I have a question

After surgery did anybody struggle with cooking for their family? Im not that great of a cook anyway but when IM not hungry it might make it even harder. Believe it or not this question woke me last night in the middle of a good sleep! I guess its the small things that worry me. hehehe any advice? Sally

You know I am the cook for the household and even post surgery didnt have any major issues with cooking for the family. I actually started to get a bit more creative in my cooking...and was really making things that were more friendly to my new diet vs. everyone elses....and I got no complaints. I still cook everyday...and have really gotten good at preparing portions that will be ate during that meal only...vs. cooking for an army. Best of luck. Dave 411/220/170

Honey, after surgery you will honestly wonder how the hell these people can want to eat all the time... I am serious... you will be almost angry at the thought they want you to cook for them.. again... but you know, sit back laugh... cause when you were one of them you loved it... we change.. we start out kinda angry ..cause we just lost our best friend food. and they have not.. but I tell you at 3yrs out in July and over 140 lbs down.. it is awsome.. I went from size 26 to 10 and I now cook what they want only.. I dont understand them... well I do but I refuse to belive I used to eat that junk..haha you will have to take some crap if you have kids.. my son who is a teen and his pals dogged me... I would take one bite and be done... but now they all tell me how great I look and I am greatful I was smart enough to never be angry with them.. they just had restraint and stopped eating when full as to where I could not.. you will do fine.. it will be hard at first but then you will be writing to someone soon telling em... piece of cake ... blessing to you.. Cheryl in AZ

Good question! I can see why you'd worry! I still worry about what I'm going to cook and it's been almost 3 1/2 years since my surgery! .....What I have gravitated to slowly is a ditching of all carbs and/or "side dishes" from the meal. In fact, the joke at our house is that instead of yelling "it's dinner time" ...I yell "the protein's ready...the carbs are up to you!"....My daughter had to have a physical before she headed off for college last fall and the doc called with her lab results saying she was fine with everything but he wondered why her "protein count" was sooooo high! LOL! It of course is a healthy thing!.... Gradually start weaning your family away from the nasty things and they won't even really notice. There are so many healthy substitutes now that tastebuds are easily tricked. For isntance, my family now eats Shirataki tofu noodles with spaghetti sauce and they don't even know it! LOL! Or, I buy the wheat pasta which is a better carb option. My side dishes are a lovely green salad with a variety of add in's to make them interesting instead of the old usuals or rice, potatoes, breads. When I have company (usually on Sundays) I still prepare some old favorites like the cheesey potato casserole that is to die for good.....my jello salad is always sugar free, my dessert option is almost always a sugar free or else I"ll have one of each type....and if I cooke a big old pasta meal or something then I just enjoy the meatsauce over some french green beans or something similar. Just improvise! It doesn't have to be a big issue at all! Healthy changes are good for everyone and not just you! Huggggz, Joyce

Great advice everyone!! Thank you. I will need to look for more cook books with protein than carbs thats for sure. My sweetie is very health concious but still likes goodies from time to time. You know what I will miss most of all? Cheezits!! I love those! Thank you everyone, as always I know I can depend on you for the right answers! Sally

Hey Sally, Just as a side note. When I had my pshc eval for the wls clearance, My pshc doc told me that he had a patient that was a very heavy Iltalian woman who was wanting to get the gastric bypass done. She lived at home with a large extended family that loved to eat!! Her "job" in the household was to be "the cook". The doc told her that she needed to change family jobs if she wanted to be sucessful with the RYN. This devistated her to the point that she dropped out of having the surgery because she knew she couldn't and/or didn't want to give up her job as the family cook. I assured the dr. that the lady could had continued as the cook..I think that there are allot of misconceptions regarding life after wls. There definately is a adjustment period that a person has to go through post-op..but that too does pass. After our short conversation, I hope I educated the doctor on a few things. Hugs and smiles, Ginger P.S. I'll be thinking about you on Friday--girly girl--hope your skinniest wishes come true!

I made my family aware up front before surgery to count me out as the coo****il I felt up to it. There is enough frozen dinners and restaurants to keep them happy. Since eating out was not on our budget they were forced to be creative. I began cooking after 6 weeks when I was eating regular food. I would then cook but they would have to taste ex rice and pasta. You have to focus on yourself for a little bit and then you can start catering to your family. There is nothing wrong with them making pot pies or fish sticks or even a frozen Pizza. You need to take care of yourself post op and put yourself first. My husband hates to cook so I think he will deliberately burn the food so he didn't have to do it. I stood my ground and if he burned it he had to eat it. My job was to take care of me. They survived without starving to death and things were back to normal at 6 weeks. Good luck