Scared of giving up food?

[Twiggie]

Has anyone regretted having their bypass due to having to give up lots of different foods they really enjoy?

I'm not talking about junk food, cakes, sweets, take-aways etc, I can happily live without all that and rarely eat it anyway.... but I mean lovely, tasty proper food, whether cooked by yourself or in a restaurant.

It's suddenly hit home to me today that one of my biggest passions is cooking & eating a wide variety of foods and it's all going to come to an end after the bypass :cry:

I'm actually feeling quite scared as the reality of what I'm about to do has dawned on me

 

[salski]

Hya hun - pre op I was thinking like you - OMG I can never eat again - but sweet the truth is you CAN still eat wonderful food prepared in restaurants and at home! Its only at the beginning that you can only eat sloppies etc...as soon as you move onto solids you can eat all the wholesome well prepared food that you do now- just smaller portions!
It really doesnt work the way you seem to think it will (and I did too) - so long as you avoid high fat and sugar foods you can eat most things. Im a year out now and there isnt much I cant eat or at least rty and I continue to go for meals out and cook tasty stews and Sunday dinners etc.
Last week me and my bypasser friend went to nandos and scoffed chicken til it came out of our ears! skin removed and veg sides etc....Today I have been for a family meal and had a large salmon salad...there are choices for you on each menu.
Hope that helps hun x

 

[Twiggie]

Thanks Salski, that's really good and reassuring to hear :hug99:

I think I'm just having the collywobbles now it's getting closer and looking for a reason not to go ahead with it, but I know I'd be foolish having come this far, as well as a coward!!

 

[StephieAck]

Before the op I had a wobble about foods like pies and pasties and I ate a cream cake and thought "this can never happen again" and I hated it, even for a bit after the op but that stopped.
You can have a great deal of fun looking for new ways of cooking your food and finding new combinations with the foods that you work out that your pouch likes.
You will be fine honestly, you may even become more experimental with food after the op.
Good luck xx
Steph xx

 

[salski]

Yeah hun - getting nervous is understandable - but it really is liveable. Each day is different pouch wise so what 1 day might be a nono - the next is fine!
As Steph says I reckon if anything we become more experimental. Good luck hun - we will all be here for you x

 

[tink75]

Honestly I think we all worry about this but truthfully I eat so much better now than I ever did. I actually taste my food and enjoy it. Change is always difficult to begin with but it soon becomes a habit and then you don't want to go back. Hand on my heart I miss none of the old foods and I def don;t miss the size they made me x

 

[Glenville]

I agree with the other comments, you will (most likely) be able to eat pretty much what you had pre-op with the obvious exceptions but smaller portions. I have had a pretty good Easter food-wise except for a couple of slices of cream sponge. I didn't have half the cake as I would have done before but the small slices I had were a real treat and didn't give me any trouble.

It's not the end of your life, just a switch to a healthier lifestyle. Once you experience all the benefits you won't think twice about what you have done. Try and keep focused. xx

 

[ChefClay]

Interesting that you brought this subject up! Mr Small (wls surgeon) asked me the same question at my recent appointment. As I am a Chef, Mr Small queried how my passion and love of food would be dealt with in my relation to my forthcoming bypass. I can only hope that my feelings towards food do not change, but obviously my approach to portion size will alter. As has been mentioned by other members who have already gone through this, quality, not quantity will become the key issue. Certainly a good knowledge and balance of protein/carbs relative to the size of the meal. I look forward to the challenge!! Regards, Paul x

 

[karenlouisemee]

I also love to cook its one of the things im really good at but i dont have the urge to eat the food myself. after cooking i feel really full so i feed it to my husband and 8 brothers they love it. but i see were you are coming from as we build a relationship with food many of my happy memories are based around eating with family and friends and when im sad i eat to feel better. i have found behaviour thereapy helpful maybe you would to.

 

[cah-ching]

it's funny i've been having exactly the same thoughts ... I love GOOD foods. However I have to put myself into check and say .... I can eat foods just in smaller portions.

It's good to bounce thoughts and feelings off people who have already been through it!

 

[Roch]

Hi Twiggie good post hun.
It was different for me tbh i was sick and tired of eating as i have over the years become a serious fussy eater and a carb addict and could not wait till i had my bypass as i so wanted to break the emotional vicious cycle of being addicted to carbs and not being able to stop myself eating them, and i hoped that post surgery things like bread and toast would be something i could not eat for a good few months, but unfortunately from the time i was allowed to start on solids i tried toast and can easily manage a 1/2 piece of toast and i find myself now fighting this battle again and its a constant battle for me every day to stay away from bread and other carbs as i find myself slipping back into my bad habits that i had pre op.

I so hoped that i would struggle with certain foods, and this has been the opposite with me, in some ways its good as i can start getting back to normal and introducing lots of new foods slowly back into my diet which is good but for me has its downfalls, and that is my carb addiction.
I have ordered the book " CBT for dummies" and i am going to try and help myself with my carb addictions and i hope this will help me understand why i emotionally eat and also what makes me turn to food when i am not hungry, which is still a bad habit i have now and need help to break.

Hun 4/5 months down the road u will def find things getting back to normal and u will be able to go out to dinner and by then u would know what works well for ur pouch and what is a no no.
I try to have something new every day but try it at home so i know whether my pouch likes it or not, at the mo i am seriously craving for a carvery meal and for once its the roast beef i am craving for and not the yorkshires and roast potatoes
Most people i have spoken to who are 5/6 months post op and further down the road have told me one thing that has changed is that as now they are buying a lot less food for themselves they now are buying the premium range in food as they want the better quality in their food as their portions are sooo much smaller.

Sorry if this has been off topic, i know ur going to do really well post bypass as u have done ur research and ur very determined lady.
Take care hun and chat soon and u have my mob number if u want to chat at any time xx

 

[cah-ching]

I hope the CBT for dummies works Roch! I look forward to reading about your progress. I'm at the start of undertaking private CBT sessions with a pychologist so have a vested interest in seeing if there are any differences.

 

[ravelling]

I really worried about this in the beginning and even went through a period of grieving. I decided that one of the ways to best prepare myself for surgery was to try to adjust my eating habits well before the op. This was partly to lose weight to meet my surgeon's requirements and put myself in a good place for having an anaesthetic, but partly to help myself deal with my emotional and head issues around food.

I don't think I would have been able to cope, psychologically, with going from the way I used to eat straight to the pre-op diet and the new post-op eating regime without this period of preparation.

In terms of eating well after this initial, puree period, I cheer myself up by reading this blog: theworldaccordingtoeggface

She has somewonderful recipes, a great attitude towards eating and lots of post-op experience.

Good luck!

 

[Twiggie]

Thanks guys, you've all helped to get me focussed and back on track again. I think I was having a mini panic triggered by reading the Dumping Syndrome thread which put the fear of god into me about eating out and getting caught out. Came out on a cold sweat reading it lol

Roch... interesting point about buying more Premium ranges as we'll be eating smaller portions, hadn't thought of it that way before. They're usually a treat when I fancy a night off from cooking but don't fancy going out.

On the subject of your carb addiction, do you know how/when/why it started? It can be very useful to help overcome it if you can pinpoint it's origins. It's great that you're starting to get a craving for meat though. That's your body telling you it needs more protein hun. If you eat your protein first then you won't have room for much/any carbs so that could help break the cycle too. Good luck with the CBT book, you'll have to let me know how it goes. I had CBT many years ago so have forgotten most of it but I think the principals are the same no matter what obsession/fear/addiction we're trying to overcome.

Just noticed your updated weight loss and new photo too, way to go girl, you're amazing!!!!! xxx

 

[Twiggie]

Interesting that you brought this subject up! Mr Small (wls surgeon) asked me the same question at my recent appointment. As I am a Chef, Mr Small queried how my passion and love of food would be dealt with in my relation to my forthcoming bypass. I can only hope that my feelings towards food do not change, but obviously my approach to portion size will alter. As has been mentioned by other members who have already gone through this, quality, not quantity will become the key issue. Certainly a good knowledge and balance of protein/carbs relative to the size of the meal. I look forward to the challenge!! Regards, Paul x

Hi Paul, don't think we've met before so welcome to WLS

I can imagine it must be far more difficult choice for you to have surgery when you working in the food industry. The first thing to enter my mind is tasting food to check for seasonings etc... is this going to pose a problem with higher fat/sugar content dishes?

Quality is certainly more important than quantity and I enjoy good food... just a little too much!! I definitely need to control my portion sizes

As you say, it will be a challenge but fortunately having a son who is a semi-pro footballer and training to be a sports coach, nutrition is very important and I also have medical/science background so we both have good working knowledge of it.

I'll look forward to hearing some of your ideas on creating tasty nutritional dishes for WLS. Are you aware there are very few food/recipe ideas out there for British people? ...most books I've found so far are written by/for Amercians. Now there's an idea for you!

 

[Twiggie]

I really worried about this in the beginning and even went through a period of grieving.....

I don't think I would have been able to cope, psychologically, with going from the way I used to eat straight to the pre-op diet and the new post-op eating regime without this period of preparation.

You've hit the nail on the head there. Obviously I've been thinking about this for some months and even moreso since getting my surgery date. I think I am grieving the inevitable loss of food.

It even caused an argument between my son & I last week as we'd been to the cinema and there's a Nando's nearby so I wanted to go in to eat (never been to one before) as I might never get the chance again but he said he wasn't hungry so I stormed off in a major strop

There's a new Jamie Oliver restaurant opened up in Cambridge too that I really, really want to go to but will have to do it in the next couple of weeks as my pre-op diet starts soon .... OMG it's 3 weeks today!!!

So, guess I've got just 3 weeks to get all this nonsense out of my system, but then I'm also expected to lose weight....... but there's so much food I want to eat "for the first/final time" before I wave bye-bye to it!!! :wave_cry:

.....I cheer myself up by reading this blog: theworldaccordingtoeggface

She has somewonderful recipes, a great attitude towards eating and lots of post-op experience.

Good luck!

Thank you, had a quick look at the blog and it looks great, will spend some time reading it, thanks xxx

 

[LisaG]

Hi Twiggie,

Good post. I kept telling myself before hand that I've had too many years of enjoying too much yummy food and that's why I've ended up like this. Saying that, it seems I will still be able to eat yummy foods, just a little bit at a time. When I met with Lucy before I left the hospital she went through the stages of eating and gave me a booklet with some really yummy ideas in. I can't wait to start trying them in a few weeks.

 

[phatmomma]

I was thinking along the lines of some of the other responders... You really sound like a woman who knows her way around the kitchen and cooks more for pleasure rather than it being just another chore to get done!

With such a joy of cooking i think you will (by trial and error maybe) find alternatives to the high sugar high fat contents in some recipes and come up with really tasty, full flavour meals in your own home!

As for restaurants i'm sure you will (as someone else said) find out what your stomach enjoys/tolerates and will enjoy eating out socially again.... The only thing i'd say (this is after going for meals with a post op person) is keep a plastic tub in your handbag for your leftovers....

Best of luck for your op, looking forward to seeing you post some recipes that you've twiddled with xxx

 

[samsmum]

The thing that bothers me is how some foods are now a disappointment. I will be craving something such as a couple of chips with salt and vinegar but when I get them they are a let down. I dont enjoy them like I did pre op. That said I find I enjoy other foods more than I ever did pre op. You will just find that your choices and tastes do change post op.

 

[Twiggie]

With such a joy of cooking i think you will (by trial and error maybe) find alternatives to the high sugar high fat contents in some recipes and come up with really tasty, full flavour meals in your own home!

I probably will in time, and I'll certainly share any good recipes here for everyone else to use. Think I've just been feeling rather overwhelmed lately and picking on all the negative aspects of this surgery rather than focussing on the positive ones.

As for restaurants i'm sure you will (as someone else said) find out what your stomach enjoys/tolerates and will enjoy eating out socially again.... The only thing i'd say (this is after going for meals with a post op person) is keep a plastic tub in your handbag for your leftovers....

Now that's a great idea, and one I wouldn't have thought of, thanks!

Best of luck for your op, looking forward to seeing you post some recipes that you've twiddled with xxx

Thank you, and you with yours too xxx