Someone slap me please!

[rosepose 105]

just to chime in, in my head i was celebrating normal food again only because i felt so left out of everything , picnics, parties etc. we as a society associate food with fun and friends and family (at least my society in my head) once i got food i didnt want it anymore, my tummy wasnt ready and I learned quickly. my nutritionist told me i could do thin crust veggie pizza with no cheese, tried it out at 6 weeks and had one piece and was full and satsfied, the next day i had another piece and my husband killed off the rest

my point i guess is one piece of pizza didnt ruin my loss or my energy, actually made me feel "normal" again. so yes i had pizza and yes in my head i celebrated it, even though i had the burps all night

the 248 lb me would have eaten a whole pepperoni pizza WITH breadsticks...so Celebrate if it makes you smile

I so get this! The psych consult mentioned that this will change relationships and he clarified that everyone thinks it means "it will end my marriage" or something but food is SO much a part of how and when we connect in a real way with other people that not being able to eat changes things. My friends and I tend to meet up over a meal because that's when we had time to see each other in a busy week. When the surgery came up they said "we can find something else to do" which was a great intention that didn't really work out that way. So when I saw a broth based high Protein non spicy Soup on the menu of a friend's favorite restaurant (IE, normal food I could eat) I absolutely celebrated. I only had a few bites as I'm still learning what I can handle and got a bite that was too big in about the first 5 seconds but I enjoyed the crap out of that dinner. And the next day when I took the leftovers and cut them up into tiny pieces I enjoyed the crap out of the Soup as I've basically been living on Protein drinks I hate as I'm having a really tough time with nausea. And next time I'll know to cut the soup up in the restaurant so I'll enjoy both the dinner and the food at the same time.

I'm not saying fast food and pizza didn't contribute to my weight - they're really easy gotos when you've been working until midnight and don't have food in the house and the stores are closed and you haven't had dinner and you have deadlines that make you feel guilty for taking the time to cook or shop anyway... drive through it is. But the reality is that I pretty much hate almost all fast food restaurants and my weight while definitely carb related is more a volume issue than a choice of food issue. However the knowledge that I can go to dinner with friends who have a hard time finding time for other things, or lunch with colleagues whom I'm still getting to know and build relationships with, and have a couple of bites of whatever is being had or at least soup from the menu.... That is something I'm happy about. Mind you people think I'm a little obsessed with soup, but the point is the same.

[samuelsmom 670]

Love all the comments. Don't slap me- but I do enjoy pizza, once in a great while. In fact, it is such a pleasure to have a small amount, feel satisfied, and not want anymore. I am one of those that was not a huge carb addict. Also, I gave up fast food a long time ago. My issue has always been Portion Control. I could easily eat 3-4 large slices along with a salad, and coke to go with it! I feel like a "normal" person-- eating part of a slice and saving the rest for the dog

[OKCPirate 5,323]

Had the "worlds best burger" and Mel's in OKC, three bites, 1 fry, I'm done. My daughter enjoyed the rest for lunch and dinner . My buddy polished his off. Mel wasn't too happy that I quit that early, but I told him wasn't feeling like my old self today That's not a lie is it?

[Soapandcandlequeen 124]

Before surgery I loved bread. Rolls, white bread with butter etc. I know I cannot eat that anymore. Having even a little would trigger had habitscso I stay away. My hubby loves pizza and it smells so good. I had the topping off one slice and it made me sick. Won't do that again

[Michelle920 66]

This is a great topic! As usual I have mixed emotions. I see all sides of this issue. No, I don't want to Celebrate with pizza, but I get wanting to feel normal again. Then again there was nothing normal about the way I usually ate pizza. And as always, I'm going to go back to what my NUT told me. She said after the first year I should adhere to the prescribed plan 99% of the time. I suck at math but that means things like pizza, wine and cheesecake once in a little more than a blue moon. And frankly, if even one bite makes me sick, I'm not going to bother!! I'm five and a half weeks post op so I'm brand spanking new still, but I have what I think is a pretty good grasp on my future. Oh, and I was determined to not "cheat" one bit for a year, but I've had a few meals out, my boyfriend brought home Wendy's chili and a baked potato for me (I ate half the chili and a quarter of the potato) and I got four McNuggets the other day while I was driving around with my dog for three hours while same boyfriend was deep cleaning our carpet. I smooshed as much oil out of them with a napkin, ate three and tried to give the dog the fourth, he turned his nose up so I threw it out. I don't know if any of this is cheating. And I could say it's a miracle I didn't eat all the chili or get fries at McD's but I've done things like that hundreds of times while "dieting." I always thought I had my sh!t together when I did that, but it was a struggle. I'd white knuckle the whole time. Now, knowing I'll feel horrible if I eat too much, too fast or the wrong thing, I just do it. I hope I feel the same way two, three and ten years down the road. I know it'll get harder but I also hope I'm laying a strong foundation.

[losing_the_band 133]

Wow some of you guys have some interesting doctors. Mine said everything was fair game after about 6 months. The key is moderation which the band allows for.

My point is the "moderation" thing doesn't work with most people who have a history of obesity. You need to change your eating habits completely to be successful. Just eating the same foods you ate before in moderation may work in the honeymoon phase of weight loss, but will not work for long term success with maintenance.

I'm not saying to NEVER have pizza, ice cream, etc...but it needs to be balanced out with eating right the other 98% of the time.

I believe people who say they are going to eat the same things post surgery because they can eat less of it are fooling themselves, and are not willing to do the lifestyle change required to be successful in the long run. How many of us know someone who had surgery, any WLS, who had this mentality and may have lost all or some of their weight, but didn't keep it off? *Raises hand*

What I don't understand is that you're saying "moderation is bad and will only make you fat again," yet what you're advocating is the definition of moderation. Moderation doesn't mean constantly eating whatever you want, just in smaller proportions, it just means that you can still have pizza, hamburger, ice cream, etc., as long as that isn't all or the majority of what you're eating.

[Wendyfm 494]

I eat carbs as part of my regular diet. I was told to have at least sixty grams of carbs a day. Most of them come from dairy or vegetables. I occasionally eat pizza and at inservice for work the other day I ate two home made Cookies. I added them to my daily calorie count., but I don't eat cookies at home, I eat pizza maybe a couple times a month. And I eat whole grain Pasta if I eat it at all, and it works for me. Everyone needs to find what works for them.

[Butterflyhigh 504]

I agree that the disturbing aspect is the "celebration" of eating pizza. That tells me that the person still has a lot of emotional attachment to food. We all have problems with wrapping our food up with our emotional needs. Cutting the emotional bonds is how I believe true lifelong success can be achieved.

I don't like it when people get real judgmental and rightous about other people's food choices. "Celebrating" a pizza at two months out is definitely not a good frame of mind to be in. However, eating a slice of pizza, toppings only-no crust, is not neccesarily a bad food choice.

The single slice of pizza may not lead to weight regain, but the celebration of it may.

[missheidi47 127]

I just got back from a 7 day cruise. I focused on Protein and vegetables, but I definitely included some foods that are not part of my regular diet. I had a bite of bread a couple of times. It was yummy, but I won't miss it now that I'm back to my routine. I'm 5 months out. I found that some things I used to love aren't very appealing now. The broiled fish, seafood, and lean meat I ate was delicious. I don't feel the need to Celebrate what I ate, but I will celebrate that I lost a pound on vacation (that's never happened before!) And I will celebrate that I've been back for 3 days, and I'm back in my old (new) eating routine. I feel great, and I had a fantastic time on vacation. Thank you, Sleeve, for keeping me on track!

[Trinn 139]

Such a range responses! I am with you on the "slap me" side of things. I have friends who had WLS, lost weight and have kept it off for over a decade. I have friends who had WLS, lost *some* weight, and have sort of spent a lot of time in the "half-way to goal" stage, talking about stalls, etc. Of those, the former -- the long term full successes -- are people who took *years* to go back to problem foods, and who do so with *bites*. So, "Three years until I had a bite of pizza, and I sometimes have a bite these days, but mostly, I have an appetizer meatball instead of the pizza at the fancy place." The folks who are "sorta-okay" are, for the most part, "I waited six months to have pizza, and I have a slice every now and then, but I don't eat the whole pizza." The former folks eat low carb, low gycemic index, high Protein "as a way of life", as people put it. The folks who are in the middle? They follow a "low carb diet" or a "primal diet", but make frequent exceptions.

Now, if I am looking to emulate the folks I want to be *like* in 10 years, then I tell you what -- I'm gonna model myself on the folks who think of a *bite* of really great artisan pizza every few months as a nice thing -- not the people I know who have a piece every few weeks (and have a little dessert every now and then, and a couple of drinks at the holidays...). I say that because I got to my weight by being *like those people already*. I didn't eat an entire pizza at a time. I didn't binge eat ice cream. I am one of those people who makes a little exception for a piece of bread when we're out, and a little exception for a bite of dessert, and a little exception for the holiday party, and a little exception that added up to, over years, more weight than I could lose on my own.

As the initial poster put it, there are a lot of things I want to Celebrate, but my ability to return to regular exceptions of healthy-for-me food? Nope. Not interested. I'm in this for the long haul -- for another three or four or five decades. I made this choice with the understanding that I might not EVER have pizza (or fries) again. I'm good with that. Your mileage may vary. :-)

[Julie norton 2,850]

Great concept trinn

Except real life goes on and on and occasionally, those who have had years of training under their belt (!)

Can have a cocktail at a wedding or holiday.

I have been conditioned, by my band, to eat a certain way. This has served many of us well.

I hope you can reach the point of non interest in your downfall food... Whatever that may be.

Life is for the living. Id like to believe we are living WELL. ⭐️and enjoying what we do and eat daily

[jess9395 5,449]

Most surgeons strongly discourage us from drinking carbonated beverages and a few other foods / drinks post-op, but so far as I know almost all foods are allowed post-op,

This statement is true if you want to be fat again. My surgeon and NUT said NO carbonated drinks, NO processed foods, NO processed sugars, NO processed breads, tortilla, and chips......Not strongly discouraged. We can certainly eat most all foods post op, if we want to be fat again.

Sooo....uhmmmm....

Yeah. I'll refrain from replying.

Amen to that!

[Trinn 139]

Great concept trinn

Except real life goes on and on and occasionally, those who have had years of training under their belt (!)

Can have a cocktail at a wedding or holiday.

I have been conditioned, by my band, to eat a certain way. This has served many of us well.

I hope you can reach the point of non interest in your downfall food... Whatever that may be.

Life is for the living. Id like to believe we are living WELL. ⭐️and enjoying what we do and eat daily

I live *damned* well. I mean, I live so well that it's embarrassing. But my living well doesn't have to include having this or that particular food.

Y'know, during my pre-surgery period, I went to an awesome wedding. I had two shakes over the course of the day -- at one point, I even stepped out of the reception to have one -- and then at the dinner, I had some of the meat entree, and a little piece of the vegan-gluten-free carrot cake they had as the wedding cake.

But there's the thing. If you ask me about that wedding, I'm not going to tell you what I ate, or how much I enjoyed having the food. I'm going to tell you that we danced to awesome ridiculous 80's hair band music because the bride's family is from new Jersey, and *I* was dancing too because I had already lost 20 pounds from my pre-surgical diet. I will tell you that I found the citrus theme colors and citrus tables hilarious. I will talk about the amazing pictures or just how beautiful a wedding ceremony it was because it was focused on the bride and groom's roles in local activism for marriage equality. I will say the bridal FEZ was amazing. But what I'm going to remember, 20 years from now, is not the food. Honestly.

So, do I love great food? I do. But the central part of my well-lived amazing awesome life (and it's pretty fricking awesome right now, seriously) is not food. It's not gonna be food. I'm okay having food be the background, and not the centerpiece. Last weekend, 3 days after surgery, I spent the day at a friend's 15th anniversary puzzle hunt and vow renewal and party. We raced all over downtown San Jose solving clues. (I just raced a little slower...) Afterwards, people had great Mexican food (but I had a tiny Syntrax nectar shake) and we did silly costuming things and the memories now are again, amazing -- even though I didn't get to eat anything at the event. :-) Three months ago, it would have been much harder for me to do that.

I want to have *those* memories. I'm not really worried about eating pizza or ice cream, if I can be there with the people and do all the great things. :-)

[avocadoPAK 13]

I will never stop eating potato chips

[Tssiemer1 549]

I love Pringles.