Any Foodies Get An RNY?

Hello,

I am new here and considering this thing. I am concerned about what I will be able to eat. I don't eat junk food. I don't drink soda. I garden and cook everything fresh. If I eat pasta I make the pasta.

I also like to eat out. Last week, I had Jamaican goat curry, sushi, Korean fried chicken, Cambodian soup and wings and also went to Fogo de Chao for Brazilian BBQ.

I guess I am wondering what life is like for a food enthusiast? I am not even talking about the first year or two during the weight loss period, but beyond that once I would be in maintenance for the rest of my life. The portions remain small, right? But can you eat whatever you like?

Anyone else a food snob/food explorer/etc and have an RNY?

Thank you very much,

-Jeff.

I'm not that far out at all yet, but yes, I'm a foodie, which is part of what got me to this place. And here's my take: I will never be able to eat like I used to. Sure, there will be many things I can still eat in much smaller portions, but the approach I'm taking is to eliminate the central role that food used to have in my life. I look at it as having lived 54 years eating as much of whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, and what it got me was a whole host of health issues (diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, GERD, sleep apnea to name a few.) If I want to, I can think back to any one of a number of exceptional meals and remember it as vividly as I can. Then I'll eat something which, while maybe not as adventurous or rich as some of the foods I used to love, is still tasty and much more healthy for me. I can still eat out, I just make choices which give me a better bang for my calorie buck, as it were. But the days of 12 course tasting menus with a complementing wine flight to go with it are over. And I'm not too unhappy about that, since I consider the way I feel now (only about halfway through my weight loss) to be a more than fair trade. I can't say I'll never regret getting this surgery, but right now I just don't see that happening.

Not the answer you were looking for, perhaps, but it's my experience so far. Keep in mind, though, that everyone is an individual, and my way of going about dealing with my pouch post-op isn't everyone else's way. I'll be as interested as you to hear more responses. Oh, and you may consider posting this in the RNY forum to get more pouched folks' eyes on it, and possibly more responses.

Thank you very much. That makes a lot of sense. I also took your advice and reposted in RNY.

You might head on over to http://bariatricfoodie.blogspot.com or http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com. 

I think most of us are food enthusiasts, don't you? And I don't know that either of these women are food snobs, so they might not be what you are looking for.

Also, I think eating whatever you want and keeping portions small is not realistic for maintaining your weight. I could eat small portions of luscious, homemade ice cream with locally sourced organic ingredients and still gain weight.

Edited for clarity

I answered you on the RNY board, but Cunning Pam's remark about not being able to eat like she used to inspired me to reply again.

I can't esat like I used to, eithr---but I can eat all I want. That's one marvelous thing about what WLS has done for me---it has drastically reduced how much food I want.

The foodie thing had to pretty much end for me and I will be seven years out in October.  If I go to a Brazilian Barbeque, I just eat a small amount of some of the meats, a tiny amount of sauces and skip any breads or starches.  I am happy with a small amount of food and don't worry about "getting my money's worth".

At most restaurants, I eat a small amount of the meal and have take out for two or three more meals.

Going out to eat for me now is a social thing.  I enjoy the ambiance and enjoying talking with others and watching them enjoy their food.  I don't feel hungry or deprived.  Being a size 4 is enough of a trade off for me.

I am a devout foodie.  My closest friends are foodies.  I had the VSG rather than the RNY because I did not want to have issues with dumping that can occur with certain foods after having the RNY.  

It's a big change after surgery.  Although I can still eat (and do) at restaurants with amazing menus, I eat a BITE instead of a whole plate.  It's enough to get a taste of the flavors and then back off.  I did have a setback when I attended a food tasting event and overindulged three months after surgery.  Learned my lesson.  You can't eat everything that your eyes are savoring because your stomach will teach you a painful lesson.

I'm still in weight loss mode so I avoid starchy carbs and foods with flour and sugar.  Yet I'm not starving.  I was at another food tasting event on Saturday and only ate what most appealed to me.  Food has become less of an obsession for me than it was prior to surgery.  Well, maybe it's an obsession in a different way now.  I track everything I eat and try to keep it very protein forward.  Before surgery I would eat the right side of the menu and not think twice about it.

I would recommend the book Before and after: living and eating well after weight-loss surgery, by Susan Maria Leach. In addition to the recipes, it is a memoir of the author's journey through weight-loss surgery.

Most wls people find that they chose food by quality rather than quantity. I would say I was always a foodie, I don't like junk food, I have always cooked and baked good food. But I was also a glutton- otherwise I wouldn't have been obese! Now I am a foodie but not a glutton. 

I LOVE this answer, Kate! You stated it better than I could, but this is exactly how I feel.