Will I ever eat a reular meal again?

[KathyM 14]

Hi everyone -

I am being sleeved July 15th and there is no doubt in my mind that this is exactly what I want. I have been practically living on this forum reading everything I can and it has been so helpful. I see that post op, the intake is so small, and even am reading that from people who are a few months out from surgery. My question is, do you ever get to a point where you can eat a regular meal again? Or is it forever just a few bites and then you are done? I think I am subconsciously starting to mourn the loss of food after eating so much over the years. That being said, I am willing to give it all up if that is what it takes to help me get healthy again. I do worry some about how you have enough energy to get through the day when you aren't eating very much. I work in a really busy ER and I am afraid I will start feeling weak and shaky at a moment when I need to be on my toes. Would love to hear anyone's input on this - thanks

Kathy

[WingRider 1]

Hello,

I just had this conversation with a customer/friend the other day. At first I did miss the food, the dinners that spread out over an hour visiting, eating, drinking, eating, and on and on. But now at almost 6 months out, I don't miss it that much anymore. I still can go out and visit, eat a little, drink a little, and socialize. I just stop eating long before anyone else does. The only time that I truly miss the big meal is going to a steakhouse. I used to eat a big old steak dinner and loved every juicey morsel of it. All my other favorite foods I can take home and reheat for left overs the next day, but steak just doesn't work that way. So it is hard to justify going to a steakhouse and buying an expensive cut and only eat 4 ounces of it. GF likes her steaks cooked Med and I am a rare to Med Rare guy. Oh well, no biggie(me included).

Bill

[escapesunshine 0]

No matter how small a portion I put on my plate I still never finish it. I odered out the other day and was able to eat 3 meals out of one, and still did not finish it. But I am ok with it. Good luck to you.

[Tiffykins 673]

Since about 7-8 months out, I've been eating what I consider normal meals. I think what everyone considers normal maybe different.

I can tell you what I ate today at a year out, and maybe that will give you idea of what I consider normal.

Breakfast: 1 soft poached egg with a chunk of sharp cheddar cheese

Snack: 1/2 sandwich - made with 1 slice of whole grain bread, mustard, 1 slice of deli turkey, and 3 Cool Rand dorito chips crushed up into the sandwich, minus the crust.

Lunch: 3 or 4 (I can't remember exactly) tiny pepperoni and cheese bagel bites with Ranch dressing, and 3 baby carrots

Snack - 3 saltine crackers with 1 Kosher dill stacker pickles (you know the thin ones you put on sandwiches, but they are long in length) and 1 chunk of sharp cheddar cheese. About 3-4oz of Sweet and Hot beef Jerky. This snack lasted a long time, I was kind of grazing before I did a bunch of yardwork. It's 92 degrees today, with 90% + humidity and our heat index was at 105. I knew that I would need to eat a decent snack before I went to work outside this afternoon.

Dinner: I made a chicken enchilada mexican stack. Out of it, I ate 3oz of chicken breast with the homemade enchilada cheese/salsa sauce, 1/4 of a flour tortilla, 1/4 cup of homemade Mexican rice with queso mixed in along with corn, red and green peppers. 3 jalepeno slices chopped up and thrown over my entire plate.

I will probably not have a snack tonight because dinner ran late due to my husband having to stay an hour late.

I've had 8ounces of coffee with french vanilla Creamer, 12 ounces of strawberry lemonade, about 8 ounces of Juicy juice grape juice, and 60oz of Water.

Oh yeah, and I had 1 Heath miniature, and 5 pink Starburst at random times throughout the day. I'm ovulating, what else can I say? Ha ha ha.

Tomorrow, I have a feeling I'm going to want a bunch of veggies. So, I'll probably have one meal, and one snack that consists of just veggies and cheese. My body pretty much tells me what it wants/needs. It wanted some carrots today, and I don't even really like carrots, but they tasted good and I felt good after I ate them.

Some mornings I don't eat Breakfast food at all. I eat leftovers, or I'll roll up some deli meat with the flavored cream cheese. I might have about 1/2 cup of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal with a little milk if I have a hankering for Cereal. I'm not a big fan of Breakfast food, but I feel like I eat normal meals, normal foods. Nothing is off limits for me at this point. Everything is in moderation at this point.

Hope this helps just kind of give you an idea how I live day in and day out further out.

Edited June 11, 2010 by Tiffykins

[KathyM 14]

Thanks Tiffy, that does help. I am so looking forward to not being so food obsessed. In the beginning when you weren't still doing liquids, did you ever feel shaky or were you just not hungry at all?

[KathyM 14]

Have you drank any alcohol since your surgery?

[Tiffykins 673]

Thanks Tiffy, that does help. I am so looking forward to not being so food obsessed. In the beginning when you weren't still doing liquids, did you ever feel shaky or were you just not hungry at all?

I never and still do not experience any hunger. I just eat because I know I have to. I rarely got shaky, or totally weak. Especially once I got to mushies and was hitting my Protein goals almost every day. I survived on 600-800 calories very easily.

Have you drank any alcohol since your surgery?

I drink sometimes once a week, 4oz of Riesling or a German called Eisswein wine. I did refrain for several months because alcohol is just wasted calories.

When we go out to a bar, or I go out with my girlfriends, I do rum/cokes, occasionally white russians, and various shots. I have zero issues with alcohol.

[Globetrotter 1,340]

I look at it this way; what has eating the entire meal ever done for me besides lead to my misery? I'm actually looking forward to having just a few bites do it for me; I will dust off conversational skills with my dining companions, spend less on food, enjoy a wide variety of foods because I literally won't be able to digest old bad stand-bys. Cleaning my plate has not led to my happiness and if it upsets others to see uneaten food in front of me, they are welcome to it!

[Jane_J 117]

Hi Kathy,

I am just over a year out and a typical work days food would be

2 eggs scrambled for breakfast

Atkins day break bar mid morning

Shredded chicken or ham and salad with sweet chilli sauce on it

Apple afternoon snack

chicken breast and brocolli for dinner with half a bottle of wine

During the day I drink loads of Tea because I am a Brit :scared0:

Today I was bad becasue it's Friday and had a pub lunch which involved some roast lamb and broad Beans and 2 pints of pear cider. I couldn't finish the meal but had a fair stab at it. The guys finished it for me. I was fine and very happy. The conversation was good and the food I did have was yummy. So relax you will have a good life even with the sleeve. :crying:

[KathyM 14]

Thanks Jane and Tiffykins - that helps alot. Now.....can either one of you speed up time so July 15th can hurry up and get here?? :scared0: This waiting is killing me!!! I so hope I can be a disciplined as you have - I am so ready to get my life back!!!!!

[Jane_J 117]

Kathy, It'll speed by in no time. You just concentrate on the low fat thing to shed as much as poss before hand and make your liver as small and as healthy as poss for the op. Because you have a date you can focus and it makes it easier to do the trad diet thing for the last time. I had to postpone my op due to a cold so I know how the wait feels. Avoid germy people for the last 3 weeks.

All the best, Jane

[TexasT 99]

I returned from my 25th anniversary "dream trip" to Italy a few weeks ago. Since food is such a big part of Italian culture, I was worried that I would feel like I was missing out on not being able to eat a whole lot while I was there. I was almost regretting going on the trip just thinking about it. Luckily, Italians take forever (compared with the way Americans eat) with their meals and are never in a hurry. I was able to eat plenty at a nice slow pace, enjoyed wine, and enjoyed my husband's company. We had several 2-3 hr dinners, and one even lasted 4 hrs. This gave me time to digest one course before the next was served.

Now at home, I find that I still like to eat even more slowly than I did before. If you do that, you will find that you finish your meal at about the same time the people that can eat a lot of food do. And since you'll be full, you won't miss all that extra food you won't eat. As Tiffy said, the farther you are out, the more you'll be able to eat. But it takes time, so be patient and enjoy the ride to Skinnyville - ha!

[Mary Gordon 3]

you start getting used to the idea of eating really small portions, plus there is no way you can go back to eating big amounts of food. so don't worry enjoy your new journey to weight loss and welcome to the loser's bench.:thumbup:

[cwalker 12]

You have so many great answers,I'm only 6 weeks out but I can honestly say I have not missed eating large quanties. I enjoy going to resturants with hubby and we talk alot more, enjoying our date night.lol This surgey is wonderful tool and gives you self esteem to suceed in your w-loss journey.:thumbup:

[seaview 2]

In answer to you concern about low energy.. I am eight weeks out and have not had this much energy in years. When we are overweight we forget what it feels like to be thin. We are tired all the time and everything hurts. It's hard to wake up in the morning because we have food hangover and we are hooked on caffeine and sugar to get us through the day. BELIEVE me ...because that was me. Now I don't drink coffee or caffeine at all..I wake up with energy and get through the day without the big swings in energy...late afternoon is no longer the difficult part of the day and I sleep like a baby. At first for the first month you may feel a bit weak due to recovering from your surgery but your body will FEAST on your fat stores and have plenty to eat .DOn't worry you'll be running around that ER in no time and feel better than ever. You do need to take some time after surgery to heal though and not go back too soon. Good luck and don't worry. Seaview