I knew that surgery was going to be very hard, requiring discipline and a new way of eating. Wanting to give myself every chance for success, I tried to give up every addiction I could PRIOR to surgery, so that the battle would be less complex afterward. Prior to surgery I gave up sugar (my joints never felt better!), caffeine, soda, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors and flavors, processed foods, and snacking. I also started 16/8 Intermittent Fasting. I had already given up wheat/gluten several years ago, I was never a smoker. The sugar, caffeine and snacking were especially hard, but I am SOOOOO thankful I am not dealing with those now that I am only 2 weeks post op. I would suggest this to anyone in their preop period. Get rid of the junk NOW! You don't need to deal with cravings after surgery - food deprivation is enough! It will give you the confidence to comply with the post-op restrictions, and will set you up for a much healthier life style for life.

What did you use to break your snacking habit? This seems to be the thing I struggle with the most.

I think the intermittent fasting was the key. The meals and snacks are planned, and with limited hours to eat, it sort of controls itself. Also realizing that every time you eat or snack, you get an insulin spike, which drives calories into fat storage. Limiting the number of food intake episodes during the day, means fewer insulin surges. The fasting period gives your cells time to rebuild, get rid of wastes, knock off the "Zombie" cells, and basically rejuvenate. I am just trying to get all the nutritional requirements in now, but perhaps at 6 months I will be able to return to the IF routine. At that point, any snack foods will have to be planned into the time schedule.

IF makes your eating more mindful and controlled. You look forward to the delicious healthy meals you have already planned. I was happy to see that this has helped me so far in my post op journey. Although I cannot eat solids yet, I already have my future menu cards written out!

I have also been observing how MANY triggers to eating there are - TV ads, someone else snacking, watching TV, smells, even feeding the cat! Seems like everyone is eating all the time! This is really hard, but these were my mindless triggers before surgery - I was just not aware of them. So maybe the key is recognizing the triggers for what they are, drinking a glass of water, and going for a walk. I also have some hand work (sewing) to do while I watch TV to keep my hands busy.

The bottom line is that snacking is a habit that is fueled by food addiction that tickles the pleasure receptors in our brain, releasing endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine - the "feel good" chemicals. We can use all sorts of tools to distract and redirect the behavior, but in the end, we need to deal with the addiction. Exercise also releases endorphins, and I am personally trying to get 10,000 steps per day, which means starting out with about an hour of walking every day, This is really helping to boost confidence, reduce stress, fight depression and self pity, and I hope will build a really strong tactic for dealing this snack cravings in the future, especially when I can start eating those foods again.

Yep. Yep. Yep! I heartily agree.

Congrats!

57 minutes ago, AZhiker said:

I tried to give up every addiction I could PRIOR to surgery,

I wish I had known this before my surgery. I'm working on this post surgery. It's a one day at a time thing for me but I'm making headway. Thank you for the sound advice.

Azhiker, what great advice! I'm a very "addictive " person, and could use to eliminate caffeine, sugar, snacky foods, etc. in the 5 weeks til my surgery. I had been just eating what I want, but more discipline is needed! Thanks for positng this.

Thank you for sharing. I don't have a surgery date yet but I have already given up sweets, coffee, and lattes. It was easy for me to kick the sweets because I was never really into chocolate cake etc. The coffee I drank it because they offer free coffee at work. On the other hand, I like salty snacks especially, Cheetos and popcorns. I've given up the Cheetos since January but still hanging on to popcorn which I need to stop due to high blood pressure.

I would encourage you to give up the processed snacks. Switch to veggies, fruit, nuts. After surgery, every bite needs to be as nutritious as possible. Those snacky foods are just empty calories, but oh so addicting. It takes some reframing to learn to enjoy veggies and raw nuts more than processed snacks, but think of the health benefits, the better nutrition, and less temptation later,

I am gluten intolerant, so that eliminates a lot for me, but I LOVE tortilla chips. I could sit and eat an entire bag. But now I know that can never happen again or I will undermine my weight loss. IT IS NOT WORTH IT!!! They must never come in my house again! Maybe eventually I will go out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, and maybe then a few chips will be OK, but there will be a built in limitation. Today, I am experimenting with dehydrating some turnip and rutabaga slices (from my garden) in hopes of finding a great tasting, low calorie chip like snack. Sweet potatoes make great chips, but are higher in calories. Soooooo………. my plan is to have a healthy, crunchy little snack I can incorporate into my new lifestyle that will HELP and not hurt my weight loss.

I also gave up ALL processed foods - basically anything that comes out of a box, bag, or can that I didn't prepare. My whole grains are grains - not flour. Quinoa, millet, brown rice, amaranth, steel cut oats are side dishes, as are beans and lentils. This sort of food is so filling, doesn't shoot the insulin levels up, and makes you feel good.

Best wishes as you plan toward surgery with healthy goals! (Cheetos are poison! Congrats on giving them up!) You will not regret the choices you are making now! I cannot imagine going through caffeine or sugar withdrawal after surgery. It is hard enough as it is.

Thanks for the great recommendations I will be skipping the popcorn for sure and start to get use to more vegetables and raw nuts. I am so excited for this new journey ahead.

By the way, corn is one of the foods that can really spike insulin levels. So I, too, gave up the popcorn, as well as my beloved tortilla chips. IT JUST ISN'T WORTH IT! (My new favorite saying.) Corn isn't worth dying for when there are better options. Good health IS worth living for! Sorry corn, but you gotta go! (You know what they feed cows and hogs to fatten them, right?)

On 2/19/2019 at 3:37 AM, AZhiker said:

I knew that surgery was going to be very hard, requiring discipline and a new way of eating. Wanting to give myself every chance for success, I tried to give up every addiction I could PRIOR to surgery, so that the battle would be less complex afterward. Prior to surgery I gave up sugar (my joints never felt better!), caffeine, soda, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors and flavors, processed foods, and snacking. I also started 16/8 Intermittent Fasting. I had already given up wheat/gluten several years ago, I was never a smoker. The sugar, caffeine and snacking were especially hard, but I am SOOOOO thankful I am not dealing with those now that I am only 2 weeks post op. I would suggest this to anyone in their preop period. Get rid of the junk NOW! You don't need to deal with cravings after surgery - food deprivation is enough! It will give you the confidence to comply with the post-op restrictions, and will set you up for a much healthier life style for life.

Very true, we need to do the best we can for our body and our new digestive system.

I'm still months from getting surgery but already looking at protein powder and stocking up on tuna and the like whenever they are on special

I've already picked a couple of small air tight containers for small meals and stuff when I do get my surgery as we have to eat small.

I'm getting more conscious of fruit and veg prices these days and looking forward to a new way of life, I have max 140lbs to lose

clean eating is the way there's no use going through all this surgery just to come out and do half arsed job. Make sure you're ready to commit to A NEW life!

I agree

[emoji738]

So there are ways to get your snack fix without hurting your diet and still getting in protein. Quest makes tortilla chips that are protein based. They are filling. They also make a line of cookies that curb that sweet tooth while giving you protein. Also. As far planned meals try finding things that you can bring with you on the go. I'm finding I'm always out and about. Things that are really good for me I have found are these sargento balanced breaks they are the perfect size for bariatric patients and you can get them in bulk at Sam's BJ's Costco. Also vitamin's. Costco is I've found the best place for them.