Where I am at this point is I'm meeting with the surgeon next week for the first time, so I'm just a newbie.

My relationship with food right now is that I feel that I obsess about food: how much I'm eating, what I'm eating, feeling tempted, and basically feeling a lot of anxiety surrounding food.

For you post-op people, do you feel that food is an obsession? I'm thinking specifically about the "diet mentality" - needing to count calories, weigh and measure everything, and having to think always about what I'm putting in my mouth. I'm worried that I'll still have to obsess about food, even post-op. I don't want to live the rest of my life obsessing about these things. Have food issues normalized for you? I want to put food in its proper place in my life, that it is not something to think about constantly, but I'm worried that even with surgery I'm still going to have to be on constant alert about food. Thanks for any insight you may have.

This is a great thread to read! I am only a little over a month out from surgery and I definitely feel obsessive over food. I think about it constantly. I'm hoping I will eventually get to the same area a lot of you are at.

@@librarianlk,

Further along after the absolute necessity of paying attention to food until you are comfortable with what you need to do to succeed, @@glitter eyes hit it on the head: everyone is different! There are a lot of WLS patients who really do lose interest in food or at least think of it as just another part of the day – not something to worry about or spend too much time thinking about.

For others, they obsess about food, but enjoy it to some degree – like thinking of how they can be healthier or make fun recipes or use food to give them energy.

And there are some who still obsess over food: they may crave junk food and still fight to stay on the right track with eating. The longer you do keep eating right, the less strong these cravings will be.

Sorry, it’s impossible to predict!

Hi,

First thing to remember, everyone is different so please keep that in mind when reading everyone's thoughts. I still obsess about food daily. I had surgery 15 months ago and actually joined a weight loss group with weekly meetings and weigh in's because I was unable to lose the last 20 lbs.

Since joining the program, I have lost 7 lbs in 4 weeks. I have to track every bite and remind completely mindful at all times. I need a formal program, I think many gastric bypass patients do not, but I am determined to not only reach my personal goal but not be one of the 1/3 who regain all the weight they lost. I know once I become a lifetime member I am going to keep going to meetings and get weighed in every week for the rest of my life. For me, this is a huge struggle. I never dumped and there are very few things I can't eat so It's tough. However, I am 95 lbs lighter than my highest weight so now that I have a big investment in this. I am committed to losing the last 10 lbs and keeping them off forever.

I don't want to scare you but for me it never got any easier once I was 8 weeks post op and not feeling miserable anymore. That said, I don't regret the surgery. Just go into knowing it will help you lose weight and get healthy but it's not a magic cure all.

Best wishes!

In a way, I do still obsess about food, but not in the same way. I weigh or measure my portions, track everything on myfitnesspal, and make sure I hit my targets for carbs, fat, calories, protein, and fiber (most days -- some days I might miss here or there). I am far enough post-op that I do have hunger and cravings back, but not as intensely as they were pre-surgery. Still, I watch and calculate and think about what I eat a lot.

It gets tiresome, but for me, I need to do it. Some folks have urged me (or everyone, in a more general sense) to stop obsessing, stop logging, stop counting, and have a "normal, natural" relationship with food. I look at it a different way. I have a disease, obesity, and it is currently in remission. I need to be vigilant and work to keep it in remission. It may not be fair, but that is my life.

I wouldn't tell someone with diabetes to stop obsessing with sugar and quit measuring their insulin levels and just have a "normal, natural" relationship with food. And imagine someone who has a serious problem with shopping addiction and spending money carelessly. Say they get into a terrible financial predicament, have their house foreclosed on, have to file bankruptcy, and end up sleeping with their dog under a bridge for several weeks. Then they get their act together, learn how to budget and spend wisely, and swear off online shopping forever. They build their credit back up and eventually are able to rent a nice apartment and even start some savings. Would you tell that person: "oh, it's obsessive of you to check your bank balance so frequently and be so rigid about following your budget. You should chuck those apps from your phone and develop a normal relationship with money where you don't think about it, don't budget, and spend what you want. After all, if you get hit with some overdraft fees from the bank, you'll know you need to get back on track. And by the way, why don't you do some moderate shopping on Amazon? Everything in moderation, right? If you don't do some moderate online shopping, you might get obsessed and then just go crazy and spend everything you have. So it's really better to shop a little here and there. Go buy yourself something right now!"

No, you probably wouldn't. I look at myself the same way. I do have to stay a bit obsessed with food and be vigilant for the rest of my life. I doubt I will ever have a "normal" relationship with food where I just don't think about it very much or care what I eat or when. But that's a small price for having a healthy body and being free from being in the active phase of obesity.

YMMV of course.

@Bufflehead- this is exactly the conversation I'm having with my therapist. She thinks I've developed a bit of OCD since I weigh, measure and record everything. I also still follow all the "rules" that I believe make a successful WLS patient: protein first, no drinking with food, etc. She would like me to have a more natural relationship with food. I tell her that I LIKE the control my behaviors give me over a drug that I abused for far too long and that deviating terrifies me. Are there days where logging is a drag? Yeah. Are there meals I eat that defy logging? You bet. But, for the most part, when I decided to have surgery I made a deal; I traded eating without thought for eating mindfully. It was more than a fair trade for the life I have now and don't see me changing a thing for the foreseeable future!

@@Bufflehead - Well said!

Everyone is different and years of habits and making bad decisions don't go away overnight. There are times where I crave something that I cant have, and I literally obsess over it...or the guilt if I have eaten something bad or eaten more than I should. For me, what works is when I am at home I keep myself busy with an activity. If I am watching tv, I either have a book in my hand or am coloring from an adult coloring book. I keep my hands busy, it seems to work and I don't obsess and go into the kitchen.