I was sleeved on 12/16/14, and as of my weigh-in today, I am down 90 pounds!

As a restaurant owner, my biggest fear before the surgery was how the weight loss would affect my personality and image. While I am thrilled with the quick results, and I have been VERY able to handle the big changes in lifestyle, I must admit that unfortunately my "work joy" has lessened. I'm a restaurant owner, and been in the business my whole life. I love food, the food business, talking about food, etc.

Since my eating is so restricted, and I don't get much joy from it any more, I have been feeling less and less enthusiastic about serving and selling food. It's such a disappointment. The trade-off is worth it, obviously, from a health standpoint, but every day at work I'm less enthusiastic about what used to make me so happy.

I've been in the restaurant business since I was a kid. I don't know anything else, and I don't have any other skills. I don't know how I can keep doing this for the next 20-30 years with the kind of "food apathy" I seem to be developing.

Has anyone else had a negative WORK reaction to the surgery? Anyone changed their career as a direct result of the surgery?

I would love to know that I'm not alone!

Bob B

I didn't change my career as a result of WLS. But WLS was part of my overall goal to get a better job in the same field. I hated the place I was working, I knew I was at a dead end and the only way to grow was to find a better job. But, at 375lbs, I felt trapped at my workplace - who was going to hire such a morbidly obese person, who couldn't even get up off the floor without a chair for assistance?

So I used my frustration with my career as fuel for my weight loss. It helped me commit to the surgery and kept me committed to exercise and diet post-surgery. Every time I felt like quitting, I'd ask myself if I wanted to still be where I was in a years time. And the answer was always "No!"

I am a foodie who loves food and cooking. While not a restaurant owner, I can imagine how hard that is. I have re-created MANY dishes to be just as satisfying, flavorful and LARGE portions (for others, lol) while eliminating or lowering carbs, fat and salt and increasing Protein. With so many health conscious people, maybe you could reform your menu over time, to include healthier versions? Possibly talk to customers, to see if they would be interested?

This way you could feel the excitement of serving dishes that are not only delicious, but good for them! Just some food for thought. (no pun intended, lol)

Also, as time goes on, your interest in food will come back and your stomach will be able to hold more, so the healthier way of cooking will also benefit you.

Bob

I DO understand . We have a restaurant in our family also and my joy about food has waned. It is very difficult to stay engaged in the food service industry and go thru WLS .

The lunches and the chatting and the tasting present some challenges ... Not to mention the hours.

I had to step back...

Hoping You will find your way.

Are you a chef/cook or a server? What about channeling your love of food to healthier alternatives. Think about how many people go through this surgery and are depressed at eating the same foods over and over. As a foodie myself, it almost feels like going through mourning. So much of my time was spent cooking awesome food, going to the latest restaurants etc. Maybe you can channel your love of food to experimenting with different recipes, blogging about great recipes for those living with the sleeve, adding menu items to the restaurant that are healthier alternatives, going to chef school and being one of those chefs who do amazing foods in small bites plates, open a food truck. If those things don't appeal to you, maybe just take a few classes at a college doing other things that might interest you. Maybe get in on the business side of restaurants. etc. You're young, you have options. Think of this as an open door to new things!

Bob, I'm presleeved and anticipate this issue on a smaller scale. I am the one in my family that lives to cook... And serve new, delicious things. I'm a single mom of a 15 y.o. Boy who is carrying his weight well but is still over weight Acc to the charts.

Am nervous about how to not so much deprive him of the joy of eating ( with healthy habits) while in the beginning not compromising my "sobriety"

My hope is that everything will fall in place in time. 4 months out is still pretty sleeve-young. I do love the others' suggestions that you pioneer on making healthier, tasty options on your menu - perhaps promoting yourself as a walking billboard to the outcomes of healthier living. It could be a way to tap into new clientele as well. Perhaps, cooking demos/ classes weekly etc.

I think it's worth exploring.

Best of luck! Head up!

@@newbn1 its fairly easy to healthify recipes. 93% lean ground beef or turkey, extra veggies to bulk up portion size, cauliflower makes a great rice, Pasta, potato substitute. I have recipes if interested. Don't add fat or sugar to foods. Spaghetti squash also can replace some or all pasta in a dish. Butternut squash is a lower carb alternative to sweet potatoes. Zucchini and eggplant are both wonderful in Italian dishes. My sis is on WW and a carbaholic, I cook her HUGE portions of low carb low fat delicious meals and she does not miss the carbs, things like' mac' and cheese, 'potato' salad, 'tater' tots etc....... There are also some great low fat turkey products such as kielbasa and hot dogs

I'm not interested in "leading the charge" or educating people about healthier living. I have loved the restaurant business my whole life, and now have little interest (unfortunately, since this has been my whole life, I don't really have any other interests, either).

Smaller portions, healthier cookbooks, etc, all appeal to me as much as someone coming into my home to sell me on their religion, which is to say: it doesn't appeal to me at all.

I'm hoping this will pass...again, I'm still only 4 months in, but I used to be excited to go into work every day, and now I'm not.

Healthier, but not (so far) happier.

Now might be a good time to start reassessing what makes you happy since you are going through a significant life change.

What is it about your job/ career that you love?

What do you loathe?

What are your skills?

You might consider talking to a career counselor or coach to see what is out there.

The key is matching your interests, knowledge, and skills to a real need.

You may find you want to stay in your current career with some changes, make some slight modifications, or do something radically different.

Like weight loss, its a journey.

For me, I am looking at reentering the job market when I am healthier and will need to return to focusing on this process soon.

It's scary and liberating at the same time.

You don't have to figure it all out today. It's a process. But, please resist inertia and settling for being unhappy. There has got to be a place for your passion and experience in the world.

Bob, I understand how your relationship with food has change. It has for me. I used to love good food. I enjoyed eating good food. Now , I do not enjoy eating anymore. This surgery has changed me in to a person that eats to fuel my body. So I just changed my mindset. I eat to live now. The live to eat person I was is gone. for a while , I was bother about that. But now at 7 months out. I do not even think about it. For you it may continue to be a challenge because you are in the food business. But you should check out you tube it is a girl name cluesie L and she is on Instagram @clueesee and she is apart of our WLS community. she is in the food business and she has made it work for her. It was not always like that for her, but she seems to still enjoy her career in the food business. I wish you the best. Maybe she can give you some advice. I would not know what to do if I did not enjoy being a nurse anymore. That is all I know. I have been a nurse for 16 years.

I think looking at other career options is a valid thing. Maybe even into restaurant supply, versus the food side of things. Dealing with equipment might be something you would be good at, having been in the industry so long, but wouldn't be about food exactly. Or taking this time to explore other interests entirely, get a new degree or certificate of some sort, etc.

Hugs (if you don't mind hugs) coming your way.

@@Bob B The advice given so far doesn't seem to appeal to you. I don't have any advice to give, but I get it. I don't care about food either, but I am not in your situation. As far as my job.....I don't like it either, lol But it is not in the food industry, it is in corporate america, and I'm close to retirement. All I have is well wishes that you find your happy place, and come to terms with whatever path you take to get there.

@@Bob B, I have experienced a great deal of professional apathy also. WLS takes a lot of physical, mental and emotional effort. I recommend that you look into some counseling to help you with your long term plans and explore options. You might also consult with your doctor about your Vitamin levels. Depletion of B Vitamins, especially B12 can affect mood, energy and motivation.

As for the taste for food, I have learned that this tends to change over time. By the end of a year most can eat whatever they want, just less of it. So, don't give up yet on the possibility of enjoying it again.

Meanwhile, be nice to yourself. Sometimes work is just work for a season of life.

Good luck!