Someone Please Talk to Me!

Right now I find myself shaking uncontrollably. Today I haven't seemed to think of anything but pizza and all the food I can't have. I feel like I'm going mad. I have a week of liquid left and I don't know if I can make it. I had no idea that food had such a hold on me. Right now the mental anguish I'm experiencing is almost unbearable. Please, someone talk to me. Am I going crazy here?

The pre-op liquid is tough but hang in there.  Focus on your future and what brought you to WLS.  I am day 6 post-op and doing very well.  Good luck.

I assure you you are not going crazy. The two weeks after surgery were my most emotional of this whole journey. It is when I too realized how insanely attached I was to food. It made me angry and so sad. I promise you it gets better. When you ate a little further along you can make dishes that will help satisfy that pizza craving but without the carbs (pizza is probably the food I obsess about most even now 7 months out. Its weird because I wasn't really a pizza fiend before surgery). Hang in there.  What you are experiencing is normal, but extra sucky because you can't turn to what you used to when you felt emotionally overwhelmed. It is a hard realization that food can no longer b our comfort. I'm sending you some positive thoughts. 

No, you're not going crazy, but I know that it feels like you are. Hang in there.  There IS a positive aspect to this, though, for the long term: you are realizing very early in the process how much power food has, so you can start right away working on ways to deal with the food cravings and to take back the power that the food currently has. It sounds trite, but it is true that the first step to solving a problem is recognizing that it IS a problem. 

Try to drink as many strong flavored liquids as you can.  That can help "trick" your brain. The Unjury Chicken Soup protein powder is great for that.  It has a lot of flavor and since it is sour, it mentally feels more like "food".  (Just be aware that it is high in sodium.) Chicken and beef stock is more flavorful than broth (and it has more protein).

Keeping yourself busy will help keep your mind off of food, especially if you keep your HANDS busy. When you find tthat your mind insists on fixating on food, sit down and make a list of all of the great things that will come from losing the weight.  That will keep you ocoupled, but it will also help keep your "eye on the prize" and, hopefully, will help strengthen your resolve to stick to the liquids. Focus on the rewards for staying strong and "on plan"!

Lora

Those 2 weeks of liquids were the worst.  The first week I worked and my co-workers kept me on track.  If I mentioned a food, they were quick to tell me I better not eat.  The second week I took off work and it was better being at home.  I kept thinking of my life and how nice it would be to be healthier and to shop in the misses department instead of the plus size.

Four days before surgery, my husband was gone and I was sooooo hungry.  I went searching for something that would taste good and I found one of his miniature Snickers.  That was the best Snickers I ever ate, but then I felt so guilty.  Would my surgery be cancelled because I cheated??  That was the only cheat it did.  My doctor didn't recommend them, but I ate sugar free popcicles.  Some plans allow sugar free Jello but I'm not a fan of Jello.

Take care, be strong......you can do this.

The pre-op diet is the worst but once you get your surgery it will be all downhill from their... Hang in there and keep telling yourself your going to make it. I was so weak by the time I got my surgery I just fell asleep in the hall reading to the surgical room and when I woke up I felt no stress or hunger. You'll make it just hang in there. and talk to us when you feel stressed everyone here has been through it and knows what you are feeling. chin up buttercup...

You aren't going crazy at all.  It is common so just know that it isn't you.  

Try to keep yourself busy.  Now is the time to distract yourself with a favorite hobby, cruise OH, call family/friends, etc.  

The liquid diet is a week more and then you'll progress to other options.  

Check out the OH blog and read articles such as the Non-Scale Victories (NSV) and Before/Afters.  Soon, that will be you and Bub with the amazing Before/Afters and NSVs.

Stay strong - You can do this!

Remember all the many reasons you wanted to have WLS.  

Today was a better day. I realize and understand what a huge piece of my past I'm breaking off from me and it's going to hurt. Bub and I are both hanging in. There were some rough patches there, but we're past them now. We try to keep communication between us kind and when it's less than that we let the other know it. It's been a week today post op. Thank you to all the OH partners and friends that have been there to support us both. I've found many of the comments to be much needed strength when I didn't feel I had any left. Thank you. It's especially comforting to know that I'm not losing my mind, just the weight. LOL

Stay away from the TV!!!  I felt like every commercial was filled with yummy delicious food I couldn't have!!!  I just finally turned the TV off.  At one point I wanted to lick the TV. 

LOL! I know how you felt.