I am 6 days post-op and on small amts of pureed food. I miss food and how it made me feel and how it tasted.  Did anyone else feel this way?  Does it go away?

I so feel your pain. I am 4 days post-op and am on clear liquids for 7 days then full liquids for 2 weeks.  I have been doing good and get in more than the required amount of liquid. Let me tell you it is so hard to sit on the couch all day and watch tv. The couch and tv are what got me to 400 pounds.  I have never sat on this couch without having a pizza, fried chicken, or ice cream in my hand.  So I sit here drinking my clear liquids and my mind is saying I should have something else in my hand.  When I was pre-op I never dreamed I would have these head issues with food.  I don't really feel hungry it is just strange not being able to eat unhealthy stuff.  I can't really say food made me feel good in the past for me it was just something to do while on the couch watching tv.  The old way of life is gone forever and I need to begin to move into a new healthy way of life. I think it will take some time to make the shift as change with anything can be hard.  It took me years to get unhealthy and live that life so it will take time to mentally make the shift to a healthy way of life.  

It gets better.  Well, it has for me.  My meals are now 3-4 ounces and I feel satisfied and content with what I'm eating.  I still eat food that tastes amazing and that helps.  

Gwen is sooooooo right... at least for me also... Once you get past the mind games and start to be able to eat food 2 to 3 oz is all you will need or want!!!! :-) 

Best of luck to you and congrats on your sleeve!!!

♡ Kelly

The great thing about my RNY is I CAN'T eat the way i used to. When I forget and don't chew my food well enough, or eat too fast, or too much or the wrong food, I know it immediately. I'm reminded to slow down, chew chew chew, and skip the fried/greasy foods. And guess what? It is working!!!!  I haven't been this size in almost 30 years.

 

 

This is my post from right after..you can follow the comments.  Seems like this sadness is common  It does go away....

Suggestions with coping with the depession/sadness of breaking up with food. 2 weeks post...

 

 

Heatherhere
on 7/11/14 1:11 pm with Kent Sasse

So Im normally not a depressed person but food is bringing me to tears.  When my family eats, when I smell food, when I see food on TV when I think of food I have these little waves of depression. 

Food was such a BIG part of my life.  Im sure food would have killed me in the end so Yes Im glad I chose WLS.

I just wanted to have some advice from you all here.  This site has helped me so much though this journey And I am so very grateful..

The first week is the hardest. It will get easier, trust me. This is just temporary, when you are further out you will be eating a lot of the foods that you used to love, just in smaller amounts. Just keep reminding yourself that this will pass. You are doing great, hang in there!

Once the weight starts melting off, you will not miss food as much.  At least I don't.  I still love to eat, don't get me wrong.  But I am much, much more selective about what foods I choose to feed myself.  Junk food and fast food have not had a place in my life in over a year.  Why?

I have learned to love me more than food. 

That helps--learning to love yourself more than the food you eat.  Remember, your food doesn't love you back.  Your food doesn't care if you have a good day, or a bad day.  In my case, my food didn't care if I came off diabetes meds, blood pressure meds, any of that (both of which I eventually did post-op).  My food didn't care (and still doesn't care) if I can run or fit into smaller clothes.  My food doesn't care about me nearly as much as I care about myself. 

Start looking at your food as a source of nourishment and not a replacement for attention or something else that you are missing and it becomes really easy to not miss it.

There is an enormous mental shift that has to happen, and let's face it - food was a kind of comfort for many of us.  It satisfies many wants.  When it's rather suddenly gone, it feels weird.  When you're prepping for surgery, it feels necessary.  Just post surgery a few days, it's part of healing.  Once some of the pain goes away, then it starts to sink in that you've made a huge change in your life.

In 5 days I'll be at my 1 month post-op anniversary, and I can tell you, the change and the feelings associated with that change are still wandering around in my brain.  It's a tough transition.  But, it's not really about being forbidden things, it's more about a new journey, new road.  At least, this is how I try to see it now.  It's basically that you're eating better, and eating less.  Think of how many times we've eaten things in the past and thought "Wow, why did I eat so much?" and felt guilt and regret about it?  That particular worry is now gone.

BUT, I too am searching for ways to fill that void that food once filled.  It's not going to be easy.  Food, to me, was a part of socialization, being with people, having fun, being comforted, etc, etc.  I want to make sure it's still that, but I don't want it to play such a big part as it did.

One odd occurrence that's coincided with my surgery is that my landlord isn't renewing my lease (she's giving my apartment to her son) - and although it comes at a very inconvenient time, it's actually a blessing in disguise because it means I can get rid of a lot of the food I'm not using, pots and pans I don't really need for baking anymore, etc, etc... In other words, remnants of an old life that's really not part of me now.  So, moving to my new place is going to be part of my new life.  

I'm sorry you're going through this mourning process - I did too, and I had a very frank and open discussion with my brother which helped me out a lot (he has had weight issues too.)  We talked very honestly about food and it's hold on our family and it helped me SO much.  Just reaching out to talk is such a positive thing to do.  Believe me, things do improve; maybe not as fast as we'd like, but they do improve.  And, once your weight begins to come off, you really do see the fruits of your labors.

I know the 1st two weeks were brutal for me.  Head hunger was rampant.  I never knew there were so dang many food commercials.  But it does get easier.  I remember being on the clear liquid phase and while I was not hungry, I just felt I should be eating/chewing something.  Just keep eating/drinking to plan and you will get through this.