I had chipotle for lunch today and I feel so guilty. I haven’t even had my surgery yet. I have 4 weeks and have been having last supper syndrome. I need some perspective as to what others have done before surgery.

I had many last supper moments before surgery (it was thanksgiving!!) I gained 7lbs. So far it’s three months out from surgery and my tastes have changed and I’m down 42lbs. So don’t worry!! You got this.

On 2/20/2018 at 11:38 AM, saranimal said:

I had chipotle for lunch today and I feel so guilty. I haven’t even had my surgery yet. I have 4 weeks and have been having last supper syndrome. I need some perspective as to what others have done before surgery.

I am doing the EXACT same thing! I've got to get a grip!

On 2/20/2018 at 12:59 PM, orionburn said:

One word of advice - don't chase the perfect "last meal" prior to surgery. Even if you think you've come up with the perfect meal you'll end up wishing/wanting something else the next day. Truth is in time you will get cravings for old comfort foods. Some I have from time to time and have no issue with. Others I haven't even bothered with. Moderation is the key for anything in life. Naturally you'll want to stick to plan as much as possible through the honeymoon phase.

On the other side you'll be so excited at seeing results that it will help you stick to plan. It's when things taper off and you hit some stalls that it will be more difficult. Those are the times that test you. Don't go at it with the sadness of "I've never going to eat these things again" and feel like it's the end of the world. For me dollar menu burgers from McDonald's was at least a weekly thing for me before surgery. Haven't had one now in over a year and don't really care about it. Sure I get a craving for one every now and then, but I still get those cravings to have a smoke and it's been like 6 years since I quit smoking.

Long story short don't worry about it so much. This is the time to take a good hard look at your relationship with food, and yes, it can be eye opening at how much control it has in our lives.

Such great insight!! Thank you so much! I am trying (lately) to have all the meals "I won't be able to have anymore"... Need to focus on the power of food and how to change my views.

@Bigviffer and@summerset are both right because there’s not one answer to this.

Some of us have changed tastes, some don’t. Some can make the switch to food as fuel and others continue to eat for comfort. Some thin people eat for comfort and some eat for fuel.

We all have different experiences.

That said, what’s awful about Chipotle? I’ve eaten it as part of my healthy post op diet many times. It’s a matter of the choices you make there and what the r st if your day looks like.

There are biochemical changes brought about it lots of us by the surgery. I hope it happens to you. If t doesn’t you will develop other strategies to make the most of the tool the surgery provides.

On 2/21/2018 at 5:52 PM, jess9395 said:

That said, what’s awful about Chipotle? I’ve eaten it as part of my healthy post op diet many times. It’s a matter of the choices you make there and what the r st if your day looks like.

I agree. There's a difference of finding some healthy options at Chipotle versus trying to justify going to McDonald's. I remember a guy on here one time saying how it was okay that he still eats McD's because he only had a small fry and cheeseburger and wasn't really that unhealthy because he looked at the nutritional value on their website. My snarky came out and quipped that McDonald's is sooooo well known for their high protein french fries.

On 2/20/2018 at 2:18 PM, summerset said:

You won't stop eating foods for comfort in the long run. This "food is just for fuel"-schlock is a completely unrealistic perspective some people seem to have when it comes to surgery.

food and eating is supposed to bring us pleasure - we are hardwired to it. Even the so-called normal eaters who're thin eat for comfort and pleasure. It's just a matter of how often and how much (and with how often and how much you can get away with this behavior without facing the consequences).

As for taste preferences: they might change or they might not change. Mine didn't change. I wouldn't place a bet on it. Learn to ride that emotional eating dragon because you won't be able to kill it.

Kudos that people that can truly look at it at as fuel and be okay with it. Like you said in the real world not a lot of us can do that. I can do it while I'm at work. I can eat chicken salad for morning and lunch and not get tired of it. I'm looking at it as fuel at that point. That goes right out the window the second I get home, though.

We are wired differently. My wife could be a casual smoker and only have one a day, then go 2 days without one, then have 3-4 if we were out, then none the next day and be fine with that. Me on the other hand....nope. I loved smoking (when I did years ago) and there wasn't much control. There was absolutely no way in hell I could do what she did.

That goes for a lot of things in life. I can drink a beer every week or once every two months if I wanted. For somebody that has trouble with alcohol they couldn't do what I do. Yet I can but couldn't do that with smoking. Somebody may go to a casino twice a year for fun. Other's know if they went just once their gambling addiction would come roaring back.

Food can have the same power/hold on us as any other addiction. For anyone that scoffs at others for not simply being able to "turn it off" then you don't get what addiction is all about. I do believe that we can all overcome our own addictions but it's easier said than done for many of us.

On 2/20/2018 at 2:18 PM, summerset said:

You won't stop eating foods for comfort in the long run. This "food is just for fuel"-schlock is a completely unrealistic perspective some people seem to have when it comes to surgery.

A year ago I would have agreed with this whole heartedly.

I hate when people lie about liking foods they don't like...and when they lie about not missing/wanting the foods they were so attached to...they got fat on them. I have always been someone who prefers ugly truths to pretty lies. I love food. Food and I have a deeply intimate attachment.

THAT SAID...

I've gotta disagree with summerset on this point. I think there are a wide ranges of experiences and I'm absolutely shocked to have had a different experience than what I anticipated.

There are a lot of foods I used to use for comfort...that I have turned to for comfort again (yep, I'll admit I have...in carefully measured quantities...I still wanted the stress relief and comfort of eating them on occasion)

Something in my physiology has changed. They don't work anymore. And it makes me kinda freaked out.

Sometimes I feel like something akin to an alcoholic in a warehouse full of beer. No matter how many bottles I pop open and take a swig....it's not beer anymore.....it all tastes like iced tea...and I don't WANT iced tea.

I can take a bite of chicken pot pie, or donut, or BigMac, or chocolate turtle pie....stuff I used to freakin LOVE....and it fails to bring that little release of serotonin like it always has. It fails to caress my insides like love. it doesn't make me feel better. It just goes down empty and makes me feel both stupid (for doing it) and sad (because the sensation is missing...the relief is missing)

The up side...is that it's not hard to stop. Who wants more than a bite or two of abject disappointment? I'm running fewer experiments. If a bite of donut doesn't work, a bite a cake isn't likely to, so why bother?

I'm not saying I didn't LOVE eating this stuff before...I'm not saying I feel accomplished to have "conquered it"...cause that's not it...I don't feel like that.

I'm saying that it kinda scares me and upsets me that it doesn't do much for me anymore. The magic is gone. Something CHANGED. My guts or parts of my brain involved with eating....feel alien.

I think there's more than meets the eye...to what happens to people with these procedures. And I think individual experiences vary widely.

I never expected to feel like this.

(this is the same person as the OP just a different profile I didn't realize I made 2 lol oops)
anyway I am just scared that I am not going to be able to break this habit. does everyone feel this way?

I feel that way too! And from the sound of things everyone experiences something different. I really hope my experience is like Creekimps and I won’t be drawn to those comfort foods after surgery. If there is some way of tricking the stomach into not wanting sweets afterward I’d sure like to know about it!

22 minutes ago, KCgirl061 said:

I feel that way too! And from the sound of things everyone experiences something different. I really hope my experience is like Creekimps and I won’t be drawn to those comfort foods after surgery. If there is some way of tricking the stomach into not wanting sweets afterward I’d sure like to know about it!

Personally, it's not for all, but maintaining my low carb way of eating leaves me with a feeling of total control/compliance--no cravings, no mad desire to eat, no hunger at all, and a feeling of well-being. If I eat carby stuff, I get famished feeling within 2 hours after a meal.

It will be interesting to see if that changes for me once I re-introduce solid foods and cut out the protein shakes.

13 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

Personally, it's not for all, but maintaining my low carb way of eating leaves me with a feeling of total control/compliance--no cravings, no mad desire to eat, no hunger at all, and a feeling of well-being. If I eat carby stuff, I get famished feeling within 2 hours after a meal.

It will be interesting to see if that changes for me once I re-introduce solid foods and cut out the Protein Shakes.

That is one of the key benefits to a low carb way of eating. A note on the 2 hours though (for newbies reading): There is nothing wrong with eating every 2 hours or so. I have been eating that way since my surgery (and I am 17 months post-op tomorrow). It's about what is eaten and the total macros for the day. I make it a rule never to eat until I am "full." I eat certain amounts (usually 3 oz of meat and 1.5 oz of green beans or something green and similar) and that's it. Then I eat again 2 hours later or so. This approach has been wildly successful for me.

On 26.2.2018 at 4:40 PM, Creekimp13 said:

There are a lot of foods I used to use for comfort...that I have turned to for comfort again (yep, I'll admit I have...in carefully measured quantities...I still wanted the stress relief and comfort of eating them on occasion)

Something in my physiology has changed. They don't work anymore. And it makes me kinda freaked out.

[...]

I'm saying that it kinda scares me and upsets me that it doesn't do much for me anymore. The magic is gone. Something CHANGED. My guts or parts of my brain involved with eating....feel alien.

I think there's more than meets the eye...to what happens to people with these procedures. And I think individual experiences vary widely.

I never expected to feel like this.

These surgeries are for sure altering the guts and preferences of people - sometimes more, sometimes less as it seems.

However, surgery date about 3 months ago? Lets wait a little while longer before jumping to definite conclusions because a lot of people seem to have felt this way before reality hit them hard over the head. Sorry to be the party pooper, but 3 months out is just that: 3 months out.

I think for me it is more along the lines of not being able to just eat whatever anymore. I am so used to just grabbing whatever I want and be on my way. It sucks to feel that out of control. But I know reality is I have 1 week til pre op liquid diet and then I have to do what it takes to succeed. No excuses

These surgeries are for sure altering the guts and preferences of people - sometimes more, sometimes less as it seems.
However, surgery date about 3 months ago? Lets wait a little while longer before jumping to definite conclusions because a lot of people seem to have felt this way before reality hit them hard over the head. Sorry to be the party pooper, but 3 months out is just that: 3 months out.

I’m four and a half years out and still feel that way.

On 27/02/2018 at 2:49 PM, Saranimal83 said:

I think for me it is more along the lines of not being able to just eat whatever anymore. I am so used to just grabbing whatever I want and be on my way. It sucks to feel that out of control. But I know reality is I have 1 week til pre op liquid diet and then I have to do what it takes to succeed. No excuses

You can do it!!! Something that has helped me is staying away from television and all of the advertising that tries to encourage you to indulge. I still watch programs, but on Hulu or Netflix which are commercial free. Another thing I did was aromatherapy, I splurged and got an expensive perfume that i love the smell of and every time I thought about food, I’d sniff my wrist (my family thinks I’m nuts) it worked. Good luck, and keep reminding yourself why you are doing it