Worry Wart

[gettinthinner 4]

I am six weeks post op today. I guess I am doing well having lost 38 lbs. but I worry, perhaps too often. I am not the most compliant person and have not followed the very basic guidelines I was given, ie, I didn't eat puree or just Soups. But I have been eating only a little. My advice to pre=op people is to find a Protein Drink you like BEFORE surgery as it took me a month of not drinking Protein to finally find what I can tolerate. I guess I was too fussy but did not like any of the prepared shakes. Just thought I would throw that in because I did not drink any protein for the first month post op..

My main concern is adjusting to the idea that this is a permanent way of life and not just one of my typical diets that will have an end date where I will go back to my old eating habits. I find that I can tolerate anything and compared to my friend who had the RenY surgery, I find this to be a disadvantage. Three years postop, and 180 lbs. lighter for her, she cannot eat many foods. I can eat anything I have tried and that means much more self discipline is required. I have been a bit shocked to realize just how totally it seems to be a real mind problem... so many psychological issues involved in my love affair with food. I wish it was as simple as just don't eat too much and only eat healthy foods. For these reasons I am in a worrying stage that I fear I have a lot of work to do psychologically to break my addiction to food.

I guess I am impatient and also I find that I do get hungry and that when I get hungry I am not craving an egg or cottage cheese. I am craving steak and lobster! Does that go away? I feel I am still obsessing about food, looking at recipes, except now a bit more for my own Bariatric Eating. Still, I have a family to feed and am at the grocery store and always cooking for them. They could stand to lose weight but seem to stubbornly refuse any healthier meals I try to make for them.

What I am saying is that I am finding it is "complicated" and although I shouldn't be looking for an easy path, I am finding that people are mistaken if they think this is a simple solution or as my daughter likes to say "that I am cheating" by having had surgery.

I am going to read the many posts and am hoping that this site will be a good source of information and support as we do not have too many supportive follow up systems in place here in the Cayman Islands.

[topgun 63]

There's no reason you can't have steak and lobster! You just won't be able to eat as much of it at one sitting so you make the best of what you've got. Small bites, chewed thoroughly, of good, high Protein food such as steak and lobster... you can make 1 - 1 1/2 cups of food seem like a banquet. I'm not saying that there aren't sacrifices in having this procedure, but they are certainly worth the value of the end result. Stay positive, set reasonable, attainable interim goals and stick with it. You are doing very well so far and many would envy your 38 lb loss to date.

When I started the pre-op diet, I started cooking healthy meals for myself and my family. The kids balked a little bit, so I always had some easy options for them in the pantry that they could prepare for themselves if they didn't want to eat what I had prepared. Not surprisingly, they found that the meals I was preparing were good and that vegetables wouldn't kill them. More often than not they ate what I had prepared.

Hang in there, baby!

[gettinthinner 4]

Thanks for the encouraging words. I guess I can wait the six months before I am supposed to try beef. Dare I say I did already try a bit of crock pot shredded beef and it went down just fine but I am trying to be less of a rule breaker and more compliant so I will wait those six months. It feels like waiting for Christmas as I am very anxious to see what weight I can lose in these six months. At the same time I keep hearing from my local support group that something seems to happen after the six month mark and hunger really kicks back in and weight can be much more difficult to lose. I am hoping that by the time I reach six months I will have developed more self discipline and formed new healthier eating habits. It all seems relatively new and foreign to me and I think if I can get the hang of also learning this new act of blogging, I will receive good support from people such as yourself and hopefully one day I can also provide good advice for others going through this process.

[Foxbins 625]

I am 14 months post-op and still not hungry; I think loss of hunger is an individual thing and some people lose it forever and some never lose it and many are in-between somewhere. I began eating beef at about 2 months post-op, as I could not eat chicken (it's still iffy even now) and have never had any ill effects, but all surgeon's plans seem to be different and if you have been testing the boundaries, maybe stick to fish, seafood, and poultry for a while. You do have to pick Protein over crap calories in order to succeed at this.

[Catracks 865]

Since I got on solid food I have been eating most anything. Today I am eating a jumbo shrimp, a bit of crab meat and flounder, asparagus and a tiny bit of potato with Greek yogurt on top. It tastes like sour cream to me and has a lot of protein). This plus my morning cottage cheese is below 600 calories.

If you like recipes and want good bariatric ones go to: Theworldaccordingtoeggface.com

I still LOVE food, love to and am a total foodie. I just eat like a healthy thin person.

[gettinthinner 4]

Thank you for the site to visit for bariatric recipes and the words of encouragement. I have barely been eating anything... not because I am not hungry but because I am afraid I won't lose weight. It is good to hear of your yummy menu and this will encourage me to try more food rather than just sticking to a few basic items. I tried to cook a large buffet style menu for guests with all healthy type of menu and it was good but seemed very strange to me to be thinking that way. It may take some practice believing that healthy recipes can taste as good as the ones with all the cream and butter! But I will stick to my plan which of course is to lose weight. TOday I saw the gp for my first post op check at 6 weeks and wow. The results were somewhat shocking. Off all meds since surgery yet my BP, cholesterol and sugar levels are WAY down compared to when I was on the meds. What an improvement. She believes my gout may also no longer be a problem although I had no testing done to show that. She tried to claim that this is due to not being able to drink alcohol but I pointed out (silly md) that I used to only have a few drinks once every couple of months so I don't think that small amount of liquor contributed to my having gout. It is amazing to see the change in medical results and the improvements and I remind myself that these are worth even more than the improved appearance. Thanks again.

[fluffylibra30 323]

If your family is meeting you with resistance do what i did and trick em LOL. when i cook noone knows what kind of milk i use, the kind of cheese, cooking spray, cut of meat, that i made a bananna nut breaad with applesauce and splenda ahhhaaaa. I get them good and cut out hundreds of calories a day and they dont even know it.

[FluffyDiva345 23]

If your family is meeting you with resistance do what i did and trick em LOL. when i cook noone knows what kind of milk i use' date=' the kind of cheese, cooking spray, cut of meat, that i made a bananna nut breaad with applesauce and splenda ahhhaaaa. I get them good and cut out hundreds of calories a day and they dont even know it. [/quote']

You are doing GREAT!!!! I too live in Cayman Islands and have not had the surgery but am considering it. I think we nees to realize that this must be a lifestyle change, and as such we also need to prepare mentally for the changes that will cone with the wls. I think one of the biggest challenges here will be the limited options for the Bariatric foods. Good luck and keep the faith, your improved health proves you made the right choice.