Posting about fast food and unhealthy junk

[Mindy78 372]

I eat fast food, a whole lot less than before. Things I think "I want" normally one bite and nope don't want it like before. I never understood picky eaters before. I get it now. It is almost like my throat closes and says nope....not eating it.

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[sgc 538]

@@sgc

This is the post/thread she is talking about here.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/387820-fast-food-questions/

It isn't the only one like this, this seems to pop up a lot. This isn't your typical, will I ever be able to have pizza again post.

It is a long thought out post by someone with an obvious food addiction that is not ready for surgery but had it anyway.

I don't see what is so wrong with that post. I would just offer up advice and leave it. If they are willing to accept it that is up to them. I'm just amazed at how personally upset people get when someone doesn't seem to be receptive to their advice.

[recreatingcate 132]

Here's the way I see it: as someone pre-op, I'm working so hard to mentally prepare for surgery. I'm working with my NUT, and the psychologist, to change the way I look at and think of food. I am trying to look at food as something that is supposed to nourish me, and not something that I need in excess to get through the day/week/month.

I imagine, when I'm post-op, I will be using the same mentality as I work through the phases of learning to re-eat and re-learn my eating habits. It is going to be HARD, from what I understand. The very last thing I want to do, when I'm fighting my way through emotions, cravings, and healing, is reading about someone's plans to eat the very things that did them in in the first place! I just feel that it's careless; you're planning on when you can eat the very unhealthy things that negatively effected you to begin with.

Maybe it's just me. I just think that, if you want some fries and a burger, that it's something to look at and consider when you are farrrrrrrrr post-op, when your mind and body have healed, and you can go back to handling those foods at healthier, smaller portions.

[summerset 5,261]

As for posting, I usually breeze past the "I ate total crap 2 days out from surgery"

I usually skip these posts as well. I don't have anything really constructive to say. I could say that it's dangerous and that people mustn't do it again for their own safety.

I remember when being at the hospital that there was a lot of food stolen from the fridge. Patients hat the possibility to put their own stuff into the fridge, e. g. some yogurts. I don't know if that is food addiction out of control or simply being an asshole.

I will however, comment if it looks like that person is trying to avoid old habits and just needs some guidance. Like, it's totally unrealistic to think someone isn't ever going to go out to eat or maybe have something that isn't the greatest (like pb&j) but if I can make a suggestion that might make it a healthier option I'll chime in- I think that's what people are looking for a lot of times is just someone to give them a "try this, not that" suggestion.

Absolutely. After all, we want to live a life as normal as possible (or so I think) and that includes eating out and eating stuff the people around us consider "normal". It doesn't mean gorging yourself on burgers and chocolate daily but that wouldn't be considered "normal" anyway by the people in my immediate environment.

[summerset 5,261]

But the poster specifically said they didn't want to hear about the healthy alternatives at fast food restaurants. They wanted to know about the crap.

And they didn't want any successful vets to tell them it was a bad idea - judgers and stone throwers weren't welcome. The truth wasn't welcome. Just reinforcement of what they wanted to hear - that fast food isn't the slippery slope everyone knows it is.

I can understand this. The person has already made up her/his mind and if the person is aware of the consequences - it's ultimately her/his decision.

I was a vegetarian before surgery and a vegan for a whole while. I'd like to go back there and have taken steps into this direction. The nutritionists on my bariatric team don't mind a vegetarian diet at all. They're a bit cautious about going vegan but say it can be done.

When I'm now writing on a vegan/veg thread discussing the veg/vegan options you have after WLS I don't want someone tromping around how "unhealthy" or "dangerous" that is. I simply want to talk about how it's possible to meet the nutritional goals while eating vegan. I don't need self-proclaimed whistle blowers while exploring my options. That's just annoying.

[summerset 5,261]

I am starting to think that mandatory counseling for no less than 6 months and a sign-off from the counselor saying this person "gets it" should be needed for WLS. And a test to make sure they understand the doctor's instructions pre- and post-op.

Believe me, you will still have people eating too much of the unhealthy foods. Maybe not 4 months out, but 1 year or more out. I'm on two German speaking boards as well and there seems to be a lot of what I've heard is called LOC (loss of control) eating.

Usually the threads are titled "HELP! I can't control myself anymore!! What's wrong with me all of a sudden??"

They almost all got the 6 months program and the psych evaluation (I'm talking about patients in Germany). There is no bullet-proof solution to avoid falling down the wagon. Emotional eating is a strong bitch to come to terms with. I always recommend the books written by Karen Koenig or books about emotional eating in general. Pretty helpful stuff in there.

I hold the opinion (and I know it's a very unpopular one on this board) that one has to learn how to deal with the temptations as early as possible - and when I talk about "dealing with it" I don't mean abstinence.

[Clementine Sky 707]

I've had junk food and fast food since having the VSG in August of 2015, but sporadically. I don't think it's audacious to make a thread about it here. Sustainability has been my goal, and for me, not feeling deprived is a significant part of it. Eating a kids meal with fruit instead of fries at Chick-fil-a, or a reasonable meal at El Pollo Loco once in a blue moon, or having frozen yogurt hasn't had much impact on my weight when I'm working out and eating sensibly overall. It does have a beneficial impact on my wellbeing. When something is a forbidden fruit I crave it more, so not making anything forbidden actually lessens temptation rather than increasing it. Other people might feel similarly, or have their own method for incorporating the occasional fast food meal while still being successful.

I do stress that it is imperative that you wait until your stomach is fully healed, and that you develop healthy lifestyle habits. If you're going to eat fast food, you can utilize the nutrition information posted on their sites to make better choices.

[xoxococojay 842]

@@Clementine Sky if you saw the post you would understand. Doing things in moderation is fine. That other person had no intention what so ever to at least try to better themselves.

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[Jazzzyjay 222]

I personally take what I need from this site and spit out the bones!

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[xoxococojay 842]

@@Lise2021 at the end of the day that is an EXCUSE. We aren't here to enable people we are here to help them reach their goal. Anyone that did the diet class would know fast food is unnecessary and loaded with calories and fat including that bunless burger. If you've been post op for awhile and it's a rare emergency then that's one thing. But why put the same crap back in your body that made you need surgery in the first place? We all used to do that and we were all able to make changes through support and education. If you read the post you would understand.

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[Greensleevie 451]

Most of these answers is why over 40% of people gain weight back after surgery.

[summerset 5,261]

I personally take what I need from this site and spit out the bones!

Best you can do. Not worth getting into heated discussions.

Edited January 16, 2017 by summerset

[summerset 5,261]

Most of these answers is why over 40% of people gain weight back after surgery.

Unrealistic expectations and unsustainable behavior changes in the beginning are the reasons 47.322% of WLS patients gain back their weight.

[Clementine Sky 707]

@@Clementine Sky if you saw the post you would understand. Doing things in moderation is fine. That other person had no intention what so ever to at least try to better themselves.

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I'd just posted in a thread about fast food before replying to this one, but perhaps there's another that I haven't stumbled upon. I think it can be difficult to convey one's full intentions on a forum with strangers, though. I had ferocious head hunger the week of post-op and was obsessing about food then. If I'd posted here I probably would have come across as having no desire to mend my ways, a hopeless cause. I craved 1000+ calorie, fat-laden atrocities, and would look up pictures of them and obsess. I didn't succumb to those desires, though. And they fortunately did pass. I did eventually eat fast food, after being healed, but in moderation on a very rare basis. I still made my way down to a size two.

[Greensleevie 451]

Most of these answers is why over 40% of people gain weight back after surgery.

Unrealistic expectations and unsustainable behavior changes in the beginning are the reasons 47.322% of WLS patients gain back their weight.

I see both of those things in the answers running through this thread.

I'm also 3 years out. I think I know why people gain weight back after a certain amount of time. There are too many know it all newer post ops here. You are one of them. You know nothing about maintenence or weight regain at 4 months post surgery.