Really, What is the Straight Skinny Post-Op?

[evanter 15]

My experience has been that:

1. My taste buds have changed quite a bit. I like salty and sour foods more than before. I used to love chocolate and sweets and I still do but I also like sour food now. I can eat more spicy food than before due to my acid reflux going away (hiatal hernia was fixed at the same time as my sleeve). For example, I used to love french fries pre-op, I can eat one to three fries at the most now. I don't like it and I don't want to eat it anymore.

2. My appetite did truly diminish for the first 6 months. Initially,I could go all day without eating and not feel physically hungry. I feel the hunger returning now but I am not even close to feeling as hungry as I did pre-op. I am referring to physical hunger though, a type of hunger that I was entirely unfamiliar with pre-op. Now, if I feel hungry, I can eat something healthy and it will go away. I used to have very strong cravings pre-op, I still have them occasionally but they go away and I don't feel compelled to fulfill it at all times.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I was sleeved April 20 and have experienced most of this.

Yes, my tastes have changed somewhat. Immediately after surgery it was harder to eat because I wasn't hungry and nothing seemed appealing. Even Water tastes/ed different.

That said it was very exciting to introduce new foods (cottage cheese, refried Beans, grilled salmon) and really love them yet be satisfied with a small amount.

Greasy or sugary foods are not appealing to me at all.

Fresh, whole foods taste great. The highlight of my week is that I bought two fresh peaches this week and have had one for "desert" for two meals.

Before surgery, I was always hungry. Post-op my default is not hungry.

Will all this change? Maybe. But for now I am enjoying my changed relationship with food.

[Amylou 206]

My tastes haven't really changed but my desire has - I love spicy food - still love spicy food - but due to the 30/30 rule, I don't eat things as spicy as I used to because I can't put out the fire for a while. TEXTURES have changed for me. Some textures I just can't handle anymore.

Yes. I am no longer hungry anymore. Ever. My entire life, I've lived by the 'if you're not hungry, don't eat' mantra however now, I have to watch the clock and conscientiously eat in the morning, at lunch time and at dinner time. I KNOW that I can eat my 'largest' meal at lunch - meaning a cup of Soup and sometimes a few bites of fruit (watermelon is a favorite). I could easily go days without eating. When I do feel 'hungry' it's typically because I'm behind on my Water intake for the day.

You will struggle with 'brain hunger'. Your brain is telling you "feed me feed me, you're hungry' but you really are not. You cannot be fooled by this or you can do damage to your pouch or make yourself sick.

[Sunshine3073 22]

I find it odd that in all the responses, I am the only person who admits an addiction to food. I guess the rest of you gained the weight (enough to require WLS) by eating right and not over eating. So nobody here has/had a tumultuous relationship with food? Fascinating!

[_Kate_ 2,224]

I think you need to reread what people have posted.

[lauraellen80 855]

I find it odd that in all the responses, I am the only person who admits an addiction to food. I guess the rest of you gained the weight (enough to require WLS) by eating right and not over eating. So nobody here has/had a tumultuous relationship with food? Fascinating!

Um, seriously? I looked back through the responses, and only one person responded that they didn't have a food addiction prior to surgery (which, yes, is possible--there are a few people on these boards who had significant weight gain due to a medical issue and couldn't lose on their own). Everyone gave thoughtful, helpful advice to your questions.

Here is the relevant part of my own response:

3. True food addiction requires psychological intervention. The surgeon only operates on your stomach, not your brain. The surgery is not going to make that "head hunger"--those thoughts of "OMG, I HAVE TO SCARF DOWN A HUGE GREASY BURGER RIGHT NOW"--go away. At first, you physically won't be able to scarf down a big greasy burger, but eventually, you may, and if you don't starting working on breaking those habits and thought patterns, now, you will be setting yourself up for failure down the road. I started therapy before surgery and am continuing for as along as I need to afterward to keep my head in a good place.

I'm not sure what you were expecting us to say--yes, of course many of us were/are food addicts, and because of that, we gave you advice that came from each of our experiences dealing with that aspect post-surgery.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I have been dealing with a food addiction for years. WLS doesn't cure food addiction but all the work I have done related to my food addiction has helped me with WLS.

Use all the resources you have available to you. If you haven't already, find a good therapist or counselor and consider exploring something like Overeater's Anonymous (www.oa.org). Your Bariatric program may have a support group.

[hcamp571 3]

I have noticed big changes in my taste buds. The first 2 weeks were really a hard time for me. I wanted to eat everything in sight. It was like my cravings were supercharged. This drive me crazy, especially bc I couldn't eat anything. But then, it magically disappeared and I don't care to eat now. If I do have a random craving I usually end up spitting it out bc it tastes different.

[hcamp571 3]

No, I have been addicted to food all my life. My ever constant thought was eating, even when I was so full I couldn't eat. I lived my life around food. However, since gastric bypass all of that has changed. I fear it may come back but I pray everyday it doesn't

[Chrystee 838]

1. True/False: My doctor says my taste buds may change after surgery and foods I love now I may not like.

It depends.. I can't stand really sweet foods anymore, and I was a BIG sweets eater. Some people don't tho. One thing I can stand is smelling food after I'm full. Makes me want to barf.

2. Will my appetite REALLY go away? Will the feeling of being hungry all the time disappear?

Depends on what I eat.. carbs? nope.. I am hungry not long after. Protein? yes.. I'm full quick.. 3 bites and i'm done and full for long time.

3. I'm totally addicted to food. While I have been able to mostly control it over the past 3 months, there are times when I have NO WILLPOWER and stop at Culver's on the way home from work for a big, greasy double cheeseburger and a soda! Will I be able to break this after the surgery?

This is mental hunger that you have to break. No more soda after surgery.. and you might be able to get the burger, eat a couple bites (no bread) and be done. the burger part is ok for you. but you might not be able to tolerate burger, so again.. it depends.

[Sunshine3073 22]

^{My bypass surgery is tomorrow morning at 10:30.}

^{I've done the clear liquid diet with Protein shakes for two weeks now. Yesterday and today just Clear liquids and no Protein Shakes. Yesterday I did the GoLytely purge but not much other than liquid came out. I feel no energy but have been drinking to get rehydrated. I'm ready! This past two weeks has been one of the most difficult things I've had to do and I am not really hungry anymore. It's been a long road to get here as I've been contemplating the surgery since 2011.}

[gowalking 10,790]

Lots of food addicts here, myself included. As others have said, surgery will not help with the addiction. You will have to work on changing the behaviors.

For me...success bred more success. Once I got going, it was fairly easy. Maintenance I find is more challenging. Plus I have a propensity for self sabotage..which I'm working on with a therapist.

Good luck..and good for you for knowing the weight does not simply fall off. You still have to work it big time.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

I find it odd that in all the responses, I am the only person who admits an addiction to food. I guess the rest of you gained the weight (enough to require WLS) by eating right and not over eating. So nobody here has/had a tumultuous relationship with food? Fascinating!

Sounds like you're going through some pre-op stuff. Immediately pre-op time wasn't easy for most of us.

With regard to your phrase "addiction to food," that's a loaded term. There's considerable debate about what "food addiction" means or if it even exists. Is it merely a "tumultuous relationship with food"? Is "overeating" sufficient to define a "food addict"? Or does "food addiction" require binging? Or does it merely require "comfort eating"? And to what degree?

I don't use the term "addiction" to describe how I ate prior to WLS. But God knows I had some terrible eating habits. And although I didn't eat badly all the time, I ate badly enough often enough and was inactive enough most of the time that I eventually achieved a BMI of nearly 40. At that point I was trapped by my obesity and comorbidities and could no longer get back to a normal weight (no longer obese or even overweight) by dieting and exercise.

That's why I had WLS.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

^{My bypass surgery is tomorrow morning at 10:30.}

^{I've done the clear liquid diet with Protein shakes for two weeks now. Yesterday and today just Clear Liquids and no Protein Shakes. Yesterday I did the GoLytely purge but not much other than liquid came out. I feel no energy but have been drinking to get rehydrated. I'm ready! This past two weeks has been one of the most difficult things I've had to do and I am not really hungry anymore. It's been a long road to get here as I've been contemplating the surgery since 2011.}

I hope your surgery went well and you have an uneventful recovery,

Be sure and let us know how you are doing when you are up to it.

[lauraellen80 855]

With regard to your phrase "addiction to food," that's a loaded term. There's considerable debate about what "food addiction" means or if it even exists. Is it merely a "tumultuous relationship with food"? Is "overeating" sufficient to define a "food addict"? Or does "food addiction" require binging? Or does it merely require "comfort eating"? And to what degree?

I was going to say something very similar in my last response... I couldn't find the right wording, so I left it out. Thanks for mentioning this!