Before/After food intake

One of my friends asked me if I'm really going to miss eating a lot of food after surgery or if it won't be so bad since I will feel full after so little. Not like a diet where you always feel hungry. Obviously I don't know the answer to that yet. I thought here would be a great place to ask that. Do any of you really miss eating a large portion of food? Obviously I'm sure you guys miss certain things (like a bag of chips for example) but do you actually miss eating a lot or get upset over not being able to finish a large portion? 

This would be a good question for those that are 3+ years and out. I'm only 5-1/2 months out and some of my favorite foods still make me cringe whenever I see or smell them. I really don't miss eating a lot of food. When my stomach has had enough, it really means enough and you can't or don't want to eat another bite. When I do get my head hunger going, water usually takes care of that. Its pretty amazing how different I feel about food now.

This is so great to hear. Thanks for the response!

90% of the time I'm okay with it, but then there's the occassional day where I miss eating a bigger portion or something like a big sub....but alas, I feel so good and am enjoying buying and wearing clothes much more!  I also miss an ice cold Pepsi in the summer but there's nothing redeeming about soda and I try to remind myself that.  There isn't much that I don't eat, now in maintenance, however, it's all in smaller portions which I try my best to get the most satisfaction from.

Nope, don't miss it at all. I can still eat most food that I like, I just slow down and eat less but still get to taste and enjoy it.

I don't even let myself SEE large portions. I measure out how much I can eat, and that's what I see. If I'm at a restaurant, I separate out the amount I can eat on one side of my plate and put the rest in a to-go box.

Sure, there are things I miss once in a while. But now that I'm in maintenance, if I want a french fry, I have a french fry-- I steal three from my husband, and that's all I get. And it's enough!

I felt differently about food for the first year post-op too....but then it comes back.  

What comes back?  For me, the hunger (not nearly as intense as pre-op), the food thoughts (just as bad as before) and some actual sadness over not being able to use food to stuff down my emotions.

I like to say if I'd only eaten when I was hungry that I would never have been a fat person.  The reason I was morbidly obese is because I ate for reasons that had nothing to do with actual physical hunger.  And THAT problem does NOT go away with surgery.  I still have episodes of eating for reasons that have nothing to do with hunger.  

Being all caught up in the excitement as a fresh post-op distracts you from these issues in the beginning.  But you need to plan to deal with it - and the sooner the better.   

^^^^  This EXACTLY.

The first year was all hearts and flowers and rugged determination.  I still don't feel physically hungry, but my brain still focuses on food.  I find myself eating out of boredom, which is a terrible habit to pick up (again).

I do not miss many of the things I ate before I had WLS, such as junk food, pizza, pasta, etc.  I now love to cook and eat my own healthy food.  My body feels better eating "clean."  I notice an immediate difference when I eat something with sugar alcohols or high in carbs.  Eating too much food now makes me feel sick instead of that intense pleasure from overeating I enjoyed prior to surgery.

Being a compulsive/emotional eater was not cured by WLS.  Therapy helps and finding new outlets to deal with emotions.  I've recently started meditation using an app called Headspace, and am taking a Qi Gong class (similar to Tai Chi).  I've discovered the world of adult coloring books (not as X-Rated as it sounds) and they give me a creative outlet that I find most enjoyable.  Then there's exercise.  I'm the last person on the planet who thought they would ever enjoy it, but I LOVE going for long walks in the evening.  I will need to step up my exercise program soon as I lose more weight but for now being outside, listening to music I love is most enjoyable.

Enough rambling.  Food is always going to have associations for me outside of sustenance.  That's a hard nut to crack. 

I'll just agree with Tracy D and GeekMo.  

DITTO again! Especially this: Food is always going to have associations for me outside of sustenance.  That's a hard nut to crack.

DITTO!