Hi All

My surgery is scheduled for this Thursday 4th June and I've tried to read as much and research as much as possible to prepare myself for after the op . Im still not even completely sure yet if its going to be Bypass or sleeve lol

Im just after reading that someone 6 months post op can just about finish a slice of toast !! and I'm Just wondering does anyone feel deprived or sad Post Op because they can't eat large amounts anymore ?

Does the lack of Ghrelin or hunger hormone reduce this sensation ... I'm not necessarily a sweet eater l just eat ALOT thats why I'm in this situation !!! Will l be miserable the rest of my days or does the lm full feeling take over .

Thanks

As I have read many times on these forums, they perform surgery on your stomach, not your brain. Your emotional issues with food will remain post-op and that is something you will really struggle with and have to work on.

In my early months, I often felt sad and frustrated that I could no longer turn to food for comfort. I also was disappointed when I could only eat a few bites of my favorite foods or not eat them at all. The good news is, I did adjust, both mentally and physically. Now I am 9 months out and I rarely feel deprived. But, yes, it is highly likely that you will deprived in the beginning and will have to make a lot of mental adjustments to go along with the physical changes.

I never did feel deprived. After the first 2 months of healing, (not lying, that part is an adjustment), I could eat pretty much what I liked as long as it was in small quantities. I supplemented Protein to meet my goal of 80+g per day, (still do) so I can have that variety in my diet. I LOVE the fact that now that I'm in maintenance, I can eat relatively clean during the week and party on the weekends and stay a size 4! SO worth giving up that 2nd 3rd or 4th slice of pizza!

@@bikrchk I want to be clear that, past the restricted food phases, I never really felt deprived about WHAT I could eat (though I did miss some of my more high-carb favorites) as much as I felt deprived about HOW MUCH I could eat. It was very frustrating to me to sit down to a delicious meal of one of my favorite foods and only be able to eat a few bites. I had been a binge eater prior to surgery so, eating massive AMOUNTS of food had been a big source of comfort for me, along with just being able to eat a lot of something when I really enjoyed it.

Let me give you an example. I used to LOVE lasagna. It was one of my absolute favorite foods. My in-laws always made a big lasagna dinner for Christmas. My parents, husband, and I would go over on Christmas evening and enjoy this large meal. I had my surgery on Sept 1, so this past Christmas, I was almost 4 months post-op. I was cleared to eat all foods by then, so that wasn't a problem. But of course, all I could actually manage to eat was the filling from maybe one square of lasagna. No noodles and obviously no garlic bread. I definitely felt deprived in that situation. All of my loved-ones around me partaking of one of my favorite foods and I could hardly eat any of it.

Now, I don't think I'd feel that way. I've definitely come a long way since then in terms of accepting what I can eat, how much I can eat, and not depending on food so much in social situations. But it was definitely a period of adjustment for me.

Sometimes it is difficult to be around other people when they eat... my dad is an amazing cook so when he makes a new recipe I want to try it and then remember I am only 3 weeks post-op and very limited. Or activities that revolve around food... I avoid those as well because I know it will tempt me to be bad.

Overall though I would say once I could move into the "soft food" stage I felt A LOT less deprived. Hated the liquid pre-op! But now that I can eat string cheese, eggs, lunch meat, chili, chicken, tuna fish it is much better. Although one thing my surgeon put on the soft foods list that I must be careful with is mashed potatoes... I could eat 5+ cups of them before surgery on thanksgiving... now I can eat about 1-2oz before I get a pain... the pain doesn't make my brain NOT want to eat more, but it makes me stop... So with some things you will feel deprived... if they were trigger foods before.

One of the reasons I got the surgery was so I could only eat a little of something and be satisfied... I feel like I have more control and freedom over food now in that I'm not a slave to it. But I know I still have to check myself with certain foods... I think for myself, and probably you too, that we need to rethink WHY is food so important to me... food is fuel, not my friend. I have to repeat that mantra to myself all the time and it's still hard to believe.

I have found that most of the foods I have felt deprived from make me sick anyhow. So no, I don't!! I'd rather eat healthy than puke!

I am 4 months out and have never felt deprived. Since I generally don't have a problem getting in my Protein I don't feel bad stealing a bite or two from my husband of things that I like but are not on the diet. I will have a 1/4 of a mozzarella stick, 1 french fry, 2 bites of ice cream, a Dorito or two. (not at the same time). My husband got me 4 chocolate covered strawberries for my birthday. I had 1 a day. I have had scalped pizza. This gives me a taste of things so I don't feel deprived but I don't have enough to derail my weight loss.

The only thing I have missed a little bit has been alcohol. We went on vacation in mid-May and had a hot tub. I would have been nice to have a glass of wine. I was tempted to have half a glass for my birthday at the end of May. Per my surgeon I can't have alcohol until August 2nd. I can wait until then. I put the alcohol in the sorta miss it/head hunger category but not strong enough miss to to call it feeling deprived.

@NikkiDoc - I feel the same way about the alcohol, but I haven't done the follow-up to ask, if I do. same scenario though - hot tub, hubby...glass of wine

@@bikrchk - I thought I would miss pizza. I ordered one and picked it up otw home from work a couple of Fridays ago. Not my preferred pizza (pre-surgery) it was thin crust all meat. I got the narrowest slice and took a bite from the end away from the crust and chewed it, and then spit it out. I "ate" about 2 more bites and it went in the trash. Havent even thought about another piece since

Nope!! You get so full that you don't care about finishing your meal or snacks. If you want something "bad" you can have it. It might not settle too well with your new stomach - it's all trial & error. But as you start losing weight in the beginning, you probably won't want to do anything to mess that up. But don't deny yourself either. As time goes on you will see what is best for you

Honestly, sometimes I do feel deprived but it is definitely more a "head thing". I love almost all foods including healthy veggies so I have never felt lost for what to eat for satisfaction. But I do miss being able to eat lots of certain favorites. One for me is high quality beef steak, like filet mignon. meat is harder to deal with now, even 8 mos. after surgery. So it's just I need to accept it will be less of a portion forever. Às it should be anyway! My "tool" is doing it's job. ...keeping me off too much of the bad stuff. And the rush of feeling so good about my weight loss and strength at the gym is worth the loss of a few bites of yummieness.

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You will likely feel deprived the first month or two. Especially the first 4 weeks. It's better after that. You're body and mind have to adjust to the new stomach and it won't like it at first. A lot of us are addicted to food. Once you're over the physical and mental (which is harder) addiction, it's fine. I wondered if I had made a mistake the first few weeks and from what I gather, most people do, but you WILL turn a corner and be so glad you did it.