Ok, I am going to be really honest here, and l am petrified to give up food! food has been my friend, my enemy, my boyfriend, my lover my everything... in times when i didn't have all of the other things, or i wasn't getting my needs met! I am on my journey and I am ready to have a new life I know i don't want to be this weight for my health, but in the years I have dieted and lost a ton of weight, I have come to the conclusion that i am afraid of failing, and i am also afraid of SUCCEEDING!

I have had my appt with my surgeon, and nutritionist, I know that i want to do this. I am sure that this is the right decision, but is there anyone out there that is dealing with the FEAR?!?!?!?

I think that I won't feel what you feel until after surgery. Right now I'm looking forward to not being physically able to eat copious amounts of food. At this point I can eat what I want but I don't want much of anything. My fear is that post op those feelings will be so strong that I could sabotage myself. At the sane time, my consolation is that I'm AWARE of the feelings and I'll probably be able to identify and fix it before it get out of hand.

I never had the fears of giving up foods until I was like a week into the pre op diet. So I think it's just that cuz I've had other strange random thoughts since I've been on it to lol.

Edited January 9, 201511 yr by downsizingdiva

I was afraid of losing food too. My nutritionist is wonderful, and we talked about this. She said I should explore why I want to eat (is it emotional, boredom, etc.) because once I stopped having eating as an outlet, I would need another way to deal with whatever was making me want to eat. She had some great stories about people who suppressed their anger with food, then had surgery, and afterwards had huge fights, that sort of thing. Anyway, I took her advice and read the book, "Intuitive Eating," which helps you identify why you eat.

Of course we all probably have a million reasons, but one thing the book taught me was that I often eat for comfort. So I've been looking at options...petting the dog, hugging the kids, cuddling up in a fluffy blanket with a book. I think it has helped me -- another tool in the arsenal, anyway.

Good luck, @smile121! And thank you for starting this very interesting thread.

Im afraid beyond belief...But Im also tired of being the fat guy..

I,m concerned with what people will say they can be so rude, I,m doing this for me which is out of the ordinary. I,m always taking care of others. well the 19th is my date and pre op 4 days I,ve lost 8 lbs so feeling good with myself, but scared as hell with that big lifestyle change too !! I,m a beer and burger camping gal

I,m concerned with what people will say they can be so rude, I,m doing this for me which is out of the ordinary. I,m always taking care of others. well the 19th is my date and pre op 4 days I,ve lost 8 lbs so feeling good with myself, but scared as hell with that big lifestyle change too !! I,m a beer and burger camping gal

Well looks like youll be a Burbon and 1/2 burger gal from now on..

I,m concerned with what people will say they can be so rude, I,m doing this for me which is out of the ordinary. I,m always taking care of others. well the 19th is my date and pre op 4 days I,ve lost 8 lbs so feeling good with myself, but scared as hell with that big lifestyle change too !! I,m a beer and burger camping gal

Eff em'. Seriously the best thing I ever learned was not to care about what other people think. I don't mean be rude, just stop allowing it to hurt your feeling or belittle you. You can't control what others say about you, you can only control how you respond. Once you stop caring it often deflates any petty thing someone says.

Ill admit it...I'm scared. For me traveling is a HUGE part of my life. I love to explore new countries and part of that is discovering new food in those countires. I am scared that I will never be able to do another food walking tour, never be able to try the Best of... I'm scared travling is going to SUCK for me now

But outside of that I'm afraid that Ill never be able to eat pizza, or in n out...

@@shizwiz, and guess what, you can have that subway sandwich, but instead of a 12 inch, you'll be satisfied by one or two inches or bites, and those chips you'll be happy with three single chips, and those three Cookies, you'll be satisfied after a bite or two of one. I had subway last weekend, and I ate probably two inches of a six inch steak sub and that's was good I was content for another four or five hours. Your obsession with food will be gone, but your enjoyment will still be there.

This post made me feel a milloon times better. I love food, not jus as a comfort but just to try new things. The though of never being able to eat the things I love again scares me. People make it sound like you will be living on Protein for the rest of your life. I do understand that protein will become a big part of my life but am I never suppose to enjoy it again. Can I never eat a cupcake again (even a mini one), what about 1/2 a burger...that would SUCK

I taste all kinds of things. Difference is, I'm done after a few tastes. Kind of like normal skinny people. It's very empowering.

I'm glad this post is so active.....it's been helping me a lot! My date is January 20 and I am on my 4th day of the liquid Protein diet and have lost 5.8 pounds! Being from Louisiana, it's hard to get away from food! It's now King Cake season and man do I just want a bite!! What's nice is to know that next Mardi Gras I can have a bite or two and I think that will be good enough. I also travel a lot and am going to London and Paris this June, so am obviously worried about where I'll be in my recovery. Will I be able to have a bite of a pain au chocolate? I sure hope so!! Just this morning I was reminded how much I love donuts. Friday is donut day at work and I can't have one for quite a while, but it's nice to know that down the line I can have a bite or two. I think my biggest problem right now is when I smell something....like popcorn. I LOVE popcorn! But that's apparently a big no-no!

But the main thing is to keep our eyes on the prize.....I want some knee high boots (NOT wide calf) and skinny jeans and I plan to have them next fall! Hang in there gang....we can do this!!!

@smile121 I definitely had some of the same concerns that you do and I'm not going to lie, when you do stop eating your feelings, it's a little tough. My doctor's office offers really good post op support and I'm using it all. They are even adding group therapy soon and I'm going to take advantage of that.

My only advice is to not let fear hold you back.

@laurashelby Popcorn is not off limits for everyone. It's my absolute favorite food and I've been able to handle it without any issues. I just eat soooo much less than I used to. I found SkinnyPop which is really healthy and I just have a little at a time. 39 calories per cup.

@*Lexie* thanks....good to know!

I taste all kinds of things. Difference is, I'm done after a few tastes. Kind of like normal skinny people. It's very empowering.

I'm so excited for this. How long did it take for you to feel happy with just a taste? Right now, "just a taste" is such a foreign concept to me, I'm having a hard time imagining it!