Brand new PRE-OP newbie i have a question or 50..lol

hey folks. as it states in the subject im a newbie. I have a consultation with Dr Michael Wood in madison hts , MI on the 30th. Im paying for my surgery out of pocket (insurance excludes WLS). I am 5'10" about 340lbs and 40 yrs old...i have not decided on which surgery i am going with, im thinking the Sleeve, but that has nothing to with my question.
 My question is ....As some of you may be able to relate. Sometimes i feel like im addicted to foods, especially the "bad, junk" foods. i.e. at work i have eaten my lunch, then a customer sends us a free pizza. although i will say (outloud even) damn i just had lunch. I cant help it i will eventually eat a piece of pizza or 3....like i cant stop myself. I cant imagine that WLS takes that feeling of wanting the food, even though your not hungry. So how do you deal with that. YOur not hungry there is free food that you like, what stops you from eating it.  Have some of tried and got sick., or is there a mind set change after the surgery....i know this a broad questions with everyone being different, but if anyone can relate please let me know. thanks. im also looking for information the PRe-OP diet, i have found a ton of what you can drink or eat, but looking for more like what the dr gives you to follow....

there is a difference between head hunger and being hungry.

What you are describing sounds like head hunger. Before you can get your surgery you will have requirements to do before you are authorized. One of those things should be a Psych eval.
so you can determine if you are a food addict or not.  One thing for sure if you have the surgery and eat too much or over eat than you will probably puke. And feel sick and have to rest your tool for a day to calm it down. And if you stuff you re pouch too many times you will stretch it and Get fat again or worse

The WLS is not a  get it and now eat what or how much you want . It is a tool and you will still need to take vitamins daily and control your food intake.

I am in process of getting my surgery so I will let some of the vets answer you better.

My Best advice is do your research so you know exactly what you are getting in to.

and Good Luck and best wishes on your journey.

P.S. Read the Q & A section on this site it is a good place to start.

thanks Mary. i have done a crap load of research, that food addict is my las bit of research i have to do for myself. Im sure the dr will give me more info on the 30th but this is for my own personal knowledge..

im not sure if this going thru or not, But thanks Mary . i wish you the best of luck in your journey.
can you give me some info on pre-op diet please

I am not there yet.
 but from what I understand different Doctors require different pre-opt diets and some require none. Your doctor will give you the low down on that. Or you could see if any one has that doctor you have.
don;t be shy about asking questions here there are a lot of veterans of WL and somebody will know something.  That is what this site is for.

You can even ask questions that don't relate to WLS by starting with OT: then the questions
people are very nice here. And there is always some one who has walked in your shoes on this journey.

We are having a meet and greet on 10/10/09 at a cider mill watch the Michigan boards for a Reminder. this is something that  the MI members are just starting.

I believe there is some level of food addiction in all of us.  Dr. Williams (the psych who works with my surgeon) says that all morbidly obese people suffer from OCD to some degree.  So facing the fact that you're dealing with a food addiction is the right first step.  This WLS thing is only about 10-25% the surgery - all the rest is the emotional and mental work we have to do on our own.  But that 10-25% surgery gives us the chance, that tiny sliver of opportunity,  to deal with the mental stuff while the surgery is doing it's job. 

So resisting tempting foods is a combination of a few things post-op. 

1 - many foods can make you sick and the negative reinforcement will cause your brain to shut down the cravings for those types of foods.  If you dump on sugar, you'll avoid sugar like the plague because you don't want to experience dumping.  If bread makes you feel bloated and sick and want to vomit, you avoid bread.  These negative reinforcing triggers help you to establish the long lasting habits - even when those negative reactions are no longer an issue.

2 - the mental and physical work you're doing is hard.  And when you're faced with the choice of screwing up all the hard work you've done and seeing the scale move in the wrong direction -- your brain often kicks your butt and you simply don't want to make the mistakes or eat the crap or skip a workout.

3 - crappy food makes you feel crappy.  So even if you don't dump or don't feel sick after certain foods... you'll probably notice a general feeling of "ick".  I can eat normal pizza without getting truly sick.  But afterwords I don't feel very healthy - like my body knows I just fed it crap, so it starts to feel sluggish and ornery.  But when I feel my body healthy food I have energy and feel mentally clear and happier... so I want to feed my body the foods that make me feel my best. 

A lot of this might seem strange.  And really it's difficult to explain because some things you can't fully understand until you're on the other side experiencing it.  I try to explain to people how it feels to "never be hungry" ... or what the new feelings of "hunger" are like (more of an "empty feeling" or a knowledge that "i need to eat").  You just can't get it until you live it sometimes.  You just have to go into this journey with the faith that it all works as long as you're willing to make it work.

Welcome to the forums.  We're here to help... ask the rest of your 50 questions and we'll see what we can do.  :-)

Pam

Like I said before. Pam is a wealth of knowledge.
I had to smile when she said you probably just won't really be able to understand it until you're post op.  I don't really get hungry, and only eat because I know I should.  Then I don't eat much, because I don't even want to.  I don't have any of the cravings that I used to, oops, sometimes I crave crunchy, but I definately don't crave sweet, which is a miracle in itself.  My mindset has changed since surgery in that I'm very cognisent of the fact that that I need protein first.  Sometimes I think I want pizza, but the thought goes away quickly.  I don't want to get sick.  I have been sick too, from eating too fast or not chewing enough.  You'll find what works best for you.  There is a mindset change after WLS.
Jan

thanks for the info on the mindset feeling and you are right Pam has certainly done a lot of research, i too have done a bunch, but new to this site so finding new things out all the time.

i have to ask, although i did not see in the "TERMS AND CONDITIONS" is Pizza a bad word here.sorry that i wrote it , if it is

HI, I just had surgery with Dr Wood on 9/14/09. Darci , his nutritionist goes over in detail the preop, post op and continuing diet requirements with you. Like you I had a head food addiction. Yum! that looks good, I think I'll try it.  Fortunately now that I've had surgery, I understand that it is all in my head. I see somethin and say Yum that looks good, but I'm not hungry and I know that I really don't want it. The preop diet is really just trying to eat healthier until just prior to surgery. Of course you may need to lose a little if the Dr. requests. Darci will help you with that.  I am/was a very picky eater especially with DIET food, but we still managed to take off 25 lbs without major changes. 

Good luck in your journey!