New here!

Hi everyone!
New to the forum as well as new to WLS. I have had my orientation session at Humber River (two weeks ago), but do not have any dates for anything else yet. I am trying to wait very patiently for them to contact me again but it is hard! I am very eager to move through the process, but from what I have read on here so far, it is best to have the time to get ready for the change in lifestyle.

I have a lot of concerns with everything, but my first question is - For everyone who has gone through the surgery already, how did you or do you manage the junk food cravings you experienced before the surgery?  I want this surgery to work for me as it has for most of you and I don't want to be a failure. I am really worried that these cravings will make me fail in the long run. So, how did/does everyone manage with the dietary changes? I am hoping they will just 'go away' but I am afraid that won't be the case :) It can't possibly be that easy!

Thanks

Hi there,

Happy to see you here!  I'm also went to HRRH.

For my personally of course, I really had to "brainswash" myself that junk food didn't exist anymore, that it was a vicious routine I fell into and I had to break from that.  I wanted to be prepared as much as I could so about 10 months prior to my surgery, I completely changed my eating habits and for me, from that point, junk food and restaurants didn't exist and weren't part of my vocabulary either.....lol...very hard, but when we have our minds setup for something, you'll succeed!  (Easier said then done uh?!? lol)

If you want to, you can check my website for my timelines, etc or you can view my blog to give you an idea of what you'll go through.  (Please keep in mind that it's not everyone that goes through the same steps, it will vary)

All the best and can't wait to follow your progress.
Nathalie

Thank you Nathalie. I just finished looking at your website and reading your blog. You are truly an amazing woman who has accomplished so much. Wow! Your website is very informative and positive. I am sure I will refer back to it often.
Thanks again!

 Keep a food diary. Knowing the surgery is going to happen helped me focus on what I was eating. Find a support group and attend the meetings. After surgery you will find that the food you ate before is not as appealing. This is not an easy solution. The cravings do start to come back. I found that it is easier now to fight the cravings because I have worked to hard to loose this weight. My views of food have changed. I listen to what my body tells me. When my nose starts to drip, I'm full. I stop eating. I want ot eat healthy.

*sorry for the hijack*
Just wanted to say Hi Pita, haven't seen you in a while and hope everything is well with you!
:)

Thank you! A food diary I have heard is a very good idea and helps us to get a grip on what our eating  habits are. I will keep that in mind. I will also have to search around to see if there is any support groups in my area. Thanks!

Welcome to OH!!!
Everyone has a different perspective...for me I knew the foods that were my triggers and cut them out before surgery. I was a carb addict!!! lol Chips, bread, pasta, rice etc. I am now 4 months post op (took 1 year from orientation to surgery-RNY  in Ottawa) and I still sometimes think "oooh that would taste sooo goood..." then I realize that I am not even hungry so I know it is just head hunger and go for a bike ride instead...or drink water...
If I have given in to temptation, i ususally feel terrible after.... physically AND mentally.....I am still afraid to fail this tool so I don't push the limits much!!!

Best wishes and let us know how things go!!

How did you cut out your food triggers before surgery? Was it difficult? What helped you the most? I have five children, ranging from aged 3 to 16, and a husband that can eat anything so I am finding it difficult to cut out my trigger foods even now. I have not yet told my children about this journey, but I am thinking maybe I should so that they could understand why we can not have certain foods in the house anymore. Something to think about  :) Thanks!

It was hard and I wasn't always successful...but i would tell myself that it's not good for me later, why eat it now? Why make it harder later? This was really hard because my BF kept saying "but just have a little,..."
I also have a household full of kids and a BF that don't have to worry about what to eat....
Some junk is still in the house but it doesn't bother me now...I know I won't feel good if I have the junk..... I am quite sensitive to sugars now..... and when I tempt fate I feel terrible for a few hours...sure eliminates trying to push the limits!!!

I have a five year old so it's a little different because I only have one and he's younger then some of your children.

I find now that he is eating most of the same foods as I am. For example we go to the pool every day and pack a lunch. He's not into bread so normally I'd pack a hot dog weiner. Well yesterday he saw me eating a hard boiled egg and wanted one as well.  Today we are both having hard boiled eggs.

It's probably a good thing for your children to eat as healthy as you are going to be eating.

As for your husband - well mine still eats crap all the time but he has to walk to the store to buy it and it has to be a one serving kind of thing so it's not in the house.