Fast Food Questions

[izzy13 117]

@@OutsideMatchInside I'm sorry my units of measurement were not accurate. But Regardless of how many bites I eat or ounces I personally hate wasting money. It's a personal thing and it's also how I talk myself out of eating junk food it seems to work for me. At 3 months out I'm still eating smaller quantities, for Protein I could not eat a whole burger (bunless or otherwise) it's just how I roll (roll-less lol pun intended )

I don't know how much I can actually eat, I don't measure, I eat my Protein first most meals (I'm not saint believe me!) and just eat until I get that full feeling (2 bites, 10 bites, 4 oz who knows...) my dr is ecstatic says I will hit goal by spring much earlier than he had ever anticipated so that makes me smile

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

I take single bites of things and throw them away all the time. I don't see it as wasting money since being fat cost me a lot more money. food is not a durable good. There is no wasting it. If I eat the whole thing, or eat half of it and throw the other half away the end result is the same the food is gone/used up. The only difference is it is not turning into fat in my body.

I weigh all my food. I have a scale at home and a scale I keep in my purse. I don't think I could have been successful without weighing and tracking all my food.

If not weighing is working for you, keep up the good work! Everyone is different.

[summerset 5,265]

Fast food (French fries, hamburgers etc.) doesn't reheat well so if I eat out I try to stick to food that is as healthy as I can find AND will reheat so I'm not pouring money down the drain.

I choose the fast food that tastes good reheated. Asian food is usually good for re-heating. pizza tastes good when reheated in the oven. I wrap and freeze slices individually. Makes a quick meal and the frozen slices keep for weeks.

Doener doesn't reheat well and I don't like to eat them cold. I don't care for the typical fast food burger or sandwich you can get in Germany.

[justhere4theshow 462]

I pretty much agree with the consensus here, but I want to add one thing: a LOT of people on here will not condone thinking up ways to eat around surgery. Whether you are just fantasizing during a weak time (liquid diets make people crazy) or simply not ready to make the changes you will need to succeed (your psych eval should have revealed that), you really do need to decide what you want from your surgery. I, personally have had my insides rearranged twice, and I do not plan to go back to the behaviors that got me into the mess I am in with my weight and eating habits. If you are willing to have major surgery, why then are you not willing to find a different way to eat so that you can succeed? People on here take offense because they feel like you are disrespecting the choices they have made for themselves, I suspect. It's a little much to take when you bust your ass to change your life, and then someone asks you to tell them how to cheat the system. It's just not going to be well received. You need a thick skin in this forum, so be insulted if you want, but you'll find little sympathy here.

[TXJess 98]

I take single bites of things and throw them away all the time. I don't see it as wasting money since being fat cost me a lot more money. food is not a durable good. There is no wasting it. If I eat the whole thing, or eat half of it and throw the other half away the end result is the same the food is gone/used up. The only difference is it is not turning into fat in my body.

I weigh all my food. I have a scale at home and a scale I keep in my purse. I don't think I could have been successful without weighing and tracking all my food.

If not weighing is working for you, keep up the good work! Everyone is different.

Wish I could love this instead of just liking it. So many of us have that clean plate mentality drilled into us as kids. Getting over that is a huge thing.

Sent from my KFTBWI using the BariatricPal App

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

I take single bites of things and throw them away all the time. I don't see it as wasting money since being fat cost me a lot more money. food is not a durable good. There is no wasting it. If I eat the whole thing, or eat half of it and throw the other half away the end result is the same the food is gone/used up. The only difference is it is not turning into fat in my body.

I weigh all my food. I have a scale at home and a scale I keep in my purse. I don't think I could have been successful without weighing and tracking all my food.

If not weighing is working for you, keep up the good work! Everyone is different.

Wish I could love this instead of just liking it. So many of us have that clean plate mentality drilled into us as kids. Getting over that is a huge thing.

Sent from my KFTBWI using the BariatricPal App

I grew up with a military Dad. Believe me it was really hard to get there. The further I am from surgery the easier it is.

I have lost so much weight at this point that I don't want to back track. I find that I will obsess about things and think they are really better than what they are. So I will taste something. After 1.5 years of low carbing and eating clean and healthy, carbs and "bad" foods just don't taste that good to me. So a taste is enough to remind me I don't even want this thing, I just think I do. Buying size 10 jeans tastes a lot better than a cookie.

That being said they had Cookies at work, they looked super delicious. I took a bite, stood by the trash can, tossed the rest and went back to my office. If I had took that cookie with me back to my office, I would have sat and pinched off of it and had the whole thing.

Is that an ideal situation? Not really. Most people would say never touch the cookie at all. This works for me. A taste just turns me off, even if its good, it just isn't as good as not being morbidly obese.

[2ndSpring 350]

If I were not worried about making you feel "unsafe" I would tell you that you are a self destructive idiot who just wasted a pile of money you should have used for psychiatric care on abdominal surgery.

Wow - I have seen you say some mean things before, but you have really outdone yourself. How dare you talk to another human being in such a cruel manner.

[Alexis99 67]

I have a low carb burger from Hardees, like I dunno, quarterly in an emergency situation.

I get the nuggets at Chick-Fil-A grilled or fried depending on my mood pretty often, weekly, bi weekly.

I don't eat fries, they have no nutritional value, they are a slider and a trigger food for me. I could eat a whole pile of fries at this point if I felt like it, my restriction won't stop me.

The thing about your post is. You haven't changed your attitude about food at all. So long term once you are healed you are going to eat all these foods just like you did before and you won't lose weight, and the weight you lost when your RNY did all the work you will gain back.

When you can't eat at all or chew right after surgery, you are going to want all the bad things. That is head hunger.

You need to really work with your pouch thing, to learn good eating habits that stick. So that when you do get fast food, it just an occasional thing. If you really work with your tool, and learn to eat healthy, fast food won't even appeal to you anymore. And I am saying this to you as a single person that used to eat out all the time and eat a lot of fast food pre-op. I don't even really think about it now.

Also Wendy's chil is crap. Just make your own. I make low carb chili at home and it barely takes 10 minutes of active cooking. I don't use Beans because I don't need the carbs from Beans. I just brown ground beef, add chili seasoning (packet or your own mix) and a can of diced tomatoes. Low carb Chilli. Let it simmer.

@@izzy13 Long term it isn't a waste. I can eat a whole bunless buger. The low carb burger at hardees is wrapped in lettuce. I didn't have one until the post 1 year mark. At the 6 month mark I could out eat 4 ChickFilA nuggets, at the 1 year mark and beyond I can eat 8.

I really hate when people say you can only have X amount of bites of something. It is a completely ridiculous and useless measurement that has no basis in science and provides zero frame of reference for people.

@oustide.. Love your response. Question, did you consider yourself a food addict before surgery? Curious to know if there are former addicts that found long term success. Thank you!

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[HogwartsIsMyHome 7]

I am sorry to all of those who I offended with my post, I really am, I did not mean to upset or anger anyone. You never hear about eating out after this surgery, and I now realize it is because it is a touchy subject, and because the answer really is that I am probably crazy for thinking eating out even rarely should ever be allowed after surgery. My liquid diet is driving me crazy with cravings, and I was curious about fast food, so I decided to finally just ask. Once again, sorry to those who were offended, I really am not trying to sabotage you or cheat the system. I just wanted to know personal experiences from people. Thank you to those who politely answered my questions and gave me kind advice. I realize from your experiences that I will need to divorce greasy fries forever, and take the bun off of a hamburger, and try to just make all my food myself rather than ever go out to eat. I have no intention of failing this procedure, and I guess I need to constantly remind myself that how most Americans eat these days, even some of the skinny ones, isn't 'normal'.

[clc9 644]

I am sorry to all of those who I offended with my post, I really am, I did not mean to upset or anger anyone. You never hear about eating out after this surgery, and I now realize it is because it is a touchy subject, and because the answer really is that I am probably crazy for thinking eating out even rarely should ever be allowed after surgery. My liquid diet is driving me crazy with cravings, and I was curious about fast food, so I decided to finally just ask. Once again, sorry to those who were offended, I really am not trying to sabotage you or cheat the system. I just wanted to know personal experiences from people. Thank you to those who politely answered my questions and gave me kind advice. I realize from your experiences that I will need to divorce greasy fries forever, and take the bun off of a hamburger, and try to just make all my food myself rather than ever go out to eat. I have no intention of failing this procedure, and I guess I need to constantly remind myself that how most Americans eat these days, even some of the skinny ones, isn't 'normal'.

Lots of people with WLS eat out at restaurants, you'll just be changing up what you eat, how much and likely where if you eat at a lot of fast food places pre-op. Don't worry - you won't have to eat at home for the rest of your life!

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[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

I have a low carb burger from Hardees, like I dunno, quarterly in an emergency situation.

I get the nuggets at Chick-Fil-A grilled or fried depending on my mood pretty often, weekly, bi weekly.

I don't eat fries, they have no nutritional value, they are a slider and a trigger food for me. I could eat a whole pile of fries at this point if I felt like it, my restriction won't stop me.

The thing about your post is. You haven't changed your attitude about food at all. So long term once you are healed you are going to eat all these foods just like you did before and you won't lose weight, and the weight you lost when your RNY did all the work you will gain back.

When you can't eat at all or chew right after surgery, you are going to want all the bad things. That is head hunger.

You need to really work with your pouch thing, to learn good eating habits that stick. So that when you do get fast food, it just an occasional thing. If you really work with your tool, and learn to eat healthy, fast food won't even appeal to you anymore. And I am saying this to you as a single person that used to eat out all the time and eat a lot of fast food pre-op. I don't even really think about it now.

Also Wendy's chil is crap. Just make your own. I make low carb chili at home and it barely takes 10 minutes of active cooking. I don't use Beans because I don't need the carbs from Beans. I just brown ground beef, add chili seasoning (packet or your own mix) and a can of diced tomatoes. Low carb Chilli. Let it simmer.

@@izzy13 Long term it isn't a waste. I can eat a whole bunless buger. The low carb burger at hardees is wrapped in lettuce. I didn't have one until the post 1 year mark. At the 6 month mark I could out eat 4 ChickFilA nuggets, at the 1 year mark and beyond I can eat 8.

I really hate when people say you can only have X amount of bites of something. It is a completely ridiculous and useless measurement that has no basis in science and provides zero frame of reference for people.

@oustide.. Love your response. Question, did you consider yourself a food addict before surgery? Curious to know if there are former addicts that found long term success. Thank you!

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I'm not sure. I was just overly indulgent, and I rewarded myself with food. I'm not sure I was a full blown good addict but I was self medicating, self soothing with food. Rough day, you deserve something delicious. Great day? You deserve something delicious.

I really wanted to have a better relationship with food badly. So many of my friends are thin and healthy with healthy lifestyles. I wanted so bad to be like them, but I was a glutton. I love to over eat. I felt like you only live once and you should have what you want.

Surgery allowed me to create a whole new relationship with food. By following the food steps closely I was able to break old habits. Like baked fish seems delicious and decadent after weeks of broth and Protein shakes. When I could finally have steak after eating seafood for months, it as almost orgasmic. I found healthy replacements for a lot of things. They taste good but not too good, I am not fooling myself that they are normal foods.

The money I used to spend on food, I spend on clothes and makeup. Now that I am small I can buy a bodycon dress for $10 online, instead of going to steak and shake or getting chinese food. That $15 I might have blown on bar food, I can buy a lipstick with. I still indulge myself but in different ways with durable goods. And no I have not addiction swapped. I shop about 1/10th as much as I used to since now I have to try everything, because my sizes change weekly. Also now that I have more variety in clothing, and brands vary so much, a size 10 or a medium top might work at one place but I need a large or a 12 at another. So I hardly shop compared to how much I used to shop. I used to buy clothes online almost daily, and now I get maybe one thing a week.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@@HogwartsIsMyHome

Good for you for taking the advice that people offered.

Seriously everyone that has spent weeks not chewing anything dreams about food. I wanted all the bad things the first couple weeks after surgery. Then finally I was able to chew something and it was like the heavens opened. My cravings stopped.

You can definitely eat out. Just check the nutritional values. A lettuce wrap burger from 5 guys is delicious.

[NWJill 119]

It's not like there are no healthy options when eating out, even at fast food. There are salads, Soups, grilled chicken, etc. Just do your research and know your smart choices, obviously a burger fries and shake are off the table but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy eating out. Go on to the websites of these restaurants and read the nutritional information so that you can make smart choices. For example, after Water aerobics on Saturday's all of the ladies I work out with go to Panera for lunch. I know their menu and I know the choices I can make there and what to avoid because I have done my research.

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[Clementine Sky 708]

I had ravenous head hunger during the first month post-op, and though I never actually put any of it in my mouth, I spent a ridiculous amount of time on Pinterest and Instagram food pages consuming with my eyes, haha. So I won't pick up any stones. I've had fast food since having the VSG in August of 2015, but rarely. I grew up loving Chick-Fil-a, so when we finally got a location (now two) in my area, I was happy. They always let me order a kids meal with six nuggets, a fruit cup instead of fries, and a diet lemonade. I also have gone to El Pollo Loco a few times, and Subway once. I look up nutrition stats for the fast food place from my phone, and then decide on my order.

[summerset 5,265]

Thank you to those who politely answered my questions and gave me kind advice. I realize from your experiences that I will need to divorce greasy fries forever, and take the bun off of a hamburger, and try to just make all my food myself rather than ever go out to eat. I have no intention of failing this procedure, and I guess I need to constantly remind myself that how most Americans eat these days, even some of the skinny ones, isn't 'normal'.

Don't be sorry. I think it was a legit question.

What you will be able to stomach or not - you will have to make your own experiences. I talked about Asian take out food. This usually contains noodles or rice. I don't have problems eating noodles or rice but some people can't stomach them. Some people can eat french fries (for some they are slider foods!) - my stomach doesn't like them. I got queasy the few times I tried them. Same with ice cream. Some people can gorge on it, I get early dumping with nausea and tachycardia so I don't eat it.

In the end you have to experiment with foods (this includes the healthy foods as well!) down the road after you've been cleared for all foods and find your own diet that works for you in the end. This might be a bit more scary than simply following a tailored plan but if e. g. some of the "allowed foods" like certain vegetables or burgers without Buns give you heartburn, gas or diarrhea - they are not for you though they might be the right foods for another patient.

It's sensible to stay in contact with a NUT (if possible), e. g. I have the possibility to call or write an e-mail.