Scared!

[mamaje 0]

Hi all

I will be getting my gastric sleeve surgery in the beginning of May and reading about the diet post-op has me terrified! I am so worried that I will slip up and eat a few chips and end up sabotaging the whole process! I want to lose the weight and am determined to do it while exercising and eating right however wondering if anyone out there "slipped up" occasionally and still had success? I don't ever want to be back to my current weight but also want to be able to enjoy life and be able to someday go out with friends and family and not worry too much. Is this possible with the surgery or am I committing to a lifetime of no indulgences?

[mokee 588]

No worries here. You will not want chips for weeks post op. I had food funerals the whole month before pre op diet but when the liquid diet started I did not cheat once. This was the toughest of the diet the 2weeks pre op. in my case after surgery I did not crave any bad foods for couple months. It was great just to eat food again even if it is just an egg. By the 3rd month you may start to crave many of your old foods again but you can learn to substitute and make healthier recipes of your old favorites. It is a process and I am only 4 months post op but I could not eat anything near what I ate before or would I want too.

Best of luck. You will do fine.

[Pookeyism 1,143]

I'm not going to say good or bad to occasionally slip, I have found that (when people will admit it) learning about slider foods, or learning that it seems ok to slip or occasionally induldge is that crack in the closet door - does the boogey man come out or not...

Don't be afraid of slipping up, but do be aware of the possibility. Do you have a strategy to not do this? Have you got to the point that you can avoid your cravings? These are really base questions, I know...but - have you?

Beyond that, allow the fear, don't push it away - take it in, let it go...analyze it, decide upon it, finalize it - impermanence is a really valuable tool right now. It will save you many, many hours of stress.

Good luck.

[mamaje 0]

Thanks! It is just so scary to think of this complete lifestyle change! Especially as my husband and daughter wont be doing the same diet so I want to keep their diet as normal as possible while keeping with my correct diet but not going crazy making different meals! Are you on solids now? How much can you eat at one meal? I have quite a few allergies to many of the items listen on the approved foods post-op so hoping I can get help somewhere with what I can eat that won't sabotage my surgery

[SpaceDust 585]

You might want to talk to a nutritionist about appropriate substitutions if you have food allergies, mamaje. If you don't have one already, it might be worth the cost of an appointment to ease your mind and have some closure on that concern.

As for eventually being able to go out and enjoy things with your family and friends again, of course you will. Hopefully you will have embedded your good habits by then that you'll really want that grilled salmon with sauce on the side and the veggies that go with it, and won't care to have that giant mega-burger with 4 kinds of cheese, onion rings and a big shake. The goal is to build good habits so that if you choose to have a treat, it will be just that, and you'll do so in an appropriate way.

It really depends a lot on you, and your long-term relationship with food. For example, I don't particularly have a sweet tooth, though I enjoy an occasional small dessert or a cookie in moderation even now, pre-sleeve. I fully expect that once I get past the first few months I might have the occasional tiny piece of pie or small piece of dark chocolate, because I'm easily satisfied with just a taste. I *DO* have a problem with salty Snacks like crackers, chips and popcorn. I may never allow those back into my diet, because it just won't be worth it if they sabotage me. There are things I can substitute that will likely serve me better nutritionally and fill me up on a more appropriate serving size, like raw veggies with a non-fat Greek yogurt dip.