I'm considering gastric sleeve surgery and have had so many questions. I'm glad you guys are here to help.

When I eat, I really try to enjoy the food, to eat mindfully and not just scarf it down.

I call myself a foodie because I enjoy good food. When I go on vacation, I usually have a few places in mind where we can eat. I don't want to leave it up to chance and have a bad meal.

I don't lose control and "pig out" when eating except for one dish I enjoy. I often take food home to avoid eating too many calories in one meal.

After the surgery, will I still be able to eat enough food to enjoy it? Or will that part of my life be completely over?

This is a drastic decision to make, and if I can never enjoy food again, if I can only have a few bites, what kind of life is that?

Edited February 16, 20206 yr by imaginegirl
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So I'm just starting to eat real solid foods again, and honestly, my taste buds have changed a little bit, but I really enjoy food still. Taking the time to eat slowly kinda lets me savor it? I've been experimenting with bariatric and keto recipes and I'm finding some really nice and tasty things that are well within the dietitian's guidelines.

You may have a few things that don't taste as good as they used to (I'm kind of sad that fish for me doesn't taste really good), but things you didn't like before might taste good now, too (I like cooked spinach all of a sudden). It's a lot of experimenting and guessing and seeing what your new body reacts well with.

If you are already in the habit of slowly eating and savoring your food, then you shouldn't have a problem post surgery. There are occasions where I really want to pig out - namely at buffets where there are multiple dishes I want to enjoy. But 90% of the time I still enjoy food without regetting that the volume of the food is so much smaller.

You'll do well at the really good places where their cuisine is of the "micro" variety, you know a dab of this, a sprig of that...but buffets will never be much fun for you. I went to a Chinese buffet and my half-cup of hot and sour soup and watched my friends eat for over an hour. At least they didn't get mad when I pulled my Kindle out and read as they ate!

39 minutes ago, KCgirl061 said:

KCgirl, it's good to hear that you don't regret being able to eat less food. That was my worry. I'm trying not to think that this surgery is self-imposed starvation and that someday I will regret it.

15 minutes ago, JRT Mom said:

JRT Mom, do you find that over the hour, your stomach empties so you can enjoy a little more food?

I still enjoy food. You're kind of limited as to what you can eat early on, but after that, you can eat most of the things that you do now, just in smaller portions.

2 hours ago, imaginegirl said:

JRT Mom, do you find that over the hour, your stomach empties so you can enjoy a little more food?

I am not quite three months out from my surgery and an still in the "honeymoon" phase where I am trying as hard as I can to lose as much as I can before my appetite comes back. So I try to only eat a half cup of food at each sitting, and only two-three times a day. I imagine if I waited a while I would be able to eat more, but I haven't been tempted to other than a handful of nuts after a meal.

You won't be able to eat much quantity, but the quality of what you eat is up to you. I eat very small portions, for instance I can't finish 1/4 lb cheeseburger even without the bun. I can eat one taco. Also, your tastes change after surgery and sometimes there'll be foods your stomach will no longer tolerate. For me it's soft breads/tortillas and steak that I can't eat.

Food is a chore for me now. Which is exactly what I needed and wanted from the surgery. I'm 5 months out and still struggle to eat very smalls amounts. My tastebuds appear to have changed also, things I loved before just taste a bit blah.

I'm not even a month out from my surgery so I can't really say for long term, but you get full really, really fast. I still enjoy eating, just wayyyy tinier amounts. I eat cauliflower pizza, but get full after one slice where before I ate three before getting full. I eat a modified taco salad which has seasoned ground turkey, cheese, avocado, taco sauce, and tomatoes and it's delicious but I can only eat 1/3 of a cup of it before I'm full. You can still enjoy food, just not in the same volume. And... the first two stages suck. Just saying... but it's only for two weeks. Soft foods stage is what I'm on now but on Friday I get to stage 4! I can't wait to eat pork again!

I enjoy food more now. I really like finding new recipes, cooking, them, and trying them out on the family. Before surgery, I just gulped down whatever there was. Now I have to be much more mindful when I eat, and very intentional in my food choices. When you have to plan out your meals, knowing that your volume is restricted, it only makes sense to fix the most delicious and nutritionally dense foods to enjoy,

1 hour ago, AZhiker said:

I enjoy food more now. I really like finding new recipes, cooking, them, and trying them out on the family. Before surgery, I just gulped down whatever there was. Now I have to be much more mindful when I eat, and very intentional in my food choices. When you have to plan out your meals, knowing that your volume is restricted, it only makes sense to fix the most delicious and nutritionally dense foods to enjoy,

What a great way to frame this! I read somewhere once that it is only the first few bites we really enjoy, anyway. I'm going to incorporate this into my "head work."

1 minute ago, lisafrommassachusetts said:

What a great way to frame this! I read somewhere once that it is only the first few bites we really enjoy, anyway. I'm going to incorporate this into my "head work."

that "first few bites" thing is right - experiment with it. The first two or three bites are great - after that, you're really not tasting it anymore. It's more the texture...