Food Boredom

[SuziDavis 549]

On 2/20/2023 at 6:07 PM, hills&valleys said:

I am not criticizing you. People do not become morbidly obese if they have an adversion to food. If you never had a "love affair" with food, how did you reach a weight of 372 pounds? You may CURRENTLY have no interest in eating as a result of WLS but; as all of us who are in the process or have had WLS, we have or had an unhealthy and excessive consumption of food. The majority of obese individuals suffer from addictive and/or compulsive disorders. The energy from one activity (in this case, eating) has to be transferred to another to fill the void previously occupied by food and eating. This is why therapists encourage adding new healthy activites and interests to shift our focus on not what we have lost but what we are gaining.

It's pretty easy, eating the wrong things out of convenience is just as bad as eating things you "have a love affair with" out of desire.

Having some health and autoimmune issues didn't help either.

Not to be critical, but not everyone fits in the cookie cutter that you are placing on obese people.

[SuziDavis 549]

On 2/21/2023 at 12:14 PM, hills&valleys said:

Love affair may have been the wrong term but we do have a dependence on food for a multitude of reasons. The point I was trying to make is that your lack of interest in food is the perfect time to establish a new and healthier relationship with food and to adopt new activities to transfer your focus before the Honeymoon Phase is over.

I have Addison's Disease, which went untreated for a long time. I assumed I was just gaining some weight in my late 30's, which can be normal with Perimenopause and whatnot. And I was getting to that age. But I ended up with other issues connected to the disease and finally got diagnosed. I had a long road of medication trial and error before finding something that worked and added my surgery to push my weight loss.

I was never obese or even overweight until I was about 37/38 years old. So while I understand that is an issue for many people. That was not my case, that is not my experience. Especially when I was gaining weigh while eating less than most people I know.

I now eat more often that I used and I don't enjoy it.

[hills&valleys 130]

7 hours ago, SuziDavis said:

It's pretty easy, eating the wrong things out of convenience is just as bad as eating things you "have a love affair with" out of desire.

Having some health and autoimmune issues didn't help either.

Not to be critical, but not everyone fits in the cookie cutter that you are placing on obese people.

I am obese. I also have severe hypothyroidism resulting from emergency surgery of a life threatening Hot-Toxic thyroid in hopes of avoiding a stroke at the age of 20 due to advanced Grave's Disease. My hypothyroidism is so extreme that even with being constantly monitored and regulated with medication by specialists, my numbers have unexplainably plummeted and I have spiraled into a myxedema coma on several occasions.

My BMR is ridiculously low at 830 calories a day. I had no choice but to accept the limitations and circumstances I was dealt. Through extreme deprivation and avoidance of carbs, I stayed slim until a head injury in 2012. The TBI shifted my focus and I found I was unable to maintain the tight control of my consumption that I had previous mastered....I gained 80 pounds in 4 months plus a few more over the next decade.

I truly understand health conditions and their effect on our weight and metabolism.....I have battled it for 40+ years. Knowing there is no cure for my health issues, I have to adjust my life to live within its constraints. Health conditions can affect the amount of calories we can burn but obesity results from consuming more than our bodies burn. Removing and lessening the desire of food allows many of us to regain the control necessary to avoid the wrong foods and excessive consumption to achieve our goals and improve our health.....eating for need not desire.

Edited February 27, 2023 by hills&valleys

[LindsayT 599]

Dealing with health issues is definitely NOT a love affair with food. I deal with depression, and while I never emotionally ate, the medications I was on to treat it contributed to me gaining almost 80 lbs in roughly 18 months. People struggle with their weight for more reasons than overeating.

[Arabesque 7,601]

I get it. Like @Starwarsandcupcakes, sometimes I too just don’t feel hungry. And other times I didn’t feel like cooking (think this is common for most people some times & I only cook for myself not a family). I know I still need to consume something nutritious so on not hungry days I’ll have yogurt for lunch (easier to eat & digest than a proper ‘meal’) &/or I’ll skip Snacks. On the don’t feel like cooking days, I go to my freezer where I have lots of single serve meals. Then it’s simply a matter of reheating & microwaving a few vegetables. I always prep enough food for 3 or 4 meals & will freeze 1 or 2 of them. This week I made zucchini noodle bolognese which I’ll eat for a few days & I froze four servings I can eat in the future.

@NP_WIP, have you tried to find some meals everyone in your family will eat so you only have to cook one dinner or keep some of the meal the same for everyone. I know it can be difficult with different dietary needs but even if you can do it a couple of times a week it would be easier for you.

[qtdoll 536]

Oh yes absolutely. Protein Shakes & bars are lifesaving on those days. Especially busy days, I just can't be bothered

[CeciliaInPNW 7]

I am almost 3 months post op bypass, and I have many days where nothing is appetizing to me. Pre-surgery I loved eggs and would eat them every day - now...they have no appeal. I don't think it's boredom, but a serious lack of interest now, if that makes sense? Some foods give me an actual nauseas reaction thinking of eating them. Foods I enjoyed before bypass when I had the sleeve. The things I actually crave are oranges and salads for some reason, but both in excess give me heartburn. I'm not sure if this is a temporary situation or my new normal? My thoughts lately have been to try to incorporate some vegan recipes into my diet, with new flavors and textures, to see how my body reacts. So I have been collecting recipes from some friends and will see how that goes after grocery shopping this weekend.

[GeorgieLynn 34]

On 2/17/2023 at 11:51 AM, SuziDavis said:

I am at a point where nothing interests me when it comes time to eat so I just don't... I still will make my Protein coffee to try and get something in.

But has anyone else went through a funk like this?

I can't even start to explain how badly this is affecting me. I have a milk allergy (not lactose intolerant) so can have absolutely nothing with any for of milk protien and have severe IBS so can not tolerate pea, soy, etc protien shakes and powders, also very sensitive to artificial sweeteners...

All I have found I can tolerate (I am on day 9 of 14 of all liquid pre-op diet.) besides unflavored isolated whey in chicken, veg, or beef broth. I have spoken with 2 seperate dietitians and neither have additional suggestions to fit into restrictions than what I have come up with. I do add different spices to add variety but there is only so much it changes. LOL. I am meeting my protien and hydration goals but am SO BORED and would love to have SOMETHING that tastes differently. I am determined and know I can do this and am trying to get in the mind set that food is for nutrition and not for pleasure however it is difficult not to seek some pleasure in the little things in life... like food! We all can do this! I have faith, one sip at a time!

[SuziDavis 549]

On 3/3/2023 at 8:50 PM, GeorgieLynn said:

I can't even start to explain how badly this is affecting me. I have a milk allergy (not lactose intolerant) so can have absolutely nothing with any for of milk protien and have severe IBS so can not tolerate pea, soy, etc protien shakes and powders, also very sensitive to artificial sweeteners...

All I have found I can tolerate (I am on day 9 of 14 of all liquid pre-op diet.) besides unflavored isolated whey in chicken, veg, or beef broth. I have spoken with 2 seperate dietitians and neither have additional suggestions to fit into restrictions than what I have come up with. I do add different spices to add variety but there is only so much it changes. LOL. I am meeting my protien and hydration goals but am SO BORED and would love to have SOMETHING that tastes differently. I am determined and know I can do this and am trying to get in the mind set that food is for nutrition and not for pleasure however it is difficult not to seek some pleasure in the little things in life... like food! We all can do this! I have faith, one sip at a time!

I'm so sorry you are having to deal with that. I am sure there are Proteins for you, it's just finding one. But it will be worth it in the end. here's to getting out of your liquid phase!!!!

[xoxoMeli 66]

I can't say that I've ever been bored with food. LOL. I would recommend browsing the internet for fun, new recipes. I always get hyped to try new things. I like the website, www.skinnytaste.com but there are LOTS of different websites and recipes online.

[NP_WIP 274]

On 2/27/2023 at 10:23 PM, Arabesque said:

@NP_WIP, have you tried to find some meals everyone in your family will eat so you only have to cook one dinner or keep some of the meal the same for everyone. I know it can be difficult with different dietary needs but even if you can do it a couple of times a week it would be easier for you.

Thank you Arabesque, I'm actually back on track, I was taking care of my mother-in-law who was visiting and was hospitalized while here, and another family member who was visiting, but they are both gone this week. I went back to meal prepping for myself and cooking 3x a week enough for it to last the others a couple of days and put myself in the front line, not going down that rabbit hole again.

[SuziDavis 549]

On 03/03/2023 at 20:50, GeorgieLynn said:

I can't even start to explain how badly this is affecting me. I have a milk allergy (not lactose intolerant) so can have absolutely nothing with any for of milk protien and have severe IBS so can not tolerate pea, soy, etc protien shakes and powders, also very sensitive to artificial sweeteners...

All I have found I can tolerate (I am on day 9 of 14 of all liquid pre-op diet.) besides unflavored isolated whey in chicken, veg, or beef broth. I have spoken with 2 seperate dietitians and neither have additional suggestions to fit into restrictions than what I have come up with. I do add different spices to add variety but there is only so much it changes. LOL. I am meeting my protien and hydration goals but am SO BORED and would love to have SOMETHING that tastes differently. I am determined and know I can do this and am trying to get in the mind set that food is for nutrition and not for pleasure however it is difficult not to seek some pleasure in the little things in life... like food! We all can do this! I have faith, one sip at a time!

I just discovered a Protein you might want to try. It’s called TrueFit, by a company called RSP Nutrition. It has pro & pre-biotics and it’s supposedly way better on your stomach.

[GeorgieLynn 34]

22 hours ago, SuziDavis said:

I just discovered a Protein you might want to try. It’s called TrueFit, by a company called RSP Nutrition. It has pro & pre-biotics and it’s supposedly way better on your stomach.

Thank you so much. I will look it up and give it a try!

[See.Allie.Run 27]

This is a bit late, but I’ve found the Naked brand of Protein powders to be pretty good. They have ones that are based in brown rice and Peanut Butter (I can’t tolerate whey or soy at all). I also like the Owyn brand of Protein Shakes.

[Gabriel Chan 3]

Damn, I definitely almost never get bored eating. Very rarely I can get worked up and forget, but then I catch up twice as much. 😓