FOOD - before/after

OK, so I have have read all of these posts about what you ate before and what you eat now and I can't imagine what it feels like.  I mean, I know obviously you cant eat the same amount of food or the same type of foods but am I never going to be able to taste mashed potatoes again? or pasta? or any sweets that I so much crave?  I am ready to make a lifestyle change but I just want to understand how your mind adjusts to that because right now I can't imagine eating chiken, fish and vegetables FOREVER! 

My surgery date is 03/31/11 by the way.  I have no idea how to make it come out under the profile pic. (maybe some one could tell me how to do that too?)

to add your surgery try going to the top of the page and click on 'my account'..then under your avatar on the left side of the screen click on 'my journey'..i think you can change it from there.

As far as food goes, I can eat mashed potatoes.  Some people eat pasta, I don't..my stomach just gets upset when I do.  Everyone reacts differently to various foods.  Many say that they couldn't eat lettuce, but I handled lettuce just fine.  I can eat sweets also.  I've had a little bit of a candy bar along the way, etc.. 

I feel I can eat anything I want now (except i don't eat pasta..but you may be able to).   I just make better choices in what I choose to eat, but I can definitely eat about anything.

I'm still on my full liquid diet and I am craving a salad! I sure hope I can still have one when all is said and done..... go figure

Wow, you just had yours last week!  How do you feel, as far as the surgery? That's another question I had, what to you eat (or drink, rather) when you are on the post-op liquid diet?  I'm having my surgery in Mexico and it is a bit difficult to contact the doctor so I planned on bombarding him with questions the day before!

It's not too bad but I do have a high pain tolerance so it depends on how you do with pain personally. I haven't taken any pain meds since sunday so that's good I suppose. Food.... I hardly think you can call it that...  its more like any liquid you can get down, I eat a lot of chicken broth sometimes I'll add enchilada sauce if I'm in the mood for mexican food, french onion soup broth, pureed soups that I thin out with chicken broth, protein shakes and crystal light. The hardest part so far is getting liquids in so I don't dehydrate, the flavoring from crystal light really does make it go down smoother, to me atleast. Thurs I see the Dr. and get switched to mushy foods, I never thought I'd be this excited to feel texture again.

Good luck!!

Wow, thanks Dawnie.  It makes me feel a lot better.  I am doing the pre-op diet now, eating mostly protein only and it is killing me.  I thought, wow, I hope the surgery helps my brain too because I dont think I can handle a lifetime of this!  I'm cuban so we eat rice with almost everything and now that I can't have it, I look forward to having my wheat toast.  It's the highlight of my day because its the only starch I'm getting.  I dont think that I have ever looked forward to eating whole wheat toast!

As another poster mentioned, it is always protein first for sure.  I mainly eat protein and maybe a few bites of veggie at meal time.  I always keep track of my protein for the day, if I'm a little low because I chose to eat some mashed potatoes or something other than protein..then I will have a protein drink at the end of the day.  It's all about the protein.

After surgery it won't be as hard to make good choices, and to choose the foods based on 'fuel for your body' instead of the taste.  After the first month or two postop, I really didn't feel hungry anymore.  That makes it really easy to just simply eat the protein because its what your body needs.  Preop..I understand how hard it is to do that. 

Everyone has different food tolerances.  In general, there's nothing you can't eat as long as your stomach will tolerate it.  I haven't found a food I can't eat.  I've cut out refined carbs, but that's a personal decision, not the result of the surgery.  But I've had salads, omelets, every kind of meat and cheese imaginable, veggies, fruit - all without a problem.  I wasn't a big sweet eater before surgery, so I haven't tried anything sweeter than a piece of fruit.

Thing is, you won't know what you'll tolerate until after surgery.  And quite often, what you can't tolerate one month, you're fine with the next.

Keep in mind, though, that Protein First is a lifetime rule.  Doesn't mean you can't have some dessert or pasta or potatoes, but if you want the surgery to work, you have to stick to the plan. 

I've been trying to think of it this way....imagine you have the stomach of a skinny person.  You simply don't have room to put away a bag of chips, a dozen cookies or a pound of pasta.  You have room for A SMALL AMOUNT of one or, maybe another.  That's what it comes down to IMO.

The other night, I was eating my riccotta with tomato sauce - 2oz of each - what Santa (hubby) was eating a medium size roast beef grider with mayo, lettuce, tomato, cheese, pickles and a few fries.  I took a look at his plate and just let out a "Holy ****!  How can you eat THAT much food in one sitting?!"

When I really thought about it....I had been eating that same amount 2 weeks earlier.  There isn't room for it now so I just don't want it. 

And, on the VSG - the reason I WANTED this particular surgery was because I want to be able to enjoy ALL the items I did pre-surgery...only, this time, with control and in moderation.  After all, that's healthy living. Not sure if any of this helps but these are just my feelings!  GL!

 I am going through this internal struggle right now, which I guess doesn't really matter much since I am already sleeved, but I sometimes wish I could eat a BBQ sandwich or fried chicken or dumplings or whatever other things I love(d) prior to surgery.  I am sure before long I will be able to eat whatever foods I choose to.  The amazing and sometimes sad thing is that when I sit down to eat something now that I used to get excited over, I'm just not into it.  Things still taste the same, but strangely enough, I don't really care when I am actually eating it.  It's just food now, not my whole life which I previously revolved around food.  These feelings are so strange to me, to be able to have some of my favorites (soft right now) but not even care!!!!  It's a blessing and a slight curse while I adjust to all of this.  I also believe that I will be more grateful for the fact that I dont get as excited about food as I lose more weight.  Right now and I believe initially for most people it is just strange to go from living to eat to eating to live.  I guess this is how my skinny husband feels on a regular day???  He has never been "excited" about food, although he does have his favorites.  I do think I will be happier when I can eat a little more than 3-4 tiny bites.  Everyone I have heard says it gets much better as time passes.  I can only atest to this week being much better than the first two. I don't regret having the surgery, I just have to figure out what to do with my time besides eat and plan meals and grocery shop.  Those things consumed my life before.  I can't wait to discover what else there is to do especially when I am thin!!!!   Best of luck to you, it won't be the same, but it will be worth it.   BTW, sweets go down way too easy, so there are still conscientious choices to be made, it's just so much easier.  julie