In the first few months after WLS, I had trouble adjusting to my new way of eating. I mourned enjoying my favorite foods. But now at 7 months out I have learned to appreciate the fact that I can be satisfied with such small portions of holiday treats and can easily pass up the treats until I deem it appropriate to indulge in a bite or two. Before WLS I was able to do that with willpower. Now it just seems to come naturally. I hope this feeling will continue for the next year.

What a lovely feeling huh!? I love not having to focus soooo much on food all the time!

I want that!!! You hear the negatives,....that people fail, and regain what they lost. I have had that thrown in my face almost daily by someone. People watch too much TV or read about one person who regained, or ate more then they did prior to surgery. I find those stories hard to believe. Maybe because I WANT this. Not because I'm being forced into something I don't want. You know? Like how kids don't appreciate the things we give them, but appreciate it more if they get if for themselves? That's my theory. Anyway........I really want that!!

The first month after WLS I mourned food soooooo badly that I took to going on Pinterest for food "porn", i.e., obsessive viewing of the foods I can no longer eat. Some examples are: jelly doughnuts (omg), fried chicken, King's Hawaiian sweet rolls recipes, pound cake, hoagies, Philly Cheesesteaks, Macaroni and Gravy and Coney-Island style dogs (I am from the Great NE.) ugh It was torture.

Now, not so much. If I even eat a bite of a sliver of a piece of candy my pouch curses my existence for the rest of the day. Lol

And now that I am detoxed, I don't even want that crap anymore. It doesn't satisfy and I love not being a slave to food anymore.

The thing is with me is that I am addicted to the food porn more after weight loss. I am always on Pinterest pinning. But for the most part, ir is for healthier foods with lots of bold flavors. Majority of the recipes I do not cook at all. I have learned how to make healthier versions of the things I used to eat. I even made cauliflower crust pepperoni pizzas.I have yet to try them and they are in the freezer with the rest of my experiments lol.This is a new habit that I need to kick.

Later losers!

Edited December 21, 201411 yr by motherof5

it's really great to read all your experiences. I am 4 weeks post surgery today and at first struggled with complete food obsession. It's getting easier now but I am still challenged by old behaviours (e.g. eating too quickly, taking big mouthfuls and even taking a mouthful of solid food when I'm still at puree stage which really hurt going down!)

However I am learning from all of this that the discomfort of doing the wrong thing will modify my behaviours and also to give it time for my head to catch up with my new physical state. After all, I became obese by being a comfort eater and that is an emotional-psychological disease. I am hopeful the surgery plus some good counselling/group support will give me the control I need to live a much healthier life.

Best of luck to all xxx

I think (?) it's true that I haven't mourned the loss of food.

Perhaps it's because because I was sleeved later in life (at 68) I'd eaten about everything there is to eat--some great food. I also understood that being sleeved didn't mean I could never eat good food again.

Four months post-op, I am certainly less focused on food than I was pre-op. I'm sure that's due to having so much less ghrelin in my body than pre-op. However, I'm still interested in food to supply nutrients for my body, to supply energy, and (to a lesser extent, for now) food's taste and aesthetics. It's pretty easy to avoid or reject food most of the time that doesn't have high nutritional value (sweets, alcohol, high-carbs).

I'm sure this will all continue to evolve and change. But the current phase is a comfy place to hang out.

I don't mourn food anymore. Mostly because I can eat pretty much everything except super sweet things like ice cream or cheesecake. Only one bite cause it will make me feel yucky. I don't mind being kept in check this way. There were Christmases where I'd eat dozens of Cookies or chocolates and now I know to stop at 2 or pay the consequences. In the early months it was hard because two bites of any meal and I was done no matter how yummy it was. Now 21 months out my portions are what they should probably be if we all followed what is really a portion size. So what if no room for multiple courses or dessert. Not supposed to be eating all that volume even if no weight problem! Do I sigh because at restaurants I wish I could get surf and turf but know there is no way I could fit all of that? Yeah I do but only for a second. Then I pick either surf or turf, hold the potato, and bring any leftovers home to the delight of my daughter!

It definitely takes time to come to grips with the new way of thinking but it will over time as you realize that just because you can't have something doesn't mean the end of the world. In fact at some point you can enjoy some treats on special occasions. And that's how it should be. Our bodies didn't evolve to eat 24x7 nor to indulge in high caloric treats just because they are yummy.

The first month after WLS I mourned food soooooo badly that I took to going on Pinterest for food "porn", i.e., obsessive viewing of the foods I can no longer eat. Some examples are: jelly doughnuts (omg), fried chicken, King's Hawaiian sweet rolls recipes, pound cake, hoagies, Philly Cheesesteaks, Macaroni and Gravy and Coney-Island style dogs (I am from the Great NE.) ugh It was torture.

Now, not so much. If I even eat a bite of a sliver of a piece of candy my pouch curses my existence for the rest of the day. Lol

And now that I am detoxed, I don't even want that crap anymore. It doesn't satisfy and I love not being a slave to food anymore.

Thanks for sharing this. This is exactly what I needed to hear

I'm six months out. Mostly I have very little interest in food. I went through the cravings and eating too fast, too much and swallowing without chewing properly. I think the last is the most important. I have a very difficult time remembering to chew enough. I am constantly haunted by my Mom's voice in my head telling me to chew each bite 100 times...lol. Guess dhe was right. My husband is a chef and has been very supportive, preparing special foods for me. Now we can go out and I'll just take a couple of bites of his dinner and be satisfied. Fried chicken? One tiny taste of skin satisfies me. I often just sample one of his sauces on the back of a spoon. I have so little interest in food, that I suspect I will always need a protien shake every day. I regret nothing and have lost 100 lbs without exercise. Joining Curves this week and plan on losing the last 60 lbs by my anniversary date, July 15th.

I love reading these responses! I will say I know personally of two ladies that had the "old-fashioned" gastric bypass and they are BIGGER now then before they had their surgery!!! Thus that goes to show just how important the mental component of this surgery is! I have never been one who was big into fast-food or sweets. My downfall is the carbs (what can I say I have a Czech and German background) and coming from a family where obesity runs rampant! I watched my beloved Uncle spend the final week of his life three years ago literally suffocate to death and drop dead in his home four days later because his heart was only functioning at ONE PERCENT!! I will never forget being in his hospital room after he had collapsed at home for the second time, and listening to his cardiologist tell him that there was nothing more that they could do for him . Years of horrid eating habits+stress from his job (he was a chemical engineer that traveled a lot)+ depression (he never got married or had any kids and he regretted that decision terribly)+ little to no exercise+a genetic predisposition to obesity lead him to the state he was in! The cardiologist also told him had he done something like a bypass and then getting on an exercise and weight management program ten years earlier and he would not have been in the shape he was! Very sad and something that I will always remember! That was and is a huge chunk of motivation for me to have this, as I put it, weight assistance surgery, and better my eating and exercise habits! I just joined Curves too and love it and my surgery is scheduled for March 9 and I am very ready!