I HATE FOOD!

Hey everyone, i was wondering whtether anyone hates food as much post-op as I do. I am 6 weeks out and find myself in a boring cycle of the same stuff over and over. I cannot stomach protein shakes, the SLIM FAST High Protein ones are the only ones I can keep down. I eat string cheese and oatmeal. I know I haven't been meeting my protein or liquid intakes very often, but i do at least get my vitamins in. I had some trouble about 4 weeks out where all of a sudden virtually everything was coming back up. Had to go back to the hospital where they did an endoscopy and inserted balloon catheters into my esphogas and small intestine to open them up and allow food to pass. Have been a bit better since then, no actual throwing up, but I still feel tired and nauseus pretty often. And there is just such little in terms of food that is appealing that I can eat. I am not craving anything wicked like candy, just a little texture would be nice, a sandwich or a salad. I know its way too soon though and couldn't handle it if I wanted too. I had an appointment set up with my NUT for tomorrow, she could have moved me to stage 5, but I rescheduled because I know I am not physically ready. This is such a tough road. Somedays I think I didn't give the lap-band system enough consideration even though its similar nutritionally,  I wouldn't have so many food aversions. I am down about 28 pounds since surgery so at least its working, i still haven't started working out though so I need to get going. Its just hard when I still feel so uuuuggghhh, and I am sure the malnutrion doesn't help.

I am almost 5 weeks out and I am finding that i don't want food... i am not hungry and when i am i feel like nothing looks appitizing... i was not having any problems getting my protein for the most part, but i feel the last few days have been really hard and i want nothing to do with food.

So yes i too hate food.... i never thought i would ever say that! lol

Why hello there! I had my surgery 6 weeks ago as well. I am also eat string cheese every day. (that was funny to me) I eat tuna every day as well and put some mustard and mayo with some pickle in it. It is weird because when I wake up in the morning I crave my protein shake. I use Max Muscle and I had to get used to it  and when I did I loved it. I only eat about twice a day. I do not crave much at all. I could probably go without eating the entire day. I make myself eat so I only need to drink the protein 2 times a day rather than 3.  Other things that I have eaten are soup, lunch meat, eggs, teriyaki and barbeque chicken, and beans with cheese. I do not crave carbs at all. I do notice when I am bored I want to eat more. I hope you the best!

~Diana~

Sorry to hear you are having a hard time!!! Everybody pretty much has a rough first 3 months or so... you will find that as time goes on things will get much easier. Its difficult at first getting thru all the food stages and eating is a pain in the butt. I found early out Id rather not eat because it was such a chore but its nothing you have to do!!! Just keep hanging in there and know down the road things will do a 360 for you!!

Thanks to everyone *****sponded. I am glad I am not the only one in this boat and its "normal" to feel this way. I went to unjury.com yesterday and ordered some of the unflavored protein powder. i am hoping that will be tolerable since it pasks 20 grams of protein per serving. I also went to bariatriceating.com and oredered the New Whey bullets. Its a 3 oz serving of liquid with 42 grams of protein in it. Hopefully I can down that and there is more than half my daily intake. I am hoping once I get my proteins and water intake up, i start to feel more energy to get moving. As I am typing this I am trying to eat half of my Gordon's fish fillett and its slow going. Food really does seem such a chore. I can't wait for the day I feel more normal and dont have such a hard time getting in the proper nutrition. I will let yopu guys know how it goes with the supplements. These ones I ordered were referred to me by other OH'ers. Best of success to you all!

I did try to whey in the 3 oz tube and I did not like it at all. What I do like which is very similar is called profect. It has 25 grams of protein and does not taste like cough syrup. You can get it from proticia.com ...  They have many flavors.  Try that one if the whey does not taste good to you. Latz

It will pass.  The first three months were challenging for me too.  I'm now 10 months out and can pretty much eat anything, though the quantity will vary based on the density.  For some reason eating sandwhiches fills me up quicker than just about anything else, but chicken is quite dense as well.  So when I eat foods like that I just don't eat as much. As for the food boredom of the first couple of months, there really isn't much you can do about it.  It doesn't seem like it now, but time really does pass pretty quickly.  In no time at all you'll look back and realize how much time has flown by, as well has how quickly your ability to eat has changed.  I had to actually dig out the calendar and count up the months before replying to this thread.  I didn't even realize it has already been 10 months, I thought it was more like 8. For now, shoot for interesting flavor, it will help ease the boring texture.  The 2-3 month mark I also dropped my liquid and protein marks, I was actually getting less in during that period than I was in the several weeks prior to it.  This resulted in a significant drop in energy, as well as making it harder to eat (a vicious cycle that one) and a drop in enjoyment of food.  For me, forcing myself to get in the protein requirements despite how much I hated eating at that stage did manage to break that cycle.  It sounds weird, but forcing myself to hit the protein goals really helped me learn to enjoy eating again.  By the end of month 3 I was regularly hitting my protein goals, I could eat more variety and enjoy it more, and best of all, my energy level shot way up and I was able to start exercising.  I think a lot of the problems I was having were related to not getting enough protein.  But it is hard to get the protein in when you can't enjoy it.  Force yourself to do it anyway (not all in one sitting, don't hurt yourself) and the enjoyment will come as the energy does.  In about two months you'll feel like a totally different person. :)

Thank you, that is some pretty good advice. And I think you are right, I need to push for the protein/liquids mark and will probably make all the difference in how I feel.

SUGGESTION!!! When you get the New Whey.. it is only 3 oz.. but I find it to be thick, and hard to drink alone... So I mix the vial in with my Crystal Light Pink Lemonade ( I sometimes drink that in exchange for water) I find that helps, and it is making sure I am getting the protein over time rather than downing it and having less of it absorbed... I hope that helps!!! I also Hate food now.. I never remember to eat  (people have to remind me), and I never know if something is going to go down or not, even if it has gone down before... Just stick with it and keep trying.. We all did this to be healthy, and it is not healthy to not eat at all. Cat