Breaking Old Habits

[Sam44]

I'm almost 2 weeks post-op, and currently in the pureed stage. Physically I seem to feel fine, except for some mild hunger sometimes. Emotionally has been a bit of a rollercoaster! Am I mourning my old food habits?

I went somewhere yesterday where there were chips, fried chicken, pizza, all the trigger foods for this girl <-. Although I ate my pureed chicken salad in the corner and soon became full, I noticed how sad I felt. I noticed how my first instinct when I got there was to grab a bag of chips. I noticed how I could envision myself partaking in said pizza, and how I likely would have over ate and been stuffed, but generally satisfied as that was my old normal. I noticed everyone going up for seconds, thirds, grazing on other items. And I noticed how self-conscious i felt about eating my itty bitty 2oz chicken salad, lol.

Of course, I survived, but left feeling a bit sad. Couldn't even go home and drink a glass of wine like I may have in the past! So, is it because I'm mourning my old habits? How common is this? Is it something I should worry about as my food options begin to slowly expand? What do others do to cope?

 

[3momchaos]

I believe it is very common. I haven’t had my surgery yet, but from what I understand, this is not uncommon. I believe I’ll feel this way sometimes too. I’ve already told my family I’m not making treats for Christmas this year. I usually make about 20 dozen cookies, a couple pans of fudge, and an old family candy recipe. I’m already imaging Thanksgiving being hard enough, but there will be more festivities later on when I’m more mentally prepared to take on food demons.

 

[WazzuCoug]

We will all go through many emotions during this journey. You should be proud of you chicken salad! Actually, our feelings for food shouldn’t be that important, other than a nutrient source, but of course it is our relationships with food and taste and texture that got most of us obese in the first place. We have to unlearn a lot and relearn a lot about ourselves. It doesn’t happen overnight.

I don’t plan on going places that remind me of my old way of eating. I won’t be able to to that 100% of the time, but my goal is to focus on my new foods and develop new habits that will become my norm. I am sure that for some special occasions I will have something strictly for the taste and pleasure, but instead of eating those things like I’ll never have them again, I plan to eat a little and know that someday I can have it again. I don’t need to overdo it.

The other thing we have to keep in mind is that we are all fallible. We can never be perfect, but if we strive for perfection, we will be successful. It’s not easy. We have a gift from surgery that rewires our hormonal signals, reduces our hunger, and if our smaller stomachs get too full, we really feel it. We have to take advantage of that gift to the maximum extent possible. We are going to fail at times, but we pick up the pieces and move forward, back on the plan.

Don’t do this alone. Involve a dietician, a psychologist, this forum, support groups, and trusted friends to help. If friends put you in a position to constantly be around poor food, spend less time with them or host get togethers where you only have healthy options for snacks and food.