Just had surgery 11/19/08, Please Help!

Hello Everyone, my name is Fanny and I just had wls on 11/19/08 this past Wed. Before surgery I was at 248lbs and now I am at 232lb, and my height is 5ft 4in.Well, I am already frustrated with the broth , jello, water, and crystal light oh my! I have been feeling very unsure of myself, and extremely emotional. I had no idea until today how  much happiness food brought me. Please help me , I need your advise, support, and leadership. Thanx  and congrats to all that are doing well, and those that keep on trying. Till Later!

I know how you feel. I missed my friend after surgery too. I hated that I couldn't enjoy food longer at a time. I got full too quick. I wanted the enjoyment to last longer! It gets better after time. Probably because you will feel so good about how you look and feel. But, you will probably mourn the good ole days from time to time. It's a trade off I guess. Good luck.

Hi there,
What you are feeling is normal. I am very long out, 7 years and I don't remember when it happend but one day, I just did not care about food the same way as before the surgery.

Yes I can eat more now but still can't eat a full meal. You must accept that you will mourn food, in essence, you divorced yourself from food.

Accept the loss, work on your feeling about it. If you don't get a handle on the food now, with good habits, you will regain.  I did as many of my friends did too. BUT, AND UNDERSTAND THIS, THE TOOL STILL WORKS!  I am way out and just lost 20 lbs and only need 10 more for goal. Yeah, could have never done that before surgery!

Also my stats are similar to yours, have maintained a 100 lbs lost over 7 years so it is worth it. Just hang in there!

Enjoy this "honeymoon"  time while you can and take advantage of it while its there. Yes it seems like the end of the world without out your old freind "food ", but trust me it ALL comes back. If you continue to read on this forum you will notice how many of us have regained and how much work it is to maintain and keep it off.  I wish I could go back to the broth, jello period but I would starve at this point.  It takes about one year to lose most of your weight so take advantage, soon you will be able to eat more and more just like the rest of us. Good luck, Deb

I'm almost 4yrs out and what you're feeling is VERY normal at this stage. The beginning isn't easy, but you can do this! Are you working with a therapist or in any counseling? That helped me with the head thing for sure. You have to remember that your body is in a state of shock right now and that will play all kinds of games with your mental state. You will mourn food~again, very normal. My suggestion is to use this time wisely, follow dr's orders to the letter, maximize your weightloss during this honeymoon phase, try to replace the old, bad habits with new, good ones~these are all things that will serve you well in the future. Down the road at 1yr out you'll probably be able to eat whatever you want (maybe even sooner). This tough stage is all well worth it in the end. Hang in there and do the best that you can to get your protein in. Hope you're feeling better soon!

Fanny, I agree with the other posters, the beginning of the journey when you can't turn to food for celebration and comfort can be quiet frightening and depressing.  What you are feeling is very normal, but I have to say as someone else said I'd love to go back to broth and jello instead of having to fight to keep my head in the game and make good choices.  

The maintenance part is tough, actually tougher than I ever imagined.  I thought I had conquered my food addiction after 18 months of never feeling hunger and the thought of eating was disgusting.....oh having those days back would be a great thrill for me.

Take this time to learn good habits and optimize the 12 months, give or take to gain your health and fitness back.

Hi Fanny,

Welcome to the "other side".  It has its ups and downs!!

Now listen carefully, DO NO****CH TV while you are in the liquid stage. Once you are released to soft solids, it will be a little better.

The pizza commercials are insane!!! Once you are able to have pizza, trust me, you will not want another greasy piece --FOR A LONG TIME...I am a BIG pizza lover and when I had my first piece after WLS, I hated it.

Now, I am almost 2 years post-op from WLS and 1 year from tummy tuck, I am estatic about the weight loss and most days, excited about my maintenance.  You will experience many thrills with losing weight. Make sure to listen to your body. Dont fill your body with empty calories, make every bite worthwhile. Your hunger now may just be head hunger, I didnt feel REAL hunger until about a year out too. Now, I experience hunger but its NOTHING like before surgery. So I can manage it a little better.

I still go through bad eating periods but for the most part, keep control of it because I am so afraid of gaining the weight back. I have seen it happen to so many of my friends and coworkers.

Be consistent about eating, you need food (in your case liquids) for energy and to fuel your body but no one needs the EXCESS that we were used to eating.

Take it 1 day, 1 hour at a time. You will be fine and next thing you know, you will be helping other pre and newly post-ops that post here.  Make sure to get plenty of liquids and take your vitamins.

Come here for answers to common questions and also to see what we are going through at 1 yr, 2 yr, 10 years out. Much advice to be had on this forum!!

Our stats are very similar, except I am 5'2. I started out at 233.6 in December 2006. I now weigh 147 and on my way back DOWN to my goal of 133-135. 140 is my maximum.

I always said I did not want to lose too much, and boy was I wrong. Now that I got down to my lowest weight, I realized that I couldnt stay there, now I am on a mad scramble to get back to my premium weight--where I felt the best.  I have a few too many pounds on me right now so I am very UNCOMFORTABLE. It now cause me to take action.

Good luck to you and keep plugging away!!

Angela

Sip on some warm decaf tea, and my dr allowed sf popsicles. Also, buy a veggie soup and drain the veggies, keep the broth. Its different than buying just broth and sits better. Are you doing any protein shakes at all?