As I continue to prepare for my surgery, I read a lot of posts and am facinated at what people are eating and seem satisfied. So I'm wondering if any of you ever miss eating your favorite foods or at your favorite redtaurants? if so, how do you handle it? 
Thanks for your input.

You know it's wierd.  I miss the idea of eating certain foods. It's really hard to explain.  Sometimes I miss the idea of going to 5 Guys and eating a burger and fries but I "can" physically eat some of a 5 guys burger and a few fries if I wanted to.  I haven't ever gone and done that though.  It really wouldn't be satisfying - but there are times that I'm sorry that I'll never do that again.  It passes really quickly though. 

Today I went to Dunkin Donuts with a friend for iced coffee - crazy right? I looked at all those donuts - which I used to CRAVE - and yeah they looked good, but I didn't crave them.  It was wierd - my head said "you love donuts" but my stomach said "meh..." 

Let me say - I still enjoy really good food (well prepared, great tasting, "gourmet") and I enjoy going to nice restaurants.  I order what I want and I eat 4 ounces, take the rest home when I can.  If I eat that "one more bite" I regret it.  I can't say that I never eat that "one more bite" but it's becoming more infrequent. 

It's a process - I didn't flip a switch.  Still the best thing I've ever done for myself.

 no because if I want it I eat it, I can't eat much(1/4 to 1/2 a donut) but you don't have the cravings like you use to.I miss the biscuits at red lobster but my belly does not like bread so I only nibble a piece(use to eat about 10 a meal) many people think you must forbid yourself food but then you aren't eating a balanced meal.The main rule is protein first not protein only.

Its odd, but really not that much. You kind of have to mentally let go of food as comfort, recreation or whatever. The surgery does affect your appetite - different for different people. In my case it pretty much disappeared for 6 months and then came back very slowly. by then i had developed new habits which its why its so important to stay on your program until you reach goal. a few chips won't stop your weight loss but it does interfere with new habit development.

So my worst pre op habit was peanut butter cups.  Now and then they "sing" to me as I pass them in a store. But the feeling wears off pretty quickly. And I am able to enjoy other delicious things - just in moderation. And I find I am pickier. Its a good thing.   Diane

 on a different note I tried a bite of a peanut-butter cup and it tasted yucky. Hopefully people understood my message was about moderation not thinking I said eat everything.

This is something that has really surprised me.  I was such a sugar, sugar, sugar addict.  Now at a year out if I want a bite of something, I might take one bite but it just doesn't appeal to me anymore.  Today we ate out for lunch.  I ordered a one piece chicken strip meal with waffle fries.  I couldn't eat more than half of the strip, and I didn't want any of the fries whatsoever.  My family ordered a cookie or brownie after, but I wasn't tempted at all.  When I got home, I had fresh fruit.

When we eat at non-fast food restaurants, I will order a steak or grilled chicken.  I'm not tempted by the rolls that I used to eat 3 of before my meals.  I don't eat the salad before, because I know I won't have room for the protein.  Before I ate every bite of the salad, then every bite of everything else on my plate.  I eat half of my protein or less and maybe a bite or two of steamed vegetables or baked potato.  Nothing really tempts me at all.  I would rather share an entree with my husband, but he doesn't like to share even though he's not overweight but he usually eats it all.  lol

It's just nice to feel free of the bonds that used to be so strong.

I still want things and have broken down and tried them ,but like they say, now, you only have a bite of something or a taste,. You can't eat much so just a taste actually does satisfy me.

 not yet I never miss any foods and when I try eating things I shouldn't I never get hooked in which makes them easier to avoid all together. I gratefully never crave things or obsess over them anymore. I don't get excited about food for the most part anymore at all.

Thank you everyone for your truthful statements.  This is a huge worry for me being pre-op and a big carboholic.  I often wondered if the cravings would be terrible.  Thank you all so much.

I agree with the first response. I sometimes miss the thought of wanting certain foods. My family is a big bunch of foodies and sometimes I feel left out when we go out to eat. I do try bites off of different plates, but sometimes, when something tastes REALLY good, I revert back to my old thinking and mourn that I cannot eat more. It's a programmed response that I have to fix over a long period of time. I haven't found anything that upsets my stomach--not bread, not sugar, not fried foods. But I have found that if I eat a decent amount of something that I should not (like a small piece of wedding cake at my sister's wedding), I don't feel good.

I agree with Jeanne---it's really difficult to explain. But for me, at some point in the past 2 years, something clicked in my brain that changed my outlook on food.

Don't get me wrong---I try to make what I eat as fresh and as flavorful as possible. But my list of "favorites" is dwindling. I no longer get great pleasure from dining, I'm happy to say. But I've worked hard to get here. Food had been the center of my life for so many years and now it's a necessity but not the driving need I used to experience (almost drug like).

I have favorite music, activities, etc. but not "favorite" foods in the same sense. And while I still enjoy dinner out, it's really because of the people and conversation. I would be just as happy in a setting other than a restaurant with the same folks.

I still have the great advantage of great restriction (about 4 oz for soft protein like shrimp, scallops and 3 oz for chicken, beef) and NO hunger except for an empty feeling when it's time to refuel.

Hope that is understandable.

 
It's all about a new "Non-Abusive" relationship with food......

I thought I was giving up food when I had WLS..... and I would have.....

Here is the "Odd Thing" after WLS I became really interested in food and food preparation. 

I now have a Food Concept Blog coming up and a Cookbook in the works. I enjoy food more now than ever.....it's about the proper foods for my needs and quality over quantity.....

frisco

I don't miss anything.  I don't want the same things.  When I get a craving for something, I can usually have a very small portion of it or a modified version. I don't feel deprive, which is really the point.

Take advantage of the first few months of restriction that is so strong that the desire to eat is lost for most people. I was one of those people. As the desires came back, new habits had been formed. I can pretty much eat anything now, but I focus on healthy choices as my lifestyle.

 Just tonight, my wife had nachos and I was a little tiny bit jealous.  Since surgery we often eat different things and usually I don't even pay attention but tonight... So how did I handle it?  I thought about what I really like about nachos.  I like the cheesy taste and the spice.  So I ended up making a cheese crisp from an ounce of habanero shredded cheese with a couple of oz of John Soules fajita strips (pre-cooked microwave for a min an a half) topped with some salsa.  Bingo.  Tasted terrific and met the craving head on.  In the past, other subs have included cooking chicken in pizza sauce with mozzerella and making a cheese crisp with turkey pepperoni crisps.  Both satisfied me and gave me the taste I craved for real pizza.  The weird thing to me is that I find I often prefer the substitute.  I just, for a while, miss the thought of the carby stuff.  Occasionally I'll have a little bread when eating out or I'll make a low-carb version of cheddar garlic biscuits and have a small one.  Before I would eat 3-4 full carb rolls or half a pizza.  So the substitutions and the sleeve restrictions are really helping keep me off the carb train in the large.  

As for eating at restaurants, I do that fairly often.  As you probably gathered from my response, carbs would be on my old order list.  Now I go for more protein oriented choices.  I also seek out places that have small plates which seems to be a new trend.  These often look like Frisco's recipes in size and sometimes in content.  Earlier this week I went to one and had 1/2 a deviled egg and some steak tartare.  The smaller plates were cheaper and I shared them with the rest of the table.  So I have new favorite foods and new strategies.  Saving money, still having fun with my friends, still having good gourmet food sometimes.  Win Win Win.  I was really worried about how my social life would be affected by the surgery.  So far I have to say that it has not.  My friends are supportive and usually we just have a short talk about my progress and move on to usual dinner topics.  I'm glad I didn't let that fear stop me from having the surgery.  Everything is so much better now than it was 176 pounds ago.  If this is your only worry, I say go for it.  

There's not a favorite food that I am not able to enjoy. Seriously, I eat out 3-5 times weekly and have since being around 4 months post-op.

I don't crave any of the carby stuff lilke I did before surgery. It's really weird, sometimes you think - 'Oh I wish I could have....' but then the thought is gone a minute later and you're eating some cottage cheese and completely satisfied. My husband has to help remind me to eat now and I'm only 5 1/2 weeks out. You'll do fine, just take it one day at a time and don't think about the past - plan for the future.

There's only been once in 6 months that I was bummed I couldn't over eat and that's because we were at a famous restaurant on the road while traveling and the few bites I had were so divine that I wanted to taste more and more. But, at the end of the day I'm so THANKFUL I don't have the ability to overeat!

Most of the time I still go to my fav restaurants and eat my fav foods. Only when I get that mexican chicken burrito I eat the "guts" from inside the tortilla and eat the cheese and stuff on top but leave the carby tortilla. I don't even MISS IT! Or I get a steak smothered in mushrooms, onions, and jack cheese with a side of fries. I eat three fries and a few bites of steak and bring the rest home for the kids or for another meal later. I don't skip any foods except white carbs. I don't eat rice, white bread, or tortillas. I make cheese crisps by putting cheddar cheese on parchment paper in the microwave, add some diced red onion, a small dollop of sour cream or guac, roll it up and it's fantastic! Who needs those dang tortillas anyway? NOT ME!

Most of the time dessert stuff (while eating out) isn't high on my list because I only can eat a few bites and it's just not worth the cost to me. I do eat a little dark choc covered almond or pecan here and there and feel satisfied and indulged w/o over doing it. I log it and track all I eat on myfitnesspal to keep on plan!

 Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences. It really does help those of us in the preparation srage. I look forward to the day that I can be the one answering these questions and sharing my experiences!