Question:
How hard is it to keep good eating habits after surgery?

Do you lose all cravings for certain foods? I'm worried I will want to eat things I can't, but if I didn't crave them, I wouldn't care. I guess my problem is mostly over-eating, I can't tell when I'm full.    — Amber S. (posted on September 12, 2000)

September 12, 2000
I think so. Pre-op, I was always dieting, so I was perpetually short in some element or another, which left me at the mercy of my cravings. I, too, was a volume eater. No "satisfactometer" to tell me to stop. Now, I'm nutritionally balanced AND I eat, stop, eat, stop and don't graze. So, I can actually FEEL satisfied, which is a different thing than FULL. I never was a grazer, though. Now, I can't eat til I'm miserable, but those urges are almost gone. If I have an attack of "I can't get enough". I just promise myself "more" or "the rest" in 2 hours. Then it seems to calm that fear. And I rarely ever go back for "the rest".
   — vitalady

September 12, 2000
Hi, I'm nearly three weeks post-op, so my perspective is rather fresh. It's hard to describe, but at least initially there's food I wish I could have, but there's no way I could have it. As the weeks have passed, there's fewer and fewer things that even sound tolerable. I don't know if this is the healing process or if this is how things should be, I just know that I have no desire to eat much at all -- certainly not the things I once loved.
   — Lorri S.

September 12, 2000
For the first few weeks after surgery, I craved things horribly. And my doctor said before surgery, "You will try it, but probably only once." He was right. My first dumping episode pretty much guaranteed I didn't want that to happen again. But now (4 1/2 months out, -85 pounds), I find that certain things just don't taste so good anymore anyway -- particularly anything with sugar. If I HAVE TO HAVE some ice cream or a cookie, really one or two bites is all it takes to make me happy. Lately I have been craving pizza in the worst way and I can tolerate it just fine. So I eat it -- at most, one slice. Usually when a craving hits me, all it takes is one bite, I see it doesn't taste that great and that's that. My doctor also told me one of his patients said to him, "Doc, you cut the appetite right out of me." That would sum it up for me too. (Thought I would crave Pepsi's, as I would drink at least 2 a day previously ... haven't had one since surgery and do NOT miss it at all.) Hope this helps you!
   — Beth B.

September 13, 2000
One thing we need to remember here is that we've all have various types of surgery - so one person's answer may not apply in another case. With that in mind, I had RNY gastric bypass and I have no problems bypassing sweets (cakes, donuts, cookies, candies, etc.) BEFORE surgery, these were my downfall! Also, I now crave healthy foods: proteins, fruits and veggies. However, just having the surgery doesn't automatically correct bad eating habits. I have to watch myself because I am a grazer. Concentrating on getting the water in helps, because I cannot eat and drink together because of too much pain! So, drinking breaks up my eating. And, I must also make a conscious decision to purchase and prepare the right foods. In other words, I don't fill my home with Twinkies. I hope this helps.
   — Cindy H.

September 13, 2000
For me, it's not so much "lose cravings" as pretty much "lose interest". Food just does not occupy the central place in my life it once did. Occasionally, I'll get a yearning for something, but once I realize, "oh, yeah, I can't eat that any more", it passes. I try to remember to eat my protein first when I'm hungry. The fact that we have a stomach that only holds a cup or so at a time cuts down drastically on our interest in food. I was at my PCP yesterday for my annual physical, and he was asking me what I'd had to eat -- and it was nothing since about 6.00 the night before, and it was pushing noon by this point! I hadn't even really thought about it, to be truthful. And don't worry about not knowing when you're full -- post-op, the screamin' heaves will be your first, and likely only necessary, clue. I didn't really believe the "one bite too much will make you sick" stuff I saw on this site before my surgery, but I swear by it now! Don't worry, it all works out post-op. Good thoughts always,
   — Cheryl Denomy