I have my surgery on the 17th March but I have no idea what to expect honestly, I’m worried my eating habits will come back.. I have a huge addiction to pasta, can I even eat that anymore after surgery? How often? Etc.. I don’t want to end up eating it if I screw my self over! I also want to know how people deal with their chocolate cravings? I age a huge sweet tooth and I’m guessing chocolate, cakes etc even if it’s small amounts is out of the picture after surgery?

To be honest, the mental battle of this journey is a lot more difficult than the physical battle. You have to change your relationship with food to make it positive and healthy. You don't need to worry about what you CAN eat after the surgery (specifically after the diet progression after the surgery), but instead you should worry about what you SHOULD eat after the surgery.

I have a horrible carb addiction; therefore, I have minimized them (less than 25g per day) since six months BEFORE my surgery. I am 17 months post-op now, so I haven't had more than 20-25g of carbs on any one day in almost 2 years. Do I love bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, sugar, etc.? Of course, I do. But I am choosing not to eat those things because weighing 170ish pounds at 6'0", and wearing small shirts and 31 waist pants is more important to me than any food and drink. And notice that I said that I HAVE a carb addiction, not that I HAD a carb addiction. I feel it is the same situation as an alcoholic has with booze. I will never be "cured" of it; I can just manage it.

I say all of this to you to encourage you to get your head in the right place before the surgery as you still have a little bit of time. Immediately post-op, your body is trying to heal, and that is a full-time job in itself. If you don't prepare yourself for the mental battle and work on changing your relationship with food, you likely won't be successful long term.

Wishing you the best!

Yes some programs can include limited amounts of pasta. Mine does:) But pasta is very hard to eat post surgically and you may find it's more uncomfortable than it's worth.

If you do eat pasta again, and it's ok with your program...consider Protien Pasta. It's a special pasta made of chickpeas and lentils that gets you higher protein and fewer carbs.

https://www.barilla.com/en-us/product-results/pasta/range/proteinplus/?sort=alpha

Edited March 5, 20188 yr by Creekimp13

I make a kick arse salad out of Protein Plus Rotini. Tomatoes, cukes, kalamata olives, a little reduced fat hard salami, peppers, feta, olive oil, Italian seasonings, and balsamic.

Yum!

This one's a favorite at my house.

Edited March 5, 20188 yr by Creekimp13

I'm coming to your house for the next picnic, I don't care if you are in Wolverine Land.

Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal App

1 hour ago, blizair09 said:

To be honest, the mental battle of this journey is a lot more difficult than the physical battle. You have to change your relationship with food to make it positive and healthy. You don't need to worry about what you CAN eat after the surgery (specifically after the diet progression after the surgery), but instead you should worry about what you SHOULD eat after the surgery.

I have a horrible carb addiction; therefore, I have minimized them (less than 25g per day) since six months BEFORE my surgery. I am 17 months post-op now, so I haven't had more than 20-25g of carbs on any one day in almost 2 years. Do I love bread, Pasta, rice, potatoes, sugar, etc.? Of course, I do. But I am choosing not to eat those things because weighing 170ish pounds at 6'0", and wearing small shirts and 31 waist pants is more important to me than any food and drink. And notice that I said that I HAVE a carb addiction, not that I HAD a carb addiction. I feel it is the same situation as an alcoholic has with booze. I will never be "cured" of it; I can just manage it.

I say all of this to you to encourage you to get your head in the right place before the surgery as you still have a little bit of time. Immediately post-op, your body is trying to heal, and that is a full-time job in itself. If you don't prepare yourself for the mental battle and work on changing your relationship with food, you likely won't be successful long term.

Wishing you the best!

This is an astute observation and I can personally attest to it. The battle is much more mental. I am on Day 7 of my 14 day pre-op diet and while I don't have physical hunger, the head hunger symptoms are real. My neighbors in my apartment complex must've whipped up a special dinner because all of the smells are wafting in my apartment. I don't feel physically hungry but man that food smells SO DAMN GOOD.