The thrill is gone...

...Oh yeah, the thrill is gone!

Since surgery, although my weight loss is progressing pretty well, something is missing...

Eating has become a chore...I now anticipate mealtime; selecting things I can have, chewing it to death, worrying about possible stomach aches, etc. I now eat to get enough proteins, vitamins and anti-oxydants...My brain knows that i'm doing is right, but the "foodie" in me is bored to death! Will eating become pleasurable again?

Is anyone experiencing similar things?

P.S.: Sorry for using the board for moaning, but I had to get that out!

Hi Joel, I am sorry you feel like this... Here is  the right place to come to express your feelings, because we all live the same things...
I am only 2 months out, so I don't know if I will be bored in a few months, but for now, it,s getting better... I was bored in the beginning, but now, I started cooking again, adapting recipes and eating well. The only problem is that it's so good I want to eat more, but I have to stop.!!!  I find it difficult to eat a small portion of a good home cooked meal...
I don't know what you cannot eat with your surgery, but I thought you can eat the same thing as us vsg? I eat about everything, except bread, rice, pasta... And I don't chew to "death" lol!
I use a program on my Iphone to enter what I eat and it calculates the proteins, fat, etc... You can find some also on the web. I try to check the carbs, and the proteins, but I know that if I have a shake in the morning and meat at dinner and lunch, my proteins will be ok...So I am counting less and less...

I understand it must be more important for you to check the vitamins, etc, because of the malabsorption...
Maybe it's because I am the one who always planned  family meals, but I find it easier now that I can eat almost the same thing as everyone... The only problem is when I am too tired to make supper, we used to... go to the restaurant or fast food...

Do you cook? Maybe we can share some recipes, to make mealtime less a chore...

Please continue to share your thoughts, this is what this forum is all about...

Thanks for your support Diane,

I do like cooking, trying new recipes, listening to cooking shows on TV and I like cooking supplies store as much as hardware stores!  These days, I miss enjoying a good cooked meal. After a few bites of such a meal, I fill full, so I stop eating...knowing very well that I'll have to snack one hour later (probably on something much less inspiring...). And usually, things don't taste as good as they did pre-op even if they're prepared exact same way.

The one thing I miss the most is (a small portion of) a nice cut of meat...Could a get a break from ground meat, fish fillet or poultry drenched in sauce or gravy? I had a bit of a hard time recently when I tried to have pork tenderloin, grilled chicken breast (w/o sauce) or steak. I used to love that stuff and cooking it in a healthy way is very feasible...

On the other hand, I have no problem with eating small amounts of bread, rice or pasta (if it's completely cooked, as in pasta salad). I sometimes have to get a bit more carbs to avoid constant ketosis, wich, over the years, could be detrimental to my nervous system.

I sure hope things will get better with time, and I plan to address the issue at my next follow-up appointment. Maybe my digestive tract has has some kind of obstruction...For the time being, I'm losing weight and I guess that I can't have my cake and eat it too!!!

Though I can't speak from experience, but I am really curious about your question regarding the enjoyment of food following the surgery.  I am still on the waiting list, and will be for another 2 years I bet, but I've been continually reading books and articles about life after the surgery.  One book I recently borrowed from the library is called "Before and After - Living and Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery" by Susan Leach.  She is a self described "foodie" who loved to cook gourmet dinners and visit markets and restaurants with her husband.  She wanted to find out if she could adopt a new healthy way of eating, but not totally give up her lifestyle of loving delicious food.  Half of the book is her journal of post surgery, and the other half is a collection of low carb, high protein recipes.  I haven't tried the recipes yet, but just her description alone on how she handled restaurants and visiting families etc. was totally worth it.  I guess she also started an online business called bariatriceating.com which I'm just now discovering all the neat products and articles listed there.

Maybe this will be helpful to you or others.  Good Luck!

I so understand you Joel. Today is not a good eating day for me and yes I agree with you the thrill is gone. I am mourning that part of my life now with gastric bypass. Social eating is definately not easy and I am own that is very comfortable talking about my surgery. It is not that pleasurable anymore. My taste buds have changed and things don't taste flavorful. My husband says its me cuz he finds my cooking has not changed. I eat more out of necessity but if I could skip it the whole thing that would be fine with me. Now I know for those of you waiting for your surgery are scratching your head saying wtf but no matter how prepared you think you are; no matter how much you read on this topic you need to live this experience to fully grasp it. I know that it isn't the same for everyone but I still have a hard time eating. Everything feels like I ate way too much at a Thanksgiving supper. I feel bloated and somewhat nauseated for an hour after eating. I still cook and experiment with food but still have a hard time getting the food down. After a couple of tablespoons I am so full. I force myself to eat at least a cup full of food per sitting to ensure I get the nutrients I need and to fine tune this tool of mine but it isn't that enjoyable. I miss swallowing water without pain. I definately miss a big bowl of pasta. I have been noticing lately that head hunger is sneaking its way in. For the last two weeks I have been craving ice cream. I never was a big ice cream eater prior to surgery. Go figure. On a good note I was able to start eating apples and oranges lately and they were more delicious than I remembered. So I guess it isn't with all foods. Sorry about all this negativity but I too needed to vent today. Tomorrow should be a better day.

Thank you so much Brenda...You litterally read my mind!!!

I totally connect with these comments you made:

"My taste buds have changed and things don't taste flavorful."
"I eat more out of necessity but if I could skip it the whole thing that would be fine with me."
"I still cook and experiment with food but still have a hard time getting the food down."

I think ketosis is responsible for the inhability to taste as I used to...Because the body burns fat, my breath is loaded with ketones, wich have a caracteristic varnish remover taste, and makes most everything taste like dog pooh.

On that basis, I hope that taste will come back as weight loss slows down...I'll have to wait and see!

P.S.: For my pre-op friends: Even though I do complain about this aspect of sugery, be assured that I don't regret having chosen surgery one bit. The weight loss it allows is life-changing and is worth millions! But the change is very sudden and necessitates an adjustment period...

Very well said Joel for Preops....I don't regret my decision and would still do it over if I had to. There are so many positives in this process....we are stuck at this stage my friend but we will go through this ....but Joel 'dog pooh'!?. Your taste buds are worst off than mine....LOL

Ok, maybe "dog pooh" was a bit too much...But I think you got the idea...mission accomplished then!)