Keep reading about people who miss eating, who miss/crave certain foods, who wish they could eat more. I know that's true for some people and they are the ones who post. But I do believe that a lot of people are where I am.

I really LIKE that I can't eat too much food.

Yes sometimes I wish I could have a bite of something unhealthy, but the desire passes in less than 3 seconds.

I really LIKE that I can go out to restaurants and focus on friendship, camaraderie and conversation and not worry about the food.

I really like not constantly having to think about food. That I only think of it when I'm hungry rather than all the time.

I really, really like that I no longer spend my waking hours wondering what diet, super food, eating plan I should try next to lose my weight.

I really enjoy the feeling that I am in control, rather than feeling the food controls me.

I don't think I'm in the minority. I think this is like complications. People who had tough recoveries post, people whose recoveries were simple don't post. But for the pre-ops, I think it may be important to see that not everyone is struggling with missing food.

Are you like me? Will you post your experience here so others can see?

I am with you! I love not being able to eat much. The fact that I cant eat much makes me way less picky also. I eat what I need to for nutrition and eat enough the right amount and I'm done. I do not have cravings for junk food or all the unhealthy food that I used to eat.

I love not needing or wanting food, I don't want to eat pizza , candy, fries, subway, soda, Mexican, and all that stuff ever again, that's why I got so big in the 1st place. And yes I know years down the road I will be able to eat all that ( just not as much) but by then I hope and pray having the sleeve as this tool will help me stay away from them.

I also feel a great sense of empowerment not needing to shove a gargantuan amount of food in my mouth. Post surgery I think most people realize that life doesn't actually HAVE to revolve around food. In the beginning right after surgery it kind of does since you need to make sure you have liquids with you all the time and get enough Protein in but once you've healed up it gets easier. I will order a grilled chicken breast or shrimp rather than a sandwich as second nature now.

That's not to say I don't get hungry. I still most definitely do. And sometimes I have the occasional treat. But the belly monster is not nearly so strong and voracious anymore. I'm able to look at a pile of Halloween candy and walk away. It's awesome.

I am with you! I love not being able to eat much. The fact that I cant eat much makes me way less picky also. I eat what I need to for nutrition and eat enough the right amount and I'm done. I do not have cravings for junk food or all the unhealthy food that I used to eat.

This is true of me too! Used to be my husband and I could waste 30 minutes wondering where to go for dinner or what to make because I'd keep changing my mind. It used to drive him insane! Now, I'm like, why waste time thinking about it? I'm going to eat 2 ounces of whatever and be full anyway. I'm a lot easier to please now

Post-op, if I hadn't hurt so much, I would have done a happy dance because I never wanted to eat. Pre-op, I felt so dominated by my hunger that the change was AWSOME!

I am with you!! I don't miss being able to eat half a pizza and then grabbing something sweet 30 min later! Don't get me wrong...I'm only 2 months out and this is the hardest thing I've ever done around eating better and getting healthy but I LOVE the results so far and I already feel 100% better than I did 2 months ago. 65lbs down, no BP meds, no diabetes, no knee and back pain....believe me, I'm NOT complaining about the "lack" of unhealthy foods!!!

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I've NEVER been a foodie. Shopping, cooking and eating was always such a chore. As a result, I never wanted to invest the time in making good decisions about food, and ate whatever was on hand or easiest.

Processed food, eating times and portions were my downfall. I'm too lazy to bake, too cheap to buy soda, treats and junk food, and too indecisive to pick a restaurant. The result: Lots of Pasta, bean burritos, cheese toast, omelets, pizza and Amy's Kitchen products. (My wife is an ovo- lacto- pesce- vegetarian and I fell in line). Eating was always a bother -- in the way of doing something else -- so I stuffed it in mindlessly.

So the challenge for me is to CARE about what I'm putting in my mouth now!

Thanks so much for posting this! I officially start my 2 week pre-op diet tomorrow - I've been working on drinking more shakes and eating less food this week. I gave up bread and starches a couple of weeks ago. The past few days have been hard. Really hard for me.

These posts give me hope and encouragement that things will get better. I can't wait to share my own stories!

Thanks again, guys!!!

This is an awesome thread! Thanks for starting it and thanks to the ones that have posted.

I would like to share this too with ppl who are not yet sleeved, I was at a support meeting about 2 months before I was sleeved and a woman who sits on the board told everyone you will hate cooking it will make you sick and angry bc she wanted to eat, that her husband had to cook all the meals for her kids for a long time. So for months I was cooking and deep freezing meals, bc my kids would have lived off of hot dogs and Mac and cheese had I not...... Or so I thought.... Since the evening I walked into front door after surgery iv cooked every meal and it does not do anything either way, does not make me mad does not make me want food, not even a want to lick my finger, so take everything with a light heart you hear and read ( at lest things like that) bc it really is to each their own

Edited October 30, 201312 yr by DreamBig

Thank you for posting this. I am pre-sleeve and this is definitely a fear that I have. Now.....food seems to control my life and I HATE it! I am hoping so badly that I feel the same way as you folks do. I'm really praying that the sleeve is my "light bulb moment".

I hated food. I didn't miss it. I felt free without it, if that makes sense.

I never realized how much our social rituals revolve around food, though. At times it's been challenging and at times there was resentment that I couldn't indulge in something I really liked, simply because I had no room. Our embassy lives were challenging too, because I was expected to eat, eat, eat and drink, drink, drink while doing events with the locals - so there were times there that I really wished I had more room, but not so I could eat. I didn't want to eat. I just wanted to avoid being sick because I was expected to eat so much!

But I love that I can say no and walk away more than 90% of the time. And while I still struggle with those old food demons, for the most part food doesn't control my life any more.

Everyone deals with this differently. For every person that posts that they resent that other people eat around them (as if the world were sleeved with them and should adhere to their diet!) there are several more than have no desire to eat at all and aren't tempted by food in the slightest.

For me, each and every struggle I have today is a head one - I still have no hunger. I still don't need to eat. When I slip up, it's because my head isn't in the right place, not because my lust for food got in the way. Even now, if I snag a piece or two of candy I know I don't need, I don't even enjoy them! At three years out there are times when I really enjoy food. But I enjoy a small bit of it and then I'm done. There's no resentment or anger or frustration that I can't eat the entire pot or go back for seconds.

And this can only be a good thing!

I think this boils down to mindset. If you're feeling negative, it bothers you. If you're feeling positive, you see this as a boon.

~Cheri

Good Morning!! I haven't actually had the surgery yet but this is another reason why I am....I am so sick of eating. I would never eat again if it were up to me. I don't crave any food, I don't have any desire for food. I am 5'4" 280 but I eat once a day only to not be weak.

I hate to eat because I never eat the right thing it's just enough of the wrong stuff to meet a certain calorie intake and that's usually only around 800 now and to see the destruction caused by this is disturbing to me...I usually only drink liquids during the day anyway. Since my doctor and I can't seem to build my appetite, I figured this surgery will be great for me. I'm glad you don't miss eating because my fear is to NOT be able to eat it and the wanting to...lol.

Now my small meals will work in my favor!! Super excited to meet my perfect match!!

I too hated food before even though I really loved cooking and feeding people, and tasting it. I hated it because I knew every bit of it made me fat, fat, fat. If I ate it and enjoyed it, I then felt guilty because I knew it was going to make me fat.

Now I eat food and it nourishes me. It keeps me from getting cranky. It keeps me from passing out. And by golly, it still tastes sooo good.

Everything tastes as good as it did before. We so thoroughly enjoy the few bites we eat. And I still love to cook. Like the poster above, I too cooked for my kids immediately after and I still got a lot of enjoyment from watching them inhale the food. I still felt good when they told me I was a good cook. And I didn't mind that they had eggs while I drank a shake.

Now, I spend my time crafting sleeve-friendly recipes and sharing them on my blog. Food is still tasty--I just eat a lot less of it, and I feel ZERO guilt. For that alone, I would consider the sleeve.

I love not needing or wanting food, I don't want to eat pizza , candy, fries, subway, soda, Mexican, and all that stuff ever again, that's why I got so big in the 1st place. And yes I know years down the road I will be able to eat all that ( just not as much) but by then I hope and pray having the sleeve as this tool will help me stay away from them.

I feel the same way. The other day they had pizza at work and I had no desire for it at all.