do I ever get to eat "normal" again?
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mrsgillis333
Posts: 13
Ok, I know this is not how I should be thinking, but I am.... I'm only one week post op, still on liquids,but I'm thinking of the future. I know I chose to have this surgery to lose weight and get healthy, but sometimes I think, "can I ever have pizza again? Can I ever have popcorn again?" I know overall I will be eating much more healthy then I did in the past, but in moderation?! Every now and then?!
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I hear you. Today, I was wishing I could just eat without worrying I'd eat too much and it would come back up.
I'm 6 wks out, so I'm still struggling with 'normal'. Yesterday, I forgot to eat for HOURS and I got shaky and crabby. I know that there are times I feel hungry, regular, old-fashioned hungry, yet I cannot fall back on old, bad habits to feed it.
Right now, I'm thinking it's just a matter of getting used to the new way of doing things. I'm down 35 pounds or so and feel a lot better and I have to keep reminding myself, 'There was a reason you did this.'
Hang in there.0 -
Thanks!
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I think it's a little natural to go through sort of a mourning period for the way we used to eat. For me, life after surgery gave me a whole new normal, and normal now isn't the same as before. You have a fresh start, so maybe instead of wondering if you could have foods you liked before surgery, think of new and healthy and creative ways to eat. Also, you have probably heard this, but your tastes change after surgery and you might not even like pizza anymore, or it might not agree with you!0
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I'm a little over 3 months out and I feel completely normal. I know I can never eat the amounts of food I ate before but I can have just about anything it's definitely a new normal that I am ok with. I know I can have pizza and just about anything I ate before surgery the difference is now I'm choosing to stay away from some of the bad stuff I indulged in before. I'm human, I'm not perfect I admit I've had a bite of pizza, I've had a cookie but those moments don't come often.0
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I had similar thoughts. I am 5 months out. I can eat whatever I choose, but 90% of the time, my choices are protein & veg. I feel better when I eat that way, and I know it is good for me. Every once in awhile i have pizza or popcorn. A few weeks ago my hubby made chocolate chip cookies for my daughter for her birthday and I had some, but then got back on track. For some people, there are "trigger" foods that they know will lead to overeating and they choose to always avoid them. I have not had that experience, but I am mindful of my habits. It seems to be working so far. Best of luck to you!0
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You will! I eat popcorn often now. Love the minibags. Just enough now where I always wanted more before. And pizza? Yes, eventually, if you work it into your daily plan. I do pizza now, just rarely is it ever restaurant pizza only because it's heavy on crust which limits my capacity to hold the protein I need. I've gotten very creative though. One of my faves is to brush a fajita tortilla with olive oil so it gets crispy, then top with whatever I like and bake. This week it's ricotta, garlic, mozzarella white chicken pizza. When you do it on a tortilla, you mostly get the toppings anyway. It's a little heavier on calories than some other choices, but has just as much protein and as long as I'm exercising regularly I can work it in if I want.0
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The answer is YES you will. but instead of eating the way we used to, the way that guided us to our problem, you will eat like a thinner person. You can have popcorn, pizza, really anything you want,,,BUT not as often as you used to. More like the days when these things were treats not staple foods. You will also make better choices. Pizza choices may not have the crust,,,tastes great still. Popcorn might be airpopped salted etc rather than lathered in butter. Yes you can eat again,,just consciously.0
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Tonight I made an old favourite, Souvlaki. Not sure what they are called elsewhere.
My husbands was on a herbed up full calorie wrap, mine was on a low calorie barley wrap.
Oh yum. Beef and Pork strips cooked in a little olive oil, garlic (of course), onoins, capsicum, salt,,,all fried up.
Lettuce, tomato, fresh capsicum, onion, some grated cheddar cheese and greek yoghurt with some garlic added (garlic sauce).
It never occurred to me in the early weeks I would be able to eat this sort of thing and not upset the diet. But my portion of this was so low in calories and so tasty I really forgot I was making a choice. I had everything my husband had on my wrap. It was just a lot smaller. Great thing about this was that he was also getting a pretty healthy meal too,,he just didn't know it.
So I say again,,YES you will get to really enjoy your food once you have learned a new normal. I promise.0 -
Thanks so much guys! That makes me feel so much better. And who knows, by the time I am able to start eating, I might not be craving these things as much 0
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I am in the same boat!
I think that the answer is that how you eat is up to you.
I don't know whether I am going to allow myself to "treat" - that has not worked out well in the past for me. I actually was reading a blog post by a post-WLS woman with food addiction issues, who basically argued that for some, a hershey kiss or some other triger food can throw you into a bingeing tailspin, and it is easier for her to just avoid her trigger foods altogether.
I am kind of feeling that, right now.
I also read a food blog by a post-WLS woman who makes very small "pizzas" out of corn tortillas, which she bakes and tops. The calories are low and the protein is high, so that is not an unhealthy way to get the flavor of pizza without the calories.0 -
Thanks so much guys! That makes me feel so much better. And who knows, by the time I am able to start eating, I might not be craving these things as much
You may still have the cravings, until you have the items. You may find you have lost your taste for them or that your stomach does not like what you are craving. I can handle on a very limited type and amount of flour tortillas still, and Pizza... I still mourn pizza, but the crust does me in and the toppings by themselves, well they just aren't pizza. I'll have a piece every few months. A couple of bites and I get to enjoy the taste, but I fill VERY quickly still. I look at that kind of as the best of both worlds.
Be very, very careful if you find you do still have a taste for items. That leads to a downward spiral we have all trod before. Us this tool you have bought yourself well!0 -
"Normal" for you or "Normal" for a healthy person your sex, age, ht and bone mass?? You can absolutely return to eating normal for you and 50% of WLS pts do that relying on the sleeve to save them, which it does not. You have to figure out what personality type you are. If you are the type that has huge binges if denied a food desire you will need to find a way to make it fit your lifestyle. If you are like me and pizza is a major trigger food you will avoid it and create a delicious replacement. I just finished eating a slice of my summer squash pizza crust. We always intend to put pizza toppings on it but it is so good by itself we just attack it when it comes out of the oven. If I ate just a few bites of normal pizza I would be back in my food prison craving high glycemic carbs when I am not hungry, and obsessing over food when I am not hungry...which is abnormal. I have had 38 yrs of humiliating obesity and worshipping food. I was actively killing myself with pizza, pasta, bread, rice, chips and fries. At 7 months I can eat anything. I choose not to. As a 5'5" sedentary 45 yr old woman my base maintenance calories are only 1450. Normal pizza would be a tough fit for me to pull off anyway. Besides I have 3 WLS friends who gained all their wt back. Monthly pizza became weekly pizza became daily pizza. We never actually get a day off from managing our intake. We have to make those same choices every day. When my thoughts turn to food desires I often remind myself that I would like to see grandchildren one day. Hope I didn't offend.0
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This sounds like a great idea! I like to use the low carb whole wheat tortillas. Going to have to try it with pizza toppings.0
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"Normal" for you or "Normal" for a healthy person your sex, age, ht and bone mass?? You can absolutely return to eating normal for you and 50% of WLS pts do that relying on the sleeve to save them, which it does not. You have to figure out what personality type you are. If you are the type that has huge binges if denied a food desire you will need to find a way to make it fit your lifestyle. If you are like me and pizza is a major trigger food you will avoid it and create a delicious replacement. I just finished eating a slice of my summer squash pizza crust. We always intend to put pizza toppings on it but it is so good by itself we just attack it when it comes out of the oven. If I ate just a few bites of normal pizza I would be back in my food prison craving high glycemic carbs when I am not hungry, and obsessing over food when I am not hungry...which is abnormal. I have had 38 yrs of humiliating obesity and worshipping food. I was actively killing myself with pizza, pasta, bread, rice, chips and fries. At 7 months I can eat anything. I choose not to. As a 5'5" sedentary 45 yr old woman my base maintenance calories are only 1450. Normal pizza would be a tough fit for me to pull off anyway. Besides I have 3 WLS friends who gained all their wt back. Monthly pizza became weekly pizza became daily pizza. We never actually get a day off from managing our intake. We have to make those same choices every day. When my thoughts turn to food desires I often remind myself that I would like to see grandchildren one day. Hope I didn't offend.
That is exactly my fear. I feel that I need to make the choice to stay away from my trigger foods. For me, I am worried that having a bite of pizza or a taste of chocolate candy is like giving a cigarette to someone trying to quit them. The likelihood of relapse is just too great to be worth it.0 -
"Normal" for you or "Normal" for a healthy person your sex, age, ht and bone mass?? You can absolutely return to eating normal for you and 50% of WLS pts do that relying on the sleeve to save them, which it does not. You have to figure out what personality type you are. If you are the type that has huge binges if denied a food desire you will need to find a way to make it fit your lifestyle. If you are like me and pizza is a major trigger food you will avoid it and create a delicious replacement. I just finished eating a slice of my summer squash pizza crust. We always intend to put pizza toppings on it but it is so good by itself we just attack it when it comes out of the oven. If I ate just a few bites of normal pizza I would be back in my food prison craving high glycemic carbs when I am not hungry, and obsessing over food when I am not hungry...which is abnormal. I have had 38 yrs of humiliating obesity and worshipping food. I was actively killing myself with pizza, pasta, bread, rice, chips and fries. At 7 months I can eat anything. I choose not to. As a 5'5" sedentary 45 yr old woman my base maintenance calories are only 1450. Normal pizza would be a tough fit for me to pull off anyway. Besides I have 3 WLS friends who gained all their wt back. Monthly pizza became weekly pizza became daily pizza. We never actually get a day off from managing our intake. We have to make those same choices every day. When my thoughts turn to food desires I often remind myself that I would like to see grandchildren one day. Hope I didn't offend.
That is exactly my fear. I feel that I need to make the choice to stay away from my trigger foods. For me, I am worried that having a bite of pizza or a taste of chocolate candy is like giving a cigarette to someone trying to quit them. The likelihood of relapse is just too great to be worth it.
I have a friend who had gastric bypass and regained quite a bit. I asked her what happened, and she said, I ate a cracker. That was really all it took for her to go down a slippery slope. I make sure my choices are not going to send ME down a slippery slope. Eating the way I used to didn't serve me well and I don't want to repeat the same mistakes.0 -
garbeth said it great- you will have a new normal that will be very satisfying. There is kind of a detox period where you will be obsessed with food, missing it, smelling it all the time, dreaming about it....I had it and it seems to be pretty common. Like an addict during those terrible first 21 days- but then it's kind of like a lightswitch gets flipped- and the cravings subside, you start to crave less processed, more satisfying foods- and you arrive at your new normal.
I also decided not to go back to eating a lot of the foods I broke up with - coffe, soda, bread, rice, pasta, ect- I just didn't want to have to go through craving them again. Turning off the TV during this period helps too- as it will seem like every add is for a giant burger.0 -
"Normal" for you or "Normal" for a healthy person your sex, age, ht and bone mass?? You can absolutely return to eating normal for you and 50% of WLS pts do that relying on the sleeve to save them, which it does not. You have to figure out what personality type you are. If you are the type that has huge binges if denied a food desire you will need to find a way to make it fit your lifestyle. If you are like me and pizza is a major trigger food you will avoid it and create a delicious replacement. I just finished eating a slice of my summer squash pizza crust. We always intend to put pizza toppings on it but it is so good by itself we just attack it when it comes out of the oven. If I ate just a few bites of normal pizza I would be back in my food prison craving high glycemic carbs when I am not hungry, and obsessing over food when I am not hungry...which is abnormal. I have had 38 yrs of humiliating obesity and worshipping food. I was actively killing myself with pizza, pasta, bread, rice, chips and fries. At 7 months I can eat anything. I choose not to. As a 5'5" sedentary 45 yr old woman my base maintenance calories are only 1450. Normal pizza would be a tough fit for me to pull off anyway. Besides I have 3 WLS friends who gained all their wt back. Monthly pizza became weekly pizza became daily pizza. We never actually get a day off from managing our intake. We have to make those same choices every day. When my thoughts turn to food desires I often remind myself that I would like to see grandchildren one day. Hope I didn't offend.
That is exactly my fear. I feel that I need to make the choice to stay away from my trigger foods. For me, I am worried that having a bite of pizza or a taste of chocolate candy is like giving a cigarette to someone trying to quit them. The likelihood of relapse is just too great to be worth it.
I have a friend who had gastric bypass and regained quite a bit. I asked her what happened, and she said, I ate a cracker. That was really all it took for her to go down a slippery slope. I make sure my choices are not going to send ME down a slippery slope. Eating the way I used to didn't serve me well and I don't want to repeat the same mistakes.
Agreed. I love crackers (for example) but it just doesn't seem worth the risk. I've made those mistakes pre-surgery, and I also don't want to repeat them.0 -
I worked my @ss off by lifting heavy and working out hard during my weight loss phase and maintained almost every bit of my lean muscle mass. I maintain now on 1800-200 calories. I eat plenty of "normal" food.0
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I should also add that I don't particularly like many of the "normal" food items as much as pre-op. Some just don't sit well in my sleeve.
Pizza... meh. Bread... I really like toasted whole grain bread, but otherwise... doesn't sit well. Potatoes... meh. Pasta... I like the taste and a little is okay, but too much doesn't sit well. Rich desserts... make me dump. Popcorn... a-okay! Chips and crackers... okay but never one of my faves anyway. Cookies... one or two is good... more... see rich desserts. Soda... I'll have it if there's not an option to have iced tea, but doesn't sit well/don't like much anymore. Alcohol... buzzed really fast, then the buzz fades and I'm done (too sweet drinks... dumping again).
My sleeve has really allowed me to understand what "moderation" means in regards to carbs. Some is okay for me, but too much makes me feel like crap. I generally stick with protein and veggie-based meals, except for toasted whole grain bread, cookies and popcorn at the movies.
I'm 3 years out and maintain with logging and exercise. I'm an IIFYM/heavy lifting proponent much more than a post-sleever anymore.0 -
After 6 months of your surgery I will ask you same question ? I got my surgery done in jan 2014 and now I cwn eat anything but still dont want to touch pizza burger or any junk food, my first prefrences is protien then I will take vegetables, if needed then I go for bread or rice.....which I didnt had for last 6 months......well problem in having pizza is u wont be able to digest crusty bread and chances are u might throw it out.......but in last u wont be missing all this food once u seeing your weighing scale going down every week :-)0
