Will I ever be normal again?

I had RNY on 2/25/15 and I feel great!  However I find that I am frustrated with the food choices I have been given.  Will I ever be normal again?  Will I be able to go out to eat with my husband and have something resembling normal food.  I know that the portions will be small, but I just feel do deprived.  Not of sweets of even carbs, Just normal regular food.  Like a baked potato, or a Banana,  Does this get better as time goes on?  Please tell me it does!

you know that potato and banana are carbs? right? 

but joke aside - I eat out all the time.. semi normal meals. 

I don't eat potatoes or bananas, but only because I still have a small pouch and after meat and some veggies - there is no room for anything else...

some people eat potatoes and bananas,I chose not to, but i would eat a few fries here and there... I used to love sweet potato fries, but since I only can have 2-3 pieces, I choose not get that.. 

Had to laugh I also was thinking Banana/Potato ..Yep definitely Carbs.   

But anyways I found this chart for maintenance at the link bariatric- surgery-Chart  But that doesn't apply to us Newbies, and even then all of the things you mentioned are supposed to be the exception, rather than the rule.  Like Hala said, you have to choose between whats good for you and everything else, since we'll only have room enough for a few bites "if we do it right."

Most definitely!  I am four months out and feel I am able to eat most things that normal people eat. I don't eat pasta or high carbs but everything else feels normal. We finally realize a good protein and perfectly cooked veggies are good food and perfectly normal!  You'll realize you don't need much more than one bite of that potato and you'll move on. I just miss an occasional Coke or lots of Iced Tea when I eat. That's more of an adjustment than missing food. 

What is normal. Our diets before were not normal or we wouldn't have needed this surgery. In time you can add more foods. You need to figure out what a new normal is for you. I have the odd bite of potato and eat bananas if I have extreme exercise but not until maintenance.

Eating "normal" helped me to get to 344 pounds.  I would address why you feel deprived.  I don't mean that snarky at all -- but I do wonder why spending time with someone you love and eating on plan feels like deprivation and how you think eating a potato or banana will make life better?  That's what I would explore as the answer to those questions and how you handle them can help you succeed or fail as it gets easier and easier to eat off plan further out.

What's normal? Normal doesn't exist. 

Forget about some notion of "normal." Get a plan that you can stick to, and stick to it. Then call that normsl.

You will feel normal.  You're not even a month out yet.  You're not supposed to feel normal yet.  Stick to your plan, and not only will you feel normal again, but you'll be headed towards a normal weight.

Last night I took my father out to dinner for his birthday.  I had 5oz of steak and a couple of broccoli florets.  I wasn't eating like I used to, but that's a good thing.  But I had real food, it tasted great, and it was healthy.  I'm happy to call this normal.

It does get easier. You will find a new normal. Early on when I went out, I would just order soup. I didn't feel deprived and it went down easy, no surprises. I found after 3 months salads didn't bother me, so soup or salad are my safe place at restaurants. Not that I don't ever order something more substantial, but if there isn't anything I think will work, soup or salad work. Went to a nice restaurant the other day for lunch, one of the choices was a salmon burger with a side salad. I ordered the salmon, no roll... enjoyed the salmon, and ate a few bites of salad. perfect. As you start to lose the weight and feel better, not eating will feel better than going back.

It depends on how you define normal. A typical American diet normal is part of what got us to a point that we needed surgery.  

I am coming up on 8 years post-op and what I eat now is what I would call a "healthy normal". If it were not for me never eating even half of a full meal, I don't think that anyone who doesn't know that I had RNY would even suspect that I had surgery by what I eat.  I think they would just think that I make generally healthy food choices that are lower in carbs and fat than what the average person eats.

You mentioned baked potatoes and bananas.  I eat a small banana 3 times a week more weeks than not. Never more than that, but often only one or two if I am trying to watch my carbs more than usual.  I rarely eat potatoes of any kind -- almost never at home... only at a restaurant or for Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner -- and even if I do order a baked potato when eating out, I eat only 2 or 3 bites after I have eaten most of my protein.

You are still VERY early out! Of course it will get better!  Focus on learning to make good food choices and on really changing your eating habits and approach to food.  Focus on enjoying new tastes and foods that are healthy choices.

Lora