4 DAYS POST OP AND FOOD

So I’m only 4 days post op. I have no hunger sensation…..so why am I getting so annoyed with food….it’s EVERYWHERE….on TV, in my house, etc. Maybe I’m trying to avoid or “hide" from all food which is obviously impossible.   I even got a bit cranky when my wife made a grilled cheese sandwich and could smell it in the bedroom.  Is this part of the emotional stuff starting to happen? Before, I ate out of boredom, to relax, when angry, when happy, etc. Now, I’m not sure what to do with myself.  

I can't say I had the same problem with getting annoyed at the smell of food, but I did get annoyed with commercials on TV and such.  Seemed like every other commercial was some sort of food that I loved, I wanted to try, or otherwise looked irresistible.  (For example, I hate Taco Bell, but they had a commercial that just looked absolutely delicious and I REALLY wanted it)  What I did instead was find ssomething to take my mind off of it.  Turn off the tv and read a book, find something to do online, like read through the OH forums, or go walk around the neighborhood.


I do completely agree with the "emotional stuff" happening statement.  I too ate when I was bored, upset, etc.  Now, I have to find other things to do to occupy my thoughts so I don't obsess about eating.  However, and this is just me and not necessarily good advice for you, but what I did to get over the smell and such was to sit there with my wife while she cooked and ate and basically immerse myself in the smells and sight of her eating good food to kinda get it over with so it wouldn't bother me as much when we go out to eat or when I went back to work.  It is working so far.  Today was my first day back at work after my surgery and it was great.  Ate in the breakroom with a couple of friends and thier food was awesome looking, bt it really didn't bother me at all.

Keep your head up.  Will power isn't something that comes easily.  You just have to stick it out.  You have come this far in the journey, just hang in there.  I'm telling you, when you step on the scale and see the results of your hard work, it will reinforce the good behavior.  

Mike,

As a "foodie" you have given up your drug of choice to have a healthier life and life style.  You can't go to it now when you're bored or angry and it is causing some separation anxiety.  Like it was previously suggested find something to distract you when you feel bored or angry.  It'll be all right.

Emotions do run high at this point, and you will likely have some of the "what the hell did I do to myself" emotions that we all go through. Understand that you are going through normal feelings and it will pass. Part of this journey is the realization that everyone else does not need to change ... The change must come from within you otherwise you will be tortured forever.

My emotional freak out happened about 5 weeks out when I attended a family reunion and observed massive overindulgence of food and booze. Here I was only getting down 2-3 oz. of protein a meal and watched people getting down double and triple servings. Towards the end of the night everyone was so wasted I'm sitting there stone cold sober thinking to myself "what the hell am I doing here?"

I don't know about your family, but my relatives are a lot more tolerable when I'm drunk.

So often it's head huger...But it is still there.  It can be really tough.  This is what I did early on...And no, it may not work for you...But it did for me.  I went for a walk. I know it sounds over simplistic.  But the walk took away the head hunger, helped with the weightloss (which gave me the encouragement to not give in more), and got me away from the food.  Also the endorphins kicked it and gave me a "runner's high" that helped tons.  So, your security blanket is gone...What are you going to do??  We are here for support...but you are going to need to throw different things against the wall and see which one sticks for your personal situation.  I tell people the mental side of WLS is harder than the physical side...Esp as you drop the weight and society treats you different.  But getting past the head issue can be hard also.  It's like drug rehab...Day by day...Moment by moment.  Brian  PS  One more example...Six weeks post op I would have for breakfast; 1 teaspoon of yogurt, 1 teaspoon of Wendy's Chili, and 1 teaspoon of cooked spinach.  I did this for the first year.  You may be thinking that is not a typical breakfast!!  So!!  So!!  It worked for me.  Just saying you are going to have to find things that work for you...even outside the box...