AZhiker

I was doing IF with 18/6 daily plan (fast 18 hours and eat during a 6 hour slot) before surgery. It was very satisfying and I really felt good doing it. However, think I need to wait a bit until I can start again. I am only 2 weeks postop and totally focusing on my fluids and protein now, Once I can get enough protein and nutrition into my daily menus, I will go back to IF. Actually at only 230 calories a day now, It's basically continual fasting! My brother was 50 pounds overweight. He was able to take off 30 with exercise and healthy eating, but then stalled. He didn't change anything in his eating plan except to start IF and then lost the extra 20. Everything I have read points to IF as a very healthy practice - so much so that it extends lifespan. The pre chemo fasting has shown to be very beneficial. I am excited about hearing how others are doing this after surgery and how soon folks are able to start.

Everyone has to start somewhere. Maybe in 6 months or a year those folks will see successful weight loss as more important to their health than Diet Coke or champagne! But maybe they are OK with where they are. "Fat and happy" is how I hear some diabetics describe their lifestyle when they don't want to control their disease. The immediate gratification is more important than the long term benefits for a lot of people. But for those of us who value our health more than any pet food addiction, we will find a way to beat it. IT IS JUST NOT WORTH IT! There is no pet food that is worth dying for!

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.

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.

Had my bypass on Feb 7. That first week was rough, with sharp pains in the upper right and lower left that required medication. But now 2 weeks out, there is just some nagging, intermittent sharpness in the lower left. I have to be careful with how I roll out of bed. Our bumpy road is not fun! I did not lose weight in that first week, I think due to swelling and trauma of all the tissues. But now am losing 1 pound/day with a total of 27 pounds off since the 2 week pre-op liquid diet. The first week was also awful with smelly, unpredictable, explosive gas. This stopped almost immediately when I switched to a different protein supplement. I am so grateful to have found this forum. My local support group is an hour away, and it is very reassuring to find so much support, encouragement and information here,

I am 2 weeks post op, and started out using the chocolate Premier Protein. It was hard to get the volume down, but it started to taste soooooo sweet - like chocolate syrup. I also had unbelievable explosive gas/stool that was smelly, unpredictable, and very unpleasant. Prior to surgery I had given up sugar and all artificial sweetners, colors, and flavoring. I think I was reacting to the very artificially flavored PP. I switched to a very pure powdered protein that I mix myself with half the volume. I am using BioChem 100% Whey Isolate Protein that I got at Whole Foods. Nothing artificial in it. The gas stopped by the next day and the lower volume is easier to get down. Now my poor husband has to return 4 cases of Premier Protein.

Hi, I am new to the forum. I am just 12 days post op, and I am hungry, too. I am also a bit light headed and dizzy if I get behind on the fluids. My doctor wanted me to start walking right away, working up to at least an hour/day and at least 10,000 steps. I am getting over 10,000 steps now, and did my first post op hike yesterday - but only eating about 230 calories per day from the broth and protein shakes. I should start the soft protein foods in a couple of days which should double the daily caloric intake. I am hoping that will be satisfying - at least more than now. I have been surprised by the number of food triggers I am noticing - smells of food, the sight of someone reaching for a snack, commercials on TV, etc. I never resisted these before, so it is taking some real mental reframing as each one is encountered. Today was a big family dinner - Mexican food, and I cooked most of it. It was hard to watch everyone putting down my absolute favorite foods while I sipped my broth, but...… it was also amazing to see how MUCH everyone ate! A month ago, I would have eaten and eaten and eaten without being able to stop. So today I tried to reframe by thinking how wonderful just one bite of each of the dishes will take in a few months. So I am hungry, but I am also losing a pound per day, and I NEVER WANT TO GO BACK. This is hard work, for sure, and the mental part is definitely the hardest. BUT...… what choice is there really? I think regular therapy is a really good idea, because we absolutely cannot undermine the sacrifice we have made by having this surgery. I think the name of the game is mental reframing - looking at the triggers, hunger, and temptations through a new lens.