Mourning food

Wow, same here. My stress reliever was potato chips. Thanks for the pep talk!

My food break up lasted more then a couple weeks. So did my surgery "buyers remorse" I think the key to getting over it for me was finding other behaviors and routines to substitute. 

Like I can make make love to a protein shake now. I make protein coffee, I take to my special spot where I can relax and savor it. I use the time to read a daily meditation for overeaters. I look out my window, pet my dog. 

Also subbed going to a grea****er workout that makes me feel way better then the drive through ever did  I call it my healing workout 😉

good luck!!!

kathy

Kind loving Crystal Light right now! Thanks for the best wishes!

It gets better.  Right now so much of your focus is on the post-op diet and what you can and can't eat.  But it really does get easier.  

Thanks! So glad I found this forum where I can share my fears and concerns, and soon-enough, joys and triumphs with folks who understand. 

I didn't read the other replies so I'm sure mine will be similar.

Just wanted to say I've been there too.  I wasn't a lucky one whose hunger disappeared right after surgery.  It was bad.  Turns out a lot of that was actually acid reflux but that's another story.

You're in limbo right now.  Because you cannot eat, but you have also yet to realize all the advantages of the surgery.  That was a horrible period.  And it lasted at least 6 weeks until it started to get better.  I'm sorry.

To make my situation worse, my granddad, light of my life, died 4 days after surgery.  Unexpectedly.  So there I was, eating mushy food, while family brought in food.  I really didn't want to deal with such a huge loss on an empty stomach.  At one point I actually pureed lasagna.  Wouldn't recommend it.  Also, for about 6 weeks I'd go from horribly hungry because there was nothing in my stomach, and then try to eat something and feel instantaneously nauseated.  I was also very "wiped out."

Around week 6 I had lost some weight so that I could tell that I was depuffed, even if no one else could.  Also, this was about the point where the clothes that I was busting out of pre-surgery started to fit.  And best yet, I could eat anything.  Not that I was supposed to.  And not very much, but it made life a lot less stressful.  There started to be a feeling that this might be doable and not miserable.

But week 12 was when it really turned a corner.  By that point the compliments started coming in, I felt physically much better.  I had the eating down.  It seemed like less of a sacrifice because I was beginning to get out and do thing.  I felt better.  And I also learned to savor the small bites of food I actually ate.  

So good luck!  It will get better I promise.  And someday you'll be 5 years out like me wishing just 1/4 c. of food would do it again.

Thank you for the reply. It feels really good to interact with real people who have bee there before. I really appreciate the honesty about your experience. 

Totally normal.  I was watching cooking shows all day long when I was recuperating after surgery.  Dumb dumb dumb and dumb.  But I had such an addictive relationship with food that it was hard to imagine a post surgery life that wasn't my obese normal.

And it's hard with the limited food choices you have so soon after surgery.  It DOES get better.  Support groups, therapy and checking in here helps to keep you grounded on your new normal.  Just hang tough for now and your perspective on food will change.  When I packed up my lunch today, I was freaking out how heavy my tupperware container was, knowing that I could never eat that much food.  I had just thrown in leftovers and didn't measure anything out.  I ended up tossing a good portion of it away.  In the past, that container would have been far too small to satisfy my appetite.  

You are focusing on food right now because YOU CAN'T HAVE IT.  Denial makes us crave something even more.  Down the road there will be nothing you can't eat, but it's what you choose to eat that will help you to succeed.  Hang in there.  You got this 

Just wanted to pipe in with everyone to assure you this is a completely normal part of the adjustment after surgery.  I am 7 weeks out and am amazed at how good I feel.  The first couple of weeks were really tough but it just has gotten easier everyday.  I still have days when I mourn food but I started looking at all the good food recipes I could replace the crap food with early after surgery.  It has brought out a creative side of me in the kitchen.  lol.   Another tip that has helped is that I tape all my favorite shows and then watch them while I zip through the commercials.  Finally, This group of supporters can be an incredible resource.