fast food junkie - how did you overcome?

I have been considering wls and something that has been on my mind quite a bit is how you 'handle' food after surgery.  Due to having a hectic schedule and terrible planning skills we are hitting the drive thru A LOT.  Way more than I'd like to but it's a matter of convenience. 

I understand you have little appetite after surgery but was wondering how other people who were eating a lot of fast food made such drastic lifestyle changes?  I mean do they just tell you that you absolutely cannot because your body cannot handle it???  I'm clueless where the motivation comes from that keeps you from a) pushing the envelope and b) causes you to suddenly become organized and develop time management skills to prepare for meals?
 I'm worried... 

Also, i would be a self pay so i don't think I would be required by the doctor to do the 6 month pre-op dieting required by many insurance companies...although I am guessing would probably help with this...

I appreciate everyone on here so much for all the positive feedback and support you offer.  Thanks bunches for taking time to help!

This is a good question.  After you have surgery you have what is called a "honeymoon" period, it lasts 18 months - 2 years.  This is your window of opportunity to not feel much hunger and readjust your relationship with food.  It does take self control and commitment because the surgery will only be on your stomach and not your brain.  This would be the perfect time for some counceling or classes or whatever steps necessary to set yourself up for a lifetime of healthy eating. 

I work in fast food (McDonalds), I eat there each day that I work.  I make healthy choices, a side salad, fruit and yogurt parfait, egg muffin and throw away one muffin, it can be done but you have to be disciplined. 

As far as your body not handeling it, only 30% of post RNY patients dump.  I don't dump, I can eat sweets so I have to depend on my will power to not indulge.  I don't handle any thing greasy well. so it does detour me from fried foods.

As a self pay you need to think about your follow up care also.  Will your insurance pay for you blood tests post RNY?  I have had to have them every three months after surgery and the bill is $1500+ for the blood tests.  Will your surgeons office offer you free nutritionist visits and a councelor?  What will the fee be for office visits for follow up care with your surgeon? 

My insurance did not require six months of pre op dieting.  I don't think it affected my ability to change my lifestyle in any way.  Its a challenge even after surgery to eat right on a daily basis.  I am one year out from surgery and my appitite is coming back, especially if it has been longer than five hours since my last meal.  I have a tendency to want to graze and be an emotional eater, these are all things that will hinder my success if I don't get them under control and take responsability.

Jeannie

I am much like Jeannie in that I can eat sweets sometimes but just choose not to.  I have only dumped once and it was my own fault.  I do get an icky feeling and very tired from sugars.  So, I really find it easier to say "no thanks" most the time.

As for fast food, been there, done that.  But post-op I am sick to my stomach even thinking about greasy fast food.  I cant hand the greasy anything.  And it just makes me turn pale thinking about eating a mcdonalds hamburger.  Burger King's smell turns me green.  So when i do fast food because I have no choices, I go with salads or yogurt types of things. 

You also have to remember this is only a tool and you have to work it and use it correctly.  You need to push yourself to make the time to prepare for your meals and plan ahead for healthier eating.  I found it much easier to do that after making the commitment to have the surgery.  I wanted to do this right and for the most part.... I have done really well.  It is my new addiction.  They will tell you that alot of Obesity patients trade one addiction for another, meaning the role food plays changes so drastic that you will substitute it with something else.  Mine has become my reasearching better ways to improve my diet, my health, and connecting with other Obesity patients.  I am now turning it to exercising as well. 

I think you have valid concerns.  You just need to realize it is a lifetime commitment and you need to really take it seriously.  You will find more inner strength than you  even knew you had.

Good luck and glad you posted!!!

Huge hugs,
Tracy

The two weeks prior to my surgery, I went to all my usual fast-food places and ordered my favorites. It was on my lunch hour so I went through the drive-thru and ate in my truck. While I ate, I would explain to what-ever I was eating on why I could never have them again. Did it work? It's been almost 5 years and have not had a whopper, Rally fries, or Long John Silver's fish every since. We've been to a LJS...after they came up with the baked, no-batter fish dishes. So IF we go to a fast food, I make healthy choices. Wendy's is one of my top choices now...for their chili.

During those talks with my food, I not only got it through to that food/drink item...but also through to myself...on why those items weren't good for me. I now bring my lunch. If I forget, I make a healthy choice at my works cafateria. I like to try to be an organized person. In truth, I like the idea more than what I am actually good at it. I keep it in mind though that crappy foods will make me feel like crap so I make sure to allow a few extra minutes to pack my lunch. We eat out alot since it's just Bill & I. I try to make healthy choices then too..and bring home my leftovers..which is my next days lunch.

Sherri

I didn't have to do the 6 month diet either so I didn't have that time to change my habits. What I did have was the determination to succeed.  Now that I'm over 3 years out and what everyone tells me a "success" I am determined not to go back.
I guess my new addiction would be coolers. Yup the kind you put ice packs and food and drinks in.  To this day I almost never leave home without one.  If we go out shopping or to Bingo and even to church every Sunday - I carry my cooler.  I make sure we both have our water and if I know we are going to be gone quite awhile then I will pack some fruit, pudding, cottage cheese, low-fat cheese sticks or some type of snack that we can have and take it with us. 
We eat out quite a bit too but usually a sit down place.  With so many places offering curb side service you can get "fast food" from places like Bob Evans and Applebee's and you know they have lots of choices.  I love some of the new salads they have. Maybe you could keep some menus in the car and have the phone numbers in your cell.
The honeymoon period is the perfect time to learn new habits.  One thing that helped make it easier for me was not wanting to waste money.  When you are only eating a couple ounces of food at a time then I really felt it was a waste of money to buy food out.
This is not an easy road to travel but there really can be a pot of gold at the end of it.  I'm glad you're reading and posting here.  There are stories of all kinds and everyone will be almost brutally honest with their answers to your questions.  That sounds bad but it really is what you need to hear.  I wanted to hear the success and failure stories before I made my decision and I am glad I did.  It helped me become better informed and I think by learning from the others, I knew how to help myself more.

Good luck with your decision.

p.s.: You might want to go to someplace like Clarion Bariatrics Center.  I think they offer some type of a lifetime follow-up for support care for a one time fee.  Don't know if St. Vincent's does too.

Brenda

Since you are self pay, I would think that your head is in the right place because you are not doing this because you know that your insurance will pay for it.  There will be a greater appreciation there for you.  I paid myself for the majority of my cosmetic surgery.  And boy do I appreciate that fact.  When I start slipping, I look at my body in the mirror and all the blood, sweat, tears, and "Money" I have put into it, and that is a great motivator to get me back on track again.  I don't EVER want to see the image of my MO self again. 

Cheaper is not necessarily better.  I will probably get flamed for saying this but some go to Mexico to get things done because its cheaper.  BUT then they have to find their own follow up care doctor AND support people which is very, very important.  Many people just go have WLS and walk out and think they can do it on their own.  Statistics are well over 50% that patients don't come back for follow up with their doctor, the dietitian, or come to support groups after their honeymoon phase.  And sadly, satistics also say that they are the one's most likely to regain their weight.  The maintenance years are the hardest and the most crucial.  We all can lose weight, but we've always gained it back plus more.
 
I will be 9 yrs out in Sept.  How did I make such drastic changes?  #1 I didn't make drastic changes.  I made small changes very gradually.  Don't go into the surgery thinking that you are going to be deprived of all the foods that you love.  When those pounds of fat start dropping off of you, you will not feel deprived.  You will feel energized.  It will give you "HOPE" that you thought was never possible.  When we have hope, we develop determination.  I've learned to not look at things as being deprived.  That is negative thinking.  I've learned to think more about all the positive things I CAN do instead of.....   I learned ways to fill in those gaps and replace those old habits with new one's. Am I making any sense? 

You need to really evaluate the why, when, where, and what of food.  This is all within you.  Was there something traumatizing in your past that led you to eat?  If you don't acknowledge it and heal from it, you will have greater difficulty keeping your weight off. If you are depressed before WLS, don't believe losing weight will cure that.  You lost pounds and inches off of your body, NOT emotional issues inside of you.   What about your relationships with people?  Whether it be spouse, so, family, friends, co-workers, do they sabatoge your efforts to lose weight?  Are they a positve or negative influence on your life?  This is going to be a transition for them too.  They are comfortable with who you are now.  Prepare yourself to set boundaries with them.  This one is hard for me.  Next, are you willing and able to step up and put yourself first and do what is best for you instead of always making others happy, seeking their approval, and giving in to their wishes and desires?

These are all tough questions. But I keep telling myself, "If I keep doing what I've always done, I am going to keep getting what I've always got!"  Where does the motivation come from that keeps me from pushing the envelope?  #1 God never lets me down.  Talk to him often and also listen.  #2 Their is strengh in numbers.  Stay connected with other bariatric people that have walked in your shoes.  We know what you are going through because we're all at different phases of the same journey.  These people give you accountability, motivation, and determination. #3 Take lots of pictures of yourself.  Obese people don't like to "look" at themselves in a picture.  A picture is worth a 1,000 words!  You will visually see a new you transforming and help you regain your self esteem and self confidence in yourself. When you feel better about yourself, you are more motivated to DO better.

You said that you have "hectic" schedules and are not organized.  Us Post op's learn to set priorities.  Is WLS a priority for you?  Think of the things you CHOOSE to do now and how could you rearrange those choices to include something healthy and positive in your daily life?  It truly is the "small stuff" that I did the last 9 years that has got me to the place where I am today.

Start gradually to change how you think about your body and your health.  Look at it this way, your home is an investmant and so is your car.  So you want to take good care of them.  What better investment can you make then with your own body?  You can replace a car or a home.  But you can't replace YOU!!!  Is THAT worth a greasy burger, super sized fries, and coke?

I love you guys.  Thanks so much for your responses.  One thing I do know about myself is that I don't like to 'waste'.  What I mean by that is if I start working out then I HAVE TO eat right or I feel like I am wasting my time working out.  I can only hope i would feel the same way if I decide to have the surgery; I wouldn't want to waste it but to take advantage of it and change my life.  I just fear how hard that may be; that's why I wanted to ask you guys.  Not only have you given me some really good information but you have inspired me that i really can change.  I really do think once I have the surgery I would start working out like a mad woman (that becoming my addiction).  I am considering/researching lap band but I really want to do MY part...I want to feel good and I want to feel HEALTHY for the first time in 20 years. 

I really actually like the idea of talking to your food and telling it why you can't eat it anymore!!! When you continue to hear the same thing over and over again you begin to believe it, and right now I am trying to figure out if i can believe in myself I guess.  I won't have the surgery if I think I will not make a life change.  I really just want to use the surgery as a tool and not the total cure all.

I thank all of you soooo much for the information and sharing your experience!  You have really given me some things to think about!
*big hugs*
Kendra