**PANICKED** VETS: I feel like I won't be able to eat for the rest of my life

[Elizabeth21 175]

Hello Veterans. My fear is that I will not be able to eat for the rest of my life. I'll never be able to try a new food, or, enjoy food at all. I get that there is a trade-off of course. But I look at my elderly parents, and really, enjoying their food is a huge part of their joy in life.

So: thoughts?

THANKS!!

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Panic if you want, but the truth is, after a year, most of us can eat way more than you might imagine now. I can eat anything. I have to write it all down and keep track, because if I don't, then I will gain. I enjoy my food a lot. I have changed lot of little habits, like exercising regularly doing things I like, cooking quite a bit of my own meals, because I can make it just how I like, and I can control the content and keep it healthy. I plan Snacks, deserts and partake of surprise food almost every day. I write it all down in MFP, I use a Fitbit to watch my exercise, I took up dancing, kayaking, walking, birdwatching.... I am 3 1/2 years out from surgery, and 2 pounds above goal at this time. I just lost my mother, so I am being kind to myself about the 2 pounds, I know I can get them off with a few changes. You will be fine. Just keep in mind the sleeve may be doing it all for you right now, but later, you will have to bring your best game to the party, and the sleeve will back you up. Its only one tool of many later on.

[McButterpants 2,846]

I'm 9 months out and can eat just about anything - I CHOSE not to eat a lot of things, though. Not much bothers my stomach except for my bariatric Vitamins and raw fruits and veggies. I ate some cherries one day and was in severe pain for about an hour.

And in all honesty, the foods I loved before surgery - Pasta, bread, carbs - do not appeal to me much now. I can have a couple of bites of pizza crust, but that's it. If I order a sandwich from Subway, I take a bite or two of if, then just eat the insides.

I have found many foods that make me feel good when I eat them - I stick with those. I don't eat the things that make me feel bad or sick. I once read that thin people will go thru a quick thought process before they eat - "How am I going to feel after I eat this?" I do that now, too!

[LipstickLady 25,682]

Unlike the ladies above me, I CANNOT eat just anything. I am almost 16 months out and I have serious problems with bread, Pasta, rice, ice cream and potatoes. More than a taste or two will send me straight to the bathroom to vomit. Some days, I cannot eat more than 3-4 small bites of anything at one time without feeling uncomfortable and other days I can eat almost a cup of food at a sitting. I have to look up menus before I go to restaurants and plot out what I can have. If I am having a non-eating day, I just get a drink because I know it would be a waste of money anyways. I do not really have sliders like most people do so I get full quickly from simple carbs. Because of all these issues, I have become a grazer which is a very slippery slope to regaining weight. Sounds sucky, doesn't it?

In turn, I have lost 110+ pounds. I have gone from a size 20 to a size 6. I can run, jump and dance all night. I look great in clothes and feel great in bed (wink wink nudge). My 16 year old pointed out to me the other day (with a grossed out shudder that only 16 year old girls can do) that I am hit on every day by some "gross creep" -- her words -- which means any guy other than her father. HA!

I have found that my life no longer centers around food. Other than planning a meal out if I am meeting friends, I don't obsess about my next meal like I used to. I never crave any of my old "BFFs" like McD fries, Panera baguettes, Hardee's country ham biscuits, etc. I don't buy a candy bar or a donut every time I get coffee at Wawa. I don't "need" a shake at Cookout or just a little nibble at the food court, and I can literally go all day without eating or thinking about it.

I have a very close friend who is naturally thin. I used to be amazed at how little she cared about food. It made no sense to me. We would go out to dinner, she would say she was famished because she had forgotten to eat all day but then she would order something very small and eat a few bites and be done. I've known her for 20+ years and this is how she has always been in every setting. I lived with her in college and she rarely had food in the house because it just didn't matter to her. This surgery has turned me into (almost) her!! Never would have thunk it.

I still like to cook and bake, I love cooking shows and magazines. I like new recipes and enjoy going into gourmet markets to shop. Farmer's market are heaven. I even enjoy all the available samples at costco and groceries (that's a full lunch and I turn down most!). I just don't NEED to eat. I enjoy my meals more for the company than the food. My quality of life is so so so much better, I can't even tell you. I am amazed at the change in my life every single day, "complications" and all.

[Andrew0929 1,101]

I love that food is no longer such a big source of entertainment in my life and hoping it stays that way.

After you've lost lots of weight I think your priorities will change too.

[playlikeworldchamps 595]

How far are you out? I felt that way in the early weeks especially and for about 4 months in total and then I was able to have most everything in small amount. Except for sweets. More than 1 cookie or 2 bites of ice cream and I get bad stomach cramping and feel the shakes and swear never to eat that stuff again (until the next time!)

I am now 18 months out, down 130+ and except for the sweet issue can eat pretty much anything in reasonable small portions. I have a piece of pizza and 1 chicken wing every Friday night! I can have half a sandwich with bread if I choose.

This past weekend we had huge get together with 20 people staying over the whole weekend. It was a food fest with more sugar than can be imagined. I pretty much ate what I wanted but was actually looking forward to getting back to plan because it may taste good but it made me feel crappy (sometimes literally!). I guess it's nice to know that I can do social eating again and the sleeve does limit the damage but I also was so happy to go back to my normal low sugar, high Protein life. I did gain 4 pounds of water/carb weight over the weekend and it is slowly coming off now. But I don't freak out over it since I know it will come back off if I stay true to my plan. And I will feel better too!

[LindafromFlorida 1,542]

Hello Veterans. My fear is that I will not be able to eat for the rest of my life. I'll never be able to try a new food, or, enjoy food at all. I get that there is a trade-off of course. But I look at my elderly parents, and really, enjoying their food is a huge part of their joy in life.

So: thoughts?

THANKS!!

At 10 months I can eat anything I want to. My husband also. I only wish I could not eat everything. It takes will and determination now.

[Katcloudshepherd 630]

I don't think I qualify as a veteran as I'm not even a year out from surgery.

I couldn't agree more with what the previous posts said. I can eat anything I want--just in small amounts. Fried food seems to make me feel like poo-poo so I just try not to ever eat it. I fail sometimes and then when I feel crappy, the light bulb lights up .

If I stick to my high Protein, low sugar and little to NO simple carbs, I'm fine and HAPPY .

I no longer LIVE to eat but I eat what I need to to live a happy productive life.

Blessings,

Kathleen

Edited September 4, 2014 by Katcloudshepherd

[bikrchk 1,313]

Not sure if I qualify as a "vet" yet, but I'm 11 months out and reached my goal range 7 weeks ago. I can and do eat anything I choose to eat! That said, I'm serious about "protein first", keep a food and exercise journal, exercise 4-5 times per week and wear a fitness watch that helps me monitor my actual burn via it's heart rate monitor during focused exercise and with its pedometer for general activity. It syncs with MFP so I know how many calories I should eat on a given day based on my activity.

I make different choices now. Regular bread is replaced by P28 Protein supplement bread, regular Pasta is replaced with a high Protein variety. I dump a scoop of chocolate whey in my coffee every morning. I eat carbs, and desert, but take pains to buy them in portioned controlled packaging when shopping and I don't have multiple servings of that stuff. Ever. I work the things I want into my day and manage my intake with good tracking. I find that I'm WAAAAAAYYYY more food focused than I ever was as a fat person, but I get to enjoy quality over quantity now. It's a freedom I've NEVER known before and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I will be 3 years out in December. I can eat anything although some things make me feel icky. I seemed to have developed an intolerance to a formerly favorite food - ice cream gives me cramps now. Well, it has been a good trade off ... I am maintaining in the low 140s rather than well over 300#. Ice cream really wasn't good enough to justify being twice the size i should be...

Like others have said, food slips lower in priority. I get hungry, I like food, don't get me wrong, but I no longer have that drive for it.

[Forsythia 882]

I'm definitely not a vet but I can eat whatever I want. I have a steak at a restaurant. I eat half of it or 1/3 of it, and order a healthy side like the steamed veggies or sauteed spinach or something. I box the rest up for lunch the next day. I don't have issues with any food anymore. Can eat bread, Pasta, sweets, etc. But I choose not to. The appeal is just not there anymore like it used to be. When I was 300 lbs, food was comforting and a soother, but I don't need it like that anymore. And It's kind of bizarre how things I would crave before don't even cause me to bat an eye now.

[moonlitestarbrite 902]

i can eat a small amount of everything except very sweet things. (which i didnt like before surgery either)

you arent panicking about food. you are panicking about loosing the only coping mechanism you have. i dont miss food. i get to eat 3-5 times a day! i miss not being about to provide myself with comfort by stuffing myself full of food.

try googling "soothe yourself without food." you will get some ideas of things to start practicing.

[AvaFern 3,516]

You won't have to eat like you're eating now for the rest of your life. I still enjoy any type of food I want, I just eat it in very small portions. I am fortunate that if I eat more than a few bites of junk food I'm pretty much instantly puking, so I know now that if I want some cake, I can have a few bites, really enjoy it, and then stop eating. I do tend to stay away from pastas because I don't like them enough to justify the massive sickness that ensues when I eat them, but I do occassionally eat desert and the majority of my diet is just like most healthy people, except I eat a lot less of it. Your life really will be normal again and you'll get to be thin and still be able to enjoy food.

[livvsmum 2,368]

I guess I'm almost a vet at nearly a year post op. :-) I promise you will pretty much be "able" to eat anything you want. Doesn't mean you should...for sure! There are days now that I wish I could go back to that feeling of thinking I wouldn't eat again because now I feel like I could eat anything. lol. I know that it is a very real struggle that you are having though and I remember distinctly feeling that way. I promise that you will have lots of choices again...it all comes down not necessarily to "being able to" eat anything, but "choosing to" eat only the good things.

[gottagonow 82]

I was sleeved May 19 so I have no idea what the future will bring, but for now, there is very little I can eat without pain. It seems to be getting worse frankly. Like I was okay with shrimp and then one day I was rolling around in the bed after having some (not fried of course). I eat very oddly and I know others are perfectly fine, but eating out is a mess for me. Everything is surrounded by meals. My stomach can't hang with most on the menu, but I try. Then, I get the comments about how I barely ate. It does get me down at times not because I want to eat bad foods, but I don't want to be the center of attention. It seems it may get better with time.

I had to call out some friends who I noticed stopped inviting me to Happy Hour. They don't know the deal but I told them that it's the company, not the alcohol and we cleared that up.

At least I know I'm making progress. My doc asked me to be in a TV ad or paper ad because of my progress. Since I kept this to myself, that isn't happening, but sometimes you need to hear the good stuff.