Pre-op but can't stop eating

So I am pre-op and I see the surgeon next month I have tried hard to eat healthy these last few months but I can't seem to I start out during the day but by the end of the day I have grazed on crap.

It seems I want to eat all the time and I just don't understand it I have never been this way. Is this normal I hear some people go through a process of saying goodbye to the crappy foods they ate.

Just looking for some suggestions.

 

    

It is normal to have food funerals but if you normally graze on junk this is something that you are going to have to work on asap.  Eating junk is unfortunately too easy after surgery too so this journey is also a mental one. 

I would start by writing down everything that goes into your mouth.  You can do this on various online programs or just in a handwritten journal. I started journaling two months before surgery.  I kept track of food, exercise, weight and measurements and still do nearly one year out.

Try to eat some protein first before eating junk.  Protein fills you up. Try drinking something first too.  You may be thirsty. Try to figure out why you are going to the junk?  Does it serve some purpose for you like calming you or shoving done feelings, etc. Awareness is important.  If nothing else is working just don't bring the stuff into the house.  You can't eat what is not there.  Tell other family members to help you out during this time by buying and eating junk outside of the house.

I'm going to be honest with you.  I couldn't either.  My centre (TWH) didn't require us to maintain or lose weight (thank goodness), and I ate like hell before Optifast and surgery.  I tried to do some of the ha*****angers (like cut out pop, eat regular meals, etc.) and I did okay at that.  I found that to be a helpful glimpse into my future.  I also did tons and tons of reading on WLS.  And I cut way back on drinking.

The way I psyched myself up for Optifast and surgery was food funerals.  I'm not saying that's a good thing, I'm just being honest about what I did.  I grazed on crap, I replaced some meals with junk food, I did all sorts of awful things diet-wise.  I don't even know why I did it, although I suspect it was because I was subconsciously mourning that I wouldn't be able to eat like that anymore after surgery.

I gained about 20 lbs between the time I was referred to the registry and the beginning of Optifast, which was about a year.  Which is really no different than the rate at which I was gaining previously anyhow.

But when Optifast started, I was ready for it, both physically and emotionally.  I was tired of feeling out of control and overfull and generally like crap.  I psyched myself up for opti by going out for supper the night before, and strangely enough, I ordered something relatively decent instead of the biggest gut-busting thing on the menu.

I sailed through Optifast and loved it for the whole three weeks, since I was doing flavour combinations that I really liked with them.  Didn't cheat once, didn't even want to.  And of course, after surgery, I couldn't binge or eat crap, and honestly, I haven't even wanted to.

So this is why I don't get the idea that some centres promote, that you have to "prove you're serious" by dieting and losing weight before surgery, by not gaining any weight in the year or two you're waiting to have surgery, etc.  Diets have never worked for me.  I could always diet and lose weight, but after I couldn't stand the deprivation anymore, I binged and went back to my old habits and gained all the weight back.  Trying to diet before surgery wouldn't have been any different for me, I'm pretty sure.  The vast majority of people who diet can only do it short term and then they gain back all the weight they lost, plus more.  So what would the point of that be?

I'm not suggesting that what I did was healthy or that it was okay.  I'm not saying you should do it, or to go ahead and keep eating crap.  I'm just saying that's what I did.  But I found that Optifast was a really good introduction to my new way of life.  It was a way to really re-evaluate the head hunger, during a significant period of time that would have surgery at the end of it.  It really prepared me mentally and emotionally for surgery, along with the reading and thinking about it that I did before opti.

I'm only three weeks out, so I can't tell you now whether I'm going to succeed or fail at WLS.  I'm determined to succeed, but who knows - maybe there are studies out there that say that people who diet before WLS are more successful after WLS, and maybe I'll end up being one of those people who do poorly because I didn't diet beforehand.  But I doubt I will fail.  I am doing really well, and I feel like my whole mindset has changed, with help from the physical tool I've received.  Besides, I don't really understand how that could even logically follow (that dieting before WLS indicates how you'll do after WLS), since we have ALL dieted a hundred times before WLS and failed at it each time, and I don't see what conventional dieting one more time would prove.

Suggestions?  I don't have any - I'm too new at this, and I certainly am not suggesting that you do what I did.  But I just wanted to share my experience with you so you wouldn't feel like you're alone.   As I said above, I did cut well back on drinking, avoided pop, and I tried to make sure I ate regular meals, just so I wouldn't be completely sideswiped by the changes I would have to make post-op, so those might be some ideas.

On the other hand, lots of others here on OH have posted about how they did diet, or are currently dieting beforehand, and they feel like it's really good preparation for their new life.  They may have some excellent suggestions for you.

IMO Kellybelly333 said it best when she posted this...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow0lr63y4Mw

I am at TWH also sometime I think it would be better if they said you had to follow a diet. I think I am going to get my daughter over and teach me how to use the app. so I can track my food. 

Ian thanks it can me a laugh but so true.

I felt that way too before surgery, and I wished I had maybe some guidelines to at least try to follow.  I felt like I didn't really have any guidance at all nutritionally before surgery since they focused practically all their energies on telling you what you could eat during Opti and after surgery, so I just assumed they didn't care what I ate pre-op.  And I went with that. :)  But I also worried about it too.

My Fitness Pal is great - I'm using it and finding it to be really helpful.  That is one thing TWH suggested, is tracking food.  I often found before surgery that when I would track my food, I'd become a lot more conscious of what I ate, and I started eating less.

I found myself doing this right after my last appointment..I meet the surgeon on dec 7th!

I have been combatting this by drinking a large tea first, by the time the tea is done my craving for junkl is over!

Don't over do it...some centers will delay you if you gain weight!

Juls

Even though I'm aways from actual surgery most of the time I feel like I'm saying goodbye to my best friend ....and then when I really thought about it...I am actually saying goodbye to my best friend!!!..one food at a time...but thats OK cause friendships change and evolve so my friendship with food will have to also...I've made a decision and the rest of my life has to line up with that decision...not an easy job but one that is good for me!!...hope you keep working on finding your own way to say goodbye!!

I have been very well behaved with respect to my food choices for the past year, but if I'm being honest that's because my center is being very strict about HbA1C levels ( I'm type 2 diabetic ).  Sooooo, I know that if my levels go over 7.5 I'm waiting until the end of time for surgery.  Also being honest, I do find myself resentful about that at times, wishing that I could mourn the loss of the foods I really enjoy, but I can't so c'est la vie.  I am concerned that the very small amount of weight that I've lost in the past year (17lbs)while following all the rules may mean that I won't lose weight even after surgery......scares the hell out of me actually!!

I just find it strange that I have been doing this for a few months now and I can tell I have gained weight. I feel is if I have to eat it now becasue I am never going to eat it again. I just feel like yuck and my faces is so broken out. Well I am really going to try have to get the junk out the house and start eating more healthy meals at home. I know if I eat  a lot of carbs I just crave more and more. I also noticed that I am not drinking as much water as I usually do so I am going to start to increase my water intake as well. 

Thanks everyone helps when I can talk to others and see what they went through or are going through.