never being able to eat certains foods anymore. Not one of them had something to do with risk factors .... Is that wrong? Or unusually? Ever since I started this journey (and I am at the very beginning stages) I realized how focused my life is around food.

I am so excited and so happy about the sleeve because I feel like that will helpe break this terrible cycle I have been on for a long time.

Tonight we celebrated my hubs bday and we drank, ate lots of food, etc. the entire time we sat there I was thinking in the back of my head...I'll never be able to drink again, il never be able to have a coke, il never be able to eat like this.

Then I think but that's how I got in this situation.

Are these normal thoughts of the unknown? Of what's to come after sleeving? I know down the road I'll be able to enjoy some of these things again but in smaller portions...

Oh I'm just ranting...too many beers, too much thinking.

Please don't be mean. Just want to know if these thoughts are normal?

Doesn't sound weird to me at al!!!

Im 4 days post op and would kill for a coke, cheeseburger and fried zucchini!!!!

but you will get thru it.... Just like we all will.... Would you rather drink that coke, and eat that cheeseburger and die from a blocked artery in your heart?.....OR live a long life and watch your kids have kids who possible have kids?

I think you are perfectly normal. I've had the same thoughts and concerns. All of those I know personally who have had the sleeve ALL say it was totally worth it to them....that they feel more alive and they are living life to the fullest. You'll do great.

il never be able to eat like this.

can you deal with this one? It's the only one that is really true

I'm 3 months out, and I can confidently say that nothing is permanently off the table except overindulging.

I can also say post-op you will view food totally different than you do now.

Now food is a treat, it's a comfort, it's fun. Post-op food is nourishment, it's even kind of a chore

I equate it to fueling the car. I don't like doing it, but if I want to drive, I got to.

There will be some cravings the first week or 2, but those are fairly easy to deal with, and they fade pretty quick.

Don't sweat it. It's a good ride.

I hope those thoughts are normal, because I thought them ALL THE TIME pre-surgery. Post surgery I have not regrets. I look back at the things I was worried about and I realize that after only 11 weeks any changes to my past lifestyle are so worth it and I really do not miss my old ways. I do miss a beer in a frosty mug once in a while, but not enough to trade it for already undoing over ten years of weight gain! I still enjoy gatherings with friends and family even if they are centered around food. I have my small portion and enjoy the company. Like OTRSleever said, my view of food has shifted to one of noursishment and is no longer a great source of pleasure or comfort. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy flavors and an occasional treat, but food no longer rules me. It is amazingly liberating.

This is a great thread.

I'm very early in my pre surgery stages.

Have to jump through hoops for the insurance company for 6months.

The means:

6months of having those exact same thoughts every single day........

Thank You for posting this.

IMABear

Thanks so much for posting this question. I am looking at a November date so i am still a ways out but have had the same concerns. I look forward to the day that food does not rule my life. Thanks so much for all the great posts!

You know, it's funny that as I'm reading this thread, I'm watching a commercial for Outback Steakhouse. They're shoving huge plates of shiny food at the camera and I'm thinking two things:

1. Is food supposed to shine like that? I've never seen food that looks shiny, except for Chinese food and that's because they dump tons of MSG on it. That can't be good.

and 2. I absolutely cannot believe now that I was ever able to eat that much food! Not only would I eat everything on that plate, but I probably would have finished whatever anyone else at my table couldn't eat as well.

I was a "volume eater" and I truly mourned the fact that I couldn't eat as much as I used to. But as time went on, I began to realize that I was vaguely disgusted by the amount of food others can eat. I'll sit across someone eating and look at their food and be stunned that they could possibly finish what they're eating.

Case in point: Our beloved receptionist at work had a birthday and we all threw her a party. Of course there was a huge cake--Valrhona chocolate, which is one of my favorites (yes, I know my chocolate!). I didn't have any, but I thought to myself, "Wow, I'd love to have a bite of that."

A bite? What?! Now, I was surprised by this because somehow my mind can only imagine taking just "a bite" of something. Before surgery, my default would have been, "Wow, I'd love to have a couple large slices of that."

Flabbergasting to me is that a pre-surgery convicted "volume eater" like myself could ever default to being happy with just a bite of something. But yes, now just a bite of something can make me fully satisfied. This is what VSG can do for you! A few bites of my meal and I have that wonderful feeling of fullness that I call "the food high" which I used to only obtain by eating everyone else under the table.

My point is that your mind will adjust. You will eventually look at 8 pieces of low-carb penne Pasta with a little marinara sauce and think, "Now I get to pig out!"

Go gustavo- you hit the nail on the head IMO...

Although I'm pre-sleeve I am already noticing I have started a really healthy habit of portion control. Yes- tonight I had soda chips and chocolate but I had half a glass. A quarter of a bag, and two pieces. Hopefully if I ever have a "bad" day when sleeved I will have a sip, a chip, and a bite!

It's not brain surgery and even a bypass can't stop you drinking soda or eating ice cream but it does seem like you get into the habit of eating for nourishment and simply tasting for pleasure...

I can't wait y'all!!!!

Go gustavo- you hit the nail on the head IMO...

Although I'm pre-sleeve I am already noticing I have started a really healthy habit of portion control. Yes- tonight I had soda chips and chocolate but I had half a glass. A quarter of a bag, and two pieces. Hopefully if I ever have a "bad" day when sleeved I will have a sip, a chip, and a bite!

It's not brain surgery and even a bypass can't stop you drinking soda or eating ice cream but it does seem like you get into the habit of eating for nourishment and simply tasting for pleasure...

I can't wait y'all!!!!

Thank you! I should also mention here though that I was also surprised I even wanted a bite of the cake in the first place. Since surgery, I've become very intolerant to sugar and the taste of anything truly sweet (I don't know if this is normal, but it's been my experience). As a result, I've more or less broken my "addiction" to things like chocolate, pastries, etc.

And though I'm way past my liquid phase, the other day I had an Ensure Plus Protein shake for lunch that was leftover in the fridge because I had no time to go and get something. The 22 grams of sugar in that thing turned me inside out. I can't imagine what a piece of chocolate cake would do to me.

Lol! I can imagine! When my gallbladder was playing up if I even looked at anything fried or fatty I would collapse in pain!

I can see myself though, taking that little bite of cake and just sucking the life out of it! Lol I truly love that one day I will love even the thought of cake, even if I don't eat it just smelling it or seeing other people enjoy their slice would make my day

Oh and gustavo I've heard A LOT of ppl on here say they just can't stand anything even remotely sweet anymore...

Thank you all. What all of you say really makes a lot of sense. I was definitely in a mood last night and I have definitely been more aware of what I'm putting in my mouth. But like I said earlier, with that is coming all these other feelings! But I do know this is the right thing for me to do! I have so much weight to lose! I have a BMI of 50 with no comorbidities and it's just time to get it under control and start living!

Love this board so much!

And Gustavo- everything you said was perfect! Thanks

I am a total sweet person, loveeeee sweets. Love my Dr Pepper, love anything sweet. My husband too. I have been told by multiple people that sweets taste horrifically over sweet after surgery. Even on the pre op diet (day 6), this SF jello is starting to taste über sweet. I don't drink the mio, or kool aid, but I can imagine those would taste awful. Funny thing is, as much as I love sweets, I can take them or leave them, I don't HAVE to have them. For me, I haven't mourned the loss of anything, bc I know that the majority of what I eat, I will be able to have again, just in a smaller portion. My daughter is lucky, she's 9 & bc of my surgery when we do go out to eat we will get an adult sized meal, but we will share & take the leftovers home. :-)

I hear ya Robyn! I'm hit or miss with sweets. My big thing right now is cutting out coke. Day 1 is today!