Hard to say goodbye...to food :(

You're on a TEMPORARY liquid diet. I don't think most people are comfortable on all liquids. It won't be that long before you can eat real foods. You will have the enjoyment of eating again. I love to eat, I just don't stuff myself anymore and I eat healthier. Hang in there, it gets better.

That is awesome you found this site and you are so close to having your surgery. I can so relate to feeling sad, anxious. The first few weeks after surgery, Thanksgiving and Christmas, I remember crying my eyes out because I missed food. It was and is an emotional roller coaster and adjustment. I agree with Erin that the emotional piece is the most challenging. Due to hormone dumping and real feelings, I find that at dinner time (I prepare it) that I can get super snappy and angry. I am getting less emotional as time goes by and am gradually getting better at finding mechanisms to cope. More often than not I eat and leave the table stat. or I eat earlier than my husband. I was not diagnosed with BED prior to surgery but my psychologist was concerned. About 4 months out, I allowed myself a few french fries, ice cream, etc. Thank God after eating the ice cream I had the foamies and threw up. If I am craving something, I find now that it is best to substitute it with a healthier version or have a small amount (once in a great while) so I don't feel deprived. Foods don't taste the same to me after surgery, so in a way that has been a good thing. I also up my activity/workouts if I go over my calorie limit. It is a balancing act. Walking, swimming, recreational activities, gardening, etc. is what I focus on now. I keep super busy. My energy level is through the roof! This is the best I have ever felt physically and mentally my whole life. You have so much to look forward to!!!!

So you need to get mad at food and find out what foods got you fat and put them on a list of "no". Fo me it was just about everything sweet, I was a sugar addict and just started my morning with it and would carb out all day.

My first trip with WLS I had too many I'll never be able to have this again issues and it made me crazy and of course I was mourning food something terrible. But that's not the right way to think about it. You will be able to put just about anything back into your body regardless of the type of WLS you had eventually and you need to just decide what type of foods you want to eat and what types of foods cause you trouble. I don't mean like bathroom trouble either, I mean like you eat them and you can't stop or that they make you want more, or they are horrible choices calories vs nutrition wise.

You are about to travel on a great journey that will change your body if you can change your mind.

There is lots of good advice in this thread, but I'd like to offer you a slightly different perspective.

I, also, mourned the loss of food pre-op the thought of not being able to go out and eat all my favorites all the time just made me very sad. I had always loved food, and eating things I love brought me a lot a pleasure and the thought of leaving that behind was almost devastating.

in retrospect, I could not have been more wrong. First of all, the reduction/elimination in hunger over the first several months makes you temporarily forget all of that. I had no desire to eat at all, therefore I didn't miss any of that food.

But more importantly than that, I didn't give up eating! In fact, I may enjoy the food I eat now more than at any other time in my life. I have gone back to cooking a lot of my own meals after basically never cooking for over 10 years. I absolutely love trying out new recipes, and there is an amazing amount (really endless amount) of great and healthy food out there. I am also much more mindful about my eating which really increases my level of enjoyment - I no longer just shovel crap in my mouth!

In the end, there is very little I truly miss. For most of those that I do miss, I've found substitutes For those that I've not found a substitute (and honestly, besides gnocchi I'm having a hard time of thinking of a single one) I have it maybe once a month now that I'm in maintenance. And now I split an order with my daughter and eat less than half of it. I also don't eat the 10-12 breadsticks I used to have along with it.

Bottom line? I eat healthier than i ever have in my life AND I enjoy my food as much or more than ever. I learned it doesn't have to be an OR situation.

This.

Also, while some people find that they have to cut out certain foods that trigger binges or overeating, others find that just forging a new relationship with food makes all the difference, and they maintain well with a moderation approach.

I know long-term WLS patients who indulge in whatever foods they really want, the difference before and after was in quantity and frequency. It's not a daily (or several times a day) "treat", and they don't sit down and eat the whole thing. They have a few bites of something they really want, and then walk away. And they choose higher quality foods overall, but also with their splurges. One of my BFFs loves chocolate, but she doesn't have calories or pouch space (she's a RNYer) for cheap chocolate. If she decides to splurge on chocolate, it's freakin Godiva truffles. And she has 1, maybe 2 and then she's done.

The other thing I take away from my BFF and my other close friends who have had WLS is that when they eat off plan, it's a CHOICE. I worked for several months with my therapist on food issues before surgery. I now realize that I was eating out of habit, and often without any conscious decision to eat, or what to eat, or how much to eat. I didn't have a freakin clue what a real portion size was, even though I've done WW and the like most of my life. Now, when I have something off plan, it's a choice I make, not something I do out of habit or emotion and it's a very conscious process. And because it's a conscious process, I make a clear decision about the amount I'm eating, and then it's done. I don't graze, and I don't eat mindlessly anymore.

As I said, the moderation approach doesn't work for everyone. Many posters here and on other forums talk about carbs being a trigger for them that always leads to overeating and loss of control. They've made decisions about abstaining from foods they know to be detrimental to their eating plans. It's seriously a case of being real with yourself and knowing if you can do moderation well, or if it's a road to complete regain for you.

I had quite a bit of time between decision to have surgery and the actual event. I used this time to think about "letting go" of food. Somedays I felt actual fear at the idea of never eating a cookie again. But I began to slowly accept this and reminded myself that I had probably eaten a million cookies in my life and didn't need them any more. I also reminded myself that I have had many fancy meals in great places and its not like I ever lived a deprived life. I also began to think of this as a new deal. I traded in the ability to eat endless candy and junk and in exchange I got my health. Its a good deal. I admit I had surgery at age 58 and this might have been harder at a young age. And I still can eat a cookie every once in awhile but really don't crave them anymore. Diane S

You will still be able to eat certain foods. I can eat pretty much anything without a problem. Should I? Nope.

Come here and ask questions you the search tool also. The vets really want to help.

I had many food funerals. I hate to admit it. I did.

The benefits outweigh from WLS are amazing. Life is so much easier now. Don't get me wrong the head part is the hardest.

I still struggle with how I look now. Just being able to do so many things now. Like going up and down stairs without getting out of breath.

Flying is something I do not dread anymore. I still struggle with plastic furniture at parties. It may sound silly but the fear of breaking a chair was always on mind.

Best wishes to you.

The important part is to pay attention to your gut, no pun intended. You know better than anyone else what goes on in your head and your relationship with food. You might have a totally different experience than anyone on this board. Some people have the surgery and are able to just walk away from their trigger foods, some of us struggle with it more. Food is a huge part of our lives and life in general. It's healthy and appropriate to be asking these questions now before surgery and figuring out how you'll handle it.

If you have a local support group, they can be really helpful. The workbooks can walk you through some of what to expect and ways you might deal with different situations. The real fight is the one that goes on with your head and your emotions. What do you tell yourself? How do you think about things and how able are you to change your thinking? For instance, when I quit smoking, I had to focus on the fact that I'd chosen this for myself. That it wasn't that I "couldn't have a cigarette" (i.e., making myself a victim somehow which leads to rationalizing which lead to smoking). Reminding myself that I wanted to be healthy and live for future kids was more empowering and effective in the long run. That's what I have to do with food now. Find ways to adjust my thinking in order to avoid sabotaging myself.

Food also fills emotional needs, or, at least, we tried to make it fill those needs. It's important to be aware of whatever that is for us and to find other ways to meet those needs. The whole "head hunger" thing. If I'm not hungry, why do I want to eat right now? What am I really feeling? What else can I do about it? Taking food out of the equation leaves a hole and we have to find healthier ways to fill those holes. Exercise is good for this too, not just physical wellness. It's a stress reliever, gets us out and about, helps manage mood and gives us something to do. Hopefully we can get into other activities that we wouldn't have done before that help us be active but meet some of those other emotional needs too! I'm hopeful to find more social activities that don't revolve around food!! That would be extremely helpful!

It's not easy yet it is do-able. Good luck!!