Dramatic I know….I am on day 9 of the pre op diet and I am mentally struggling. I had my last pre op appt today with the surgeon. Am all set for surgery next Tuesday. I’m not even physically hungry but my brain is playing stupid tricks. I think I am just tired of broth, protein shakes, veggies….the things keeping me going are sugar free popsicles and jello ?

On 05/05/2022 at 21:18, Kmack2015 said:

Dramatic I know….I am on day 9 of the pre op diet and I am mentally struggling. I had my last pre op appt today with the surgeon. Am all set for surgery next Tuesday. I’m not even physically hungry but my brain is playing stupid tricks. I think I am just tired of broth, Protein Shakes, veggies….the things keeping me going are sugar free popsicles and Jello ?

Yes, you will!

Yeah your brain can make things harder. And your changing taste buds &/or sense of smell can make it harder as anything can taste disgusting. I actually appreciated the liquid stage. I wasn’t hungry or interested in eating so the restricted diet meant I didn’t have to think about what to eat - shake or broth. Purées we’re a bit blah because I didn’t enjoy some of the things I pureed. Thank gracious for high protein yoghurt. But don’t be afraid to spice the purées up if your tummy tolerates it. Soft food stage I was eating meat balls, bolognese, chicken casserole, omelettes, fish, Spanish croquettes, etc. Lots of choice really. Then it was just what my tummy tolerated & my taste buds found yummy. I was eating steak, lamb, pork, chicken, seafood, pretty early out with solid food. The first stages are restricted for a reason - to support the healing of your tummy.

Nothing wrong with having jello or popsicles as long as you are still getting in your protein which is essential for your recovery & progress. Couple more days you’ll be through the liquid stage.

The pre-op diet is the hardest part. After surgery, it's hard to even get the "food" down, but by the time you get to purees, you'll love that refried beans or Greek yogurt or ricotta bake! They will taste like "real food." Every plan is different, but by the time I was one month out I was eating most things except carbs and salad. Food didn't taste good then, and it was hard to eat, not gonna lie! However, by four months out, I was able to eat and enjoy real food easily, although I was still limiting carbs and lettuce was really hard.

I'm now 8 months out and unfortunately, I've started back with more carbs than is ideal, but I am still doing well. You WILL eat real food again, but hopefully healthier food and smaller portions!

You can eat real food again, but the question I found is whether I want to. After losing weight like I have, I just don't want to go back there. I think of it as an alcoholic would think of drinking alcohol. If I indulge in many of the foods that got me to the weight I was, how long before a eat a little more and a little more and a little more. I really embrace the "life style change" aspect of this thing. I rarely eat red meat, almost never eat bread ( I totally love bread), eat a lot more vegan type meats and chickens, keep my sugars and fats to a minimum.

Every once in a while, I will have something that I shouldn't like pizza, a hot dog etc but I make sure it is a small portion and I stop after that small portion. I have suffered too much to allow myself to relapse and gain back all the weight.

It is a mental fight as much as a physical fight for us to permanently change our eating habits and keep weight off. I try not to think of "real food" in the context of what I used to eat. In the past I would have a huge appetizer at dinner out and then an entrée and sometimes dessert. Now, I may pick at my wife's appetizer or we split a small app. I eat a reasonable entrée, usually fish or chicken and by that time I cannot fit dessert. It is still enjoyable to eat out, but again, if you mentally convince yourself that you need a chicken wing or flat bread appetizer then a 16 ounce steak and consider that normal, then there is going to be roadblocks. Instead, a tuna tartar app and a piece of tuna at dinner is what should become real food for you.

You can definitely eat "real" food again, just take it slow, follow the program, and after a few months once you're solidly on track you can start gradually adding in stuff you've eaten in the past. The key is moderation and portion control. I used to be able to eat a half of a pizza pie, now when I occasionally have a slice that's it - ONE slice. And it fills me up.

I used to love eating Taco Bell and would eat several tacos, now I'll have one - maybe two - chicken soft tacos. They're low in calories and only a few ounces each. I stop if I feel full.

When I was on vacation recently we ate out a few times and I was able to find something to eat at the Waffle House (I think I had a cheesesteak hashbrown bowl, but only ate about half), as well as Cracker Barrel (fried catfish with a side of broccoli and corn). As long as you eat your meals slowly and stop when you're full and make sure it's not too ridiculously unhealthy, you'll be fine.

Yes. It wasn’t long after I got back to normal foods that I began to try foods just to make sure I could still tolerate them. Some people take a little while longer to tolerate some things but I was fine with everything I tried and I can now eat anything I had pre surgery to include bread and lettuce which are two things that give a lot of people some trouble for a while.

Unfortunately, yes. Especially since most sleevers do not dump. You will also get your hunger back.

20 hours ago, Kmack2015 said:

Dramatic I know….I am on day 9 of the pre op diet and I am mentally struggling. I had my last pre op appt today with the surgeon. Am all set for surgery next Tuesday. I’m not even physically hungry but my brain is playing stupid tricks. I think I am just tired of broth, Protein Shakes, veggies….the things keeping me going are sugar free popsicles and Jello ?

I'm 10 days post op and my stomach is talking to me a lot now. I can't even have veggies or jello yet. Im just soooo hungry lol

Yes you will eat again! I’m 9 weeks post op and I’m not cleared for a full diet but I still get to eat things that I enjoy and still fit my program. Just hang in there. Time moves so fast so take it one day at time. Once you start to loose the weight it will help motivate your brain to just keep going.

I appreciate all of the replies. I know that I will eat food again, my post was more of a day 10 pre op diet mental temper tantrum. It feels so close yet so far away!

Yes it is so hard! Much better after a couple months and you are on a “regular” diet, at the same time seeing the pounds drop each week!