Food issues?

Hehe, when I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, back in 2012, I grabbed a bag of sugar free jelly belly jellybeans.  I proceeded to eat the whole bag at once.  Ummmmm, yeah.  I had to leave work that day because I had "gastrointestinal distress".  

I can imagine...lol. Three damn little sugar free Hershey's or Reese's were more than enough for me pre-RNY to spend an afternoon hating life. A whole bag of anything like that would have been the end of days level misery for me. 

Now, I can't even chew sugar free gum. I loved gum...but now it does NOT love me. 

 

I swear I remember reading a post here from someone who was sick of being constipated so ate those gummy bears on purpose.  Did the trick too :D

I think these new habits will be very useful post-op.  Surgery will change your stomach, but you need to change the way you think about food.  

Even post-op I avoided most processed foods aside from my protein shake.  I did have sugar free popsicles during the post-op liquid stage and I think that's it.  I'm not a fan of processed stuff and I love to cook.  I still love to cook :)  I'm a control freak so I like to know exactly what's going into my body.  

Beyond this, I agree with whatever Grim said.  (I read it last night and just remember that I agreed completely.)

I totally disagree, food can be evil, it's what got you to this point.  Ice cream will never pass my lips again from Ben & Jerrys as I used to eat a pint a day.  That was bad.  Ironically since rny surgery ice cream is the one sure thing to make me sick even if it's only a couple teaspoons full.  That's actually good for me, of all food ice cream was my serious weakness.  Not all food is created equal.  You have to learn what's good and healthy and you can tolerate.  There are people who think bacon is fine to eat.  Never, is my answer.  Processed foods that are filled with nitrates and chemicals are never good for anyone, but you are your own boss.  I do eat reduced fat cheese and as fat free as possible chicken, I try to pick organic, gmo free healthy choices.  I don't jump on the bandwagon for the healthy food du jour, I have tried and true choices that keep my weight and blood sugar stable.  But it's all a learning curve for each individual.  The commitment must be to do whatever it takes to make it work, because honestly in a few years you are on a diet, so many gain it all back and more.  I refused from day one to ever be that person and I keep my calories down to prevent regain, the older I get the less I need to eat to stay the same.  It sort of sucks but it better to be at goal 11 years out and keep food as just food instead of the entire reward system of life.

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for your awesome advice and insight!!

I've taken a screen shot of this thread so I can keep re-reading it :)

Thank you again ! 

To be host, I think food addictions are something that cannot be easily solved through CBT. I totally get needing to address the mental health component when getting WLS, but the reality is that food is not like another addiction- you cannot go cold turkey.

I chose a surgery that would allow me to eat normally and maintain my weight loss that is why I had the DS. When I told people that 10 years ago, I had a lot of mean comments thrown at me-I was called lazy, told I had no self control, and i was vile and malicious for saying something like that on this site. However, 10 years later, I've been able to maintain my weight loss easily.

Like Grimm, I spent the first 2 years post op thinking about food and planning meals. You're not going to be able to get away from that-because during your first 2 years- regardless of the surgery, you need to really be ready not to "cheat". . Otherwise you'd be throwing away an opportunity to be thin.