Food Panic

Today we had some guests over for dinner. I did a ham, scallop potatoes, corn, peas, and carrots. Apple pie for dessert. 

So I have a bit of everything for dinner of about a total of 1 cup of food. I then had 2 bites of apple pie....then the panic starts to set in. I didn't feel any restriction! So I worry all day...have a piece of ham to see if the protein will give me a feeling of full...nope...then try a greek yogurt (these were spaced about 2 hours apart) I finally felt some restriction. I know that Dr. Savoie said that I would be about 4-7 months before eating was comfortable but holy scare the crap out of me with what I felt was a huge amount of food.

Well off to MFP and log my food intake and it was 1000 calories! I haven't been able to do more than 400-600 calories and the odd time of 800. 

Anyway my lesson for today is to make sure that I log my intake to keep things in perspective. Suzanne wants me to get to 1200 calories.

How many calories are the veterans taking in? 

Are there times that you don't feel restriction?

Is there something I should watch out for?

Is this normal with VSG people?

What you have gone through is totally NORMAL!!

People seem to think you will feel full after 3 bites and that will last forever, that is not the case.

Some days you will feel major restrictions, and 1 day out of the blue, you will feel like you can eat anything and never get full. I've been through it and still am. Scared the **** out of be in the beginning as i didn't think it was possible to eat more than i was used to.

Eventually, every could possibly eat like a normal person, or eat as many calories as a regular person.  All depends what we decide to put in our mouths and how long we wait in between.

For the first 11 months for me i was fine, however i did get a day here and there that i was able to get to 1200 calories, however the norm at that time was 900-1000.

The thing is, certain foods will go in like water, for example, for me it's always been fruit, excluding the banana, but any other fruit, I've NEVER felt any restriction when eating it, possibly because there's a lot of water in fruit, who knows.

I can also eat 1/2 cup cottage cheese and lets say 1/2 cup of strawberries and 1/2 blueberries mixed all together, which is about 1 1/2 cup of food, however i still don't feel any restriction and could still continue eating.

Give me 3 oz of real meat, and i will only be able to eat about 1/2 cup of veggies, if that, and i feel like i just left the buffet.

Right now, depending on what I CHOOSE to eat, it's very EASY to eat about and over 2000 calories in a day!!  It doesn't seem possible at first, and if people aren't there yet they might judge, however it is definitely POSSIBLE!

So for me, I know if i want to keep within calories range, which i have my fitness pal set at 1300 calories right now, I know the type of food i need to eat, however I don't always make the "Right" choices as I am just HUMAN. I'm ok with that. 

People also in the beginning, including myself, didn't think it would be possible to eat the amount of food we are able to eat later on in the journey, some people it might happen before rather than later. Everyone has their own journeys and we are all unique, that will include also what we are able to eat or choose to eat.

It's true what they say, this is a lifetime change, however we are all still human and we will not live off salads for the rest of our lives.  I try to do my best during the week, however during the weekend, if i feel like having something, I go ahead and eat it, in moderation of course, because I can still say today, that I was and still am a food addict. 

I also exercise lots during the week, except for last week that is as i had absolutely no energy, and i will not be surprise if by my weigh in day I've gained a few lbs.  I'm still OK with that. 

I used to feel lots of guilt before when I had something to eat that I wasn't SUPPOSED to have, however I try to not make myself feel that way anymore and it's helping me a lot.

Hope that answered some of your questions and just wanted to point out that this journey is not as easy as some people think it will be.  Eventually cravings starts to crawl back and you are able to consume way more food, and it's really kind of scary as we are all scared we might gain back weight.  

What's been working for me, is i use My Fitness Pal on a daily basis to track everything i put in my mouth, and exercise lots.  Without, these 3 tools, the sleeve, MFP and exercise, i can't honestly say where I'd be today in weight wise.

Thanks for your words of advice! As one who is still waiting for the vsg, it all is a bit scary, counting and watching foods, wondering how we will feel afterwards...etc. you had a lot of good experience on a few different things to make us waiters think more about! Thanks!

Thank you so much. I had a feeling that I was failing and started to panic. This was the first time that I have not felt restriction with a meal.

A pattern that I am starting to see emerge in this journey is that I won't lose any weight for 2-3 weeks and then actually feel hungry for a couple of days and then weight comes off. For example this week I have lost 6 lbs in 3 days. 

This may very well be a trigger for me down the road because I don't want to get a mindset of "oh I can eat anything because the weight will come off anyway". 

I will have to be very careful as like most of us I am a food addict as well and have to be very acutely aware of the "mind" negotiating that I could start i.e. Oh I can eat 10 cookies because I will lose weight anyway, etc.

 

Look at you go... down 82 lbs... holy crap!! Congrats...

Thanks. Won't be long until we will be reading the same thing about you on this forum. Any news yet?

Opps 83 lbs not 82.. And no I havent heard a word yet..But I continue to make small changes and taking baby steps until I get my surgery date.. July 27th I gave up my pop and shortly after that I gave up ice-cream and McDonalds... Those are my huge downfalls and I know that I have to change my way of thinking and eating and those three things there controled my life and I decided to hell with that Im going to control it!! I realize you dont have to give up everything you enjoy but those things really took control of me so I much rather just kick them out of my life... Recently I took up walking and I am up to 25 minutes a day and am really enjoying it.. Just really getting myself ready and prepared.. Im so happy for you!! Keep up the great work, I know it isnt easy..

I wonder if anyone in the group has heard? I so hope it's soon!  

You were right about the 82 lbs. I updated after your original post. 

I think it is a really positive step that you are making the changes ahead of your surgery. I worked with a dietician about a year before my surgery and I took a course called "Craving Change" through our local community centre. The Craving Change spoke to the emotional and cultural aspects of eating. It was focused on the emotional aspect without a weigh in. This was offered by Health NB. 

One of the things I learned from the dietician was take small steps i.e. instead of ordering a medium or large ice cream cone order a small. That one step that I took made me realize that I could be satisfied with a small ice cream and I wasn't even aware of it until I started practicing that concept. Now on the other hand, I couldn't keep a bag of cookies in the house because I know I wouldn't be able to stop at 1.

Anyway all this to say is that the support after surgery is basically nil so anything you can do prior to your surgery will help in the long run.