I am happy to have found this forum! I feel that the support and wisdom of the members will be instrumental to my success, and hopefully I can empower and encourage others in return. I am currently pre-surgery for the sleeve and meeting my insurance company's requirements. Currently on month 5 of 6 with my PCP, completed the psych eval and have my cardiology testing tomorrow. While I am excited to get a new and really effective tool, I find myself grieving the loss of eating certain foods.... anyone else experiencing this?
You can still eat so many wonderful foods and meals!!! Although difficult, let go of your feelings what what you aren't going to each. Start getting motivated about what you ARE going to eat, which is delicious, flavorful, and healthy! You don't need to do any sort of fad diet with a name or cut out everything you used to eat, but you do need to create a different, but very good, relationship with food.
I thought I would miss some foods, but I don't. I miss none of it. That doesn't mean I don't have a slice of pizza occasionally, I do, although it's not quite the same pizza as I had before. It also doesn't mean I never struggle with a craving or hunger occasionally. I do. However, now that I'm very close to my goal, I feel too good now to do what I did to myself before. However, I know that it is going to take conscious effort, for the rest of my life, to maintain what I've gotten back. It will always be a slippery slope, and we've got to dig in to keep from sliding down and stay on top.
It is not easy. Many of us have to make a huge effort to change our relationship with food. It is something that I suspect I'll be doing the rest of my life, but my focus this first year after surgery has been to completely change how I interact with food and build new habits. It is much easier said that done, for sure, but I think this battle is won or lost in the kitchen. It all comes back to what we eat, even more than how much we eat. What we put in our bodies is key to being lean, long term.
I don't "miss" foods, but I can certainly be tempted with something unhealthy if it's in front of me, but I don't long for it, if it isn't there.
I've made specific efforts to drive my "cravings" toward healthy choices. It would be very easy me to replace good choices with bad ones, and that is where we still have to battle emotions, stress, old habits, and potentially addictions.
The surgery gives a wonderful boost to reaching our goals, but it can't keep us there. We have to do the right things and make good choices to maintain what we've attained.
You can achieve incredible results with the surgery!! You will most likely feel so much better in so many ways! After surgery, follow the prescribed plan and when you start eating "regular" foods again, explore the many healthy and great things you'll be able to enjoy. There is no reason for you to feel very limited. Nothing is truly off limits, but certainly some choices are better than others, and that's what we want to do 95% of the time.
You seem to have a positive attitude going into this. Keep it up! You're pre surgery experience will set you up for success, and post-op you can really go for it!
Good luck!
