First post - major doubts!

Hi All,

 

I have been lurking for several months now.  My surgery date is Dec 9th and I started the 2 week pre-op diet yesterday.  Today I had a moment and shoved a handful of veggie straws (they are like chips) into my mouth.  The desire to eat is so strong.  My question is if I can't even make it through two days of a pre-op diet, what makes me think I can be successful after surgery?  I have been thinking about bariatric surgery since 1996.  What is going to stop me from doing the same thing after surgery? I am at a loss right now and don't know what else to say....

You are definitely wise to think about this now and continue to re-evaluate yourself as you go. Early on in the postop period you will probably experience absence of hunger and a change in taste buds. Some of us have no interest in food initially and you will be concentrating on getting your protein and hydration needs met. Months and months down the road, hopefully after you have lost a tremendous amount of weight, there may come a point where head hunger becomes real and some physiogical hunger occurs. You may get tired of the drill. Desires to have things you haven't indulged in may come. This is when you will need to call upon the new good habits you hopefully have been developing and cementing. The surgery affords you time to lose weight quickly while you are learning a new lifestyle. Old habits die hard and you will need to address the emotional and other reasons that you reach for food. And don't be surprised, once you are not medicating with food all sorts of issues surface. But if you prepare and start working on this now, you will succeed.

I think the pre-op liquid diet is the hardest part.  After surgery, everything changes.  The stomach capacity is tiny, so if you eat on plan, you will surely lose weight.  For me, the urge to eat was greatly diminished post surgery.  I wouldn't say it became easy,but it did become possible. 

I had many diets before surgery,  and I lost 50 to 60 pounds more than once, but I always went off the diet and gained it back.  I had given up hope of ever losing the weight.  But with the surgery it feels different.  I'm only 7 months post op, so I don't know what the future holds for me, but I've been able to lose over 150 pounds so far, and I don't think I will gain it back.  I am not driven to eat the way I was pre-surgery. 

It is important that you are giving this a lot of thought.  It is a major step to take, and only worth the stress and cost if we can carry through.  But statistics show that it does work for many obese people.  In fact, its the only thing that does.

Good luck with your decision.

Carol

I'm on day 5 of my pre-op liquid diet and the first two days were the hardest.  When I get that desire to eat I stop and think about why I want to eat.  Am I genuinely hungry?  I've found that many of my eating habits are just that...habits.  For instance when I watch TV at night I'm used to grazing.  That's not hunger, that's habit. 

I'm slowly learning to recognize physical hunger vs. psychological hunger.  This has been a huge help to me!  When I get that sudden overwhelming urge to eat I open my journal and write down what's going on at that moment, what emotion I'm feeling and why I want to eat.  Very frequently it has nothing to do with hunger!

I was worried about my self-discipline also.  And I still worry a little but as I learn more about why I eat, that self-discipline gets better.  Also I use My Fitness Pal to log everything that goes in my mouth.  Seeing it in black and white has opened my eyes!

It's doable.  You just have to take a brutally honest look at your motives for eating and develop some strategies to help you when you get that urge.

Good luck!

Stacey

Thanks for the encouragement.  I guess it is just really hard with the holidays and all of the party food at work etc...  I HAVE thought long and hard.  I have researched the surgery for many years and thought about the consequences.  When i got my surgery date I was thrilled, but now as time gets closer the doubts start to creep in.  I am hoping this feeling is temporary.  I will start seeing a counselor soon as well, because I know the head controls everything.  There is definietly a sense of sadness and grieving over the food.  The reason I came here is because I knew I could reach out and get some support. Thanks!

Hi, I too had doubts. I stumbled as well in eating chicken one night on the pre op liquid portion. That being said you have have to stop beating yourself up. It was a little slip up. The surgeons don't do that liquid diet beforehand to test your will. It is to shrink your liver so surgery will be easier and safersafe for you. Post op day one was No picnic and I had "buyers remorse".....Lol however once the pain was controlled and I was able to use the PCA pump that allows you medication every 8 minutes if you need it I was good. I am at day 5 now and am really feeling pretty OK. It still hurts at the primary surgical site when I get up and down or overdo but all in all It's well worth it. I look forward to keeping up with your progress. And again take it easy on yourself. Hugs, Pam.

The preop side is the hardest.  You still have a large stomach and all you are doing is putting liquid into it.  I know it is hard but hang in there.  I was one of the lucky ones that was not hungry on the back side of surgery.  Your mind is going to play with you and it is going to try and trick you into thinking you are hungry when you are not.  That is what they call head hunger.  If you feel it coming on then try and find something to occupy your time and it will probably pass.  Now I know there are people that have said that they were always hungry after surgery and I believe them but there are many people where it is just their brain telling them this and not their stomach.  By the 3rd or 4th day the preop diet gets easier but it is still hard.  Your body is going through detox and  you are going to probably feel irritable, tired and hungry.  STAY StRONG!

It is difficult to wrap your head around how it is different post op.  I was not perfect on my pre op diet, although I did take it very seriously- but two food funerals.  Post op, because of the phases that you have to go through to allow time to heal and the lack of hunger coupled with the restriction gives your body time to truly readjust.  By the end of the 6 weeks (phases that led up to regular food choices) my taste buds were completely recalibrated and I was no longer constantly craving just about everything.  Head hunger will be present, but it is conquerable if you don't BS yourself. 

Try not to assume you will fail.  I know it is tough- we all failed a million times prior to getting to the point of seeking surgery.  No joke, when I had surgery I was only hoping to lose enough to move around a little better, and didn't think I had a very good chance of getting to 220 pounds.  I had no problem making it all the way to a normal bmi, and many others do too. 

You can do it!

Thanks! I really needed to hear this tonight.  This IS something I really want and intend on making every effort.  I plan on using every resource available to me to make it through the "head hunger" and trying to figure out how I got this way.  I SO appreciate your support as well as all who have posted tonight.  I made it through day two without any more slip ups.  Hope to see everyone on the loser's bench soon.