Eating Holiday Questions

Yes I know it is early to think about this, but I like looking ahead so I dont get surprised and thrown off track.

If things work out the way they seem at the moment, I will be surgery ready in Oct or Nov. I am wondering about how to handle the month of treats and goodies from Thanksgiving through Christmas.  I see from all the data I have read that sugar is out. And being so close Post-op, I will be mainly on liquids and soft foods.  Yes I like to eat these goodies, and I understand I have to avoid them. But all at once "Cold Turkey" seems a little daunting from this end of the road.

Did anyone else have Surgery close to this time?  How did you handle all the social/work stuff that goes with this time of year?

In my area, I need to have this done by early Nov, or may have to wait until March. It is 2 hrs to doctor and the weather is highly unpredictable for travel from Nov-Mar.

I did read some posts from last year on the holidays. And I will continue to read for ideas. Just wondered how to mentally prepare for this time of year.

Thanks

I was lucky enough to have surgery in early September so by the time the holidays rolled around I was eating pretty normally. I just ate the protein stuff first. I was able to eat meat, deviled eggs, etc. without any problem. If you are REALLY early out, i'd take my own food to where ever I was going so I would know that I'll have something I can eat that won't cause any problems. Early out I wasn't really hungry at all so eating the first month wasn't an issue for me. Don't know if that helps at all, or answers your question. Good luck!

If you really think about it there is never a good time a year to have surgery and avoid the issue of holidays.  I had mine May 2nd and of course there has been Mother's day, Memorial day, 4th of July, graduation parties, 2 weddings so far......it never ends.  

We all need to accept that this is a huge change.  Holidays will never be the same for you.  This was my first 4th of July with no beer, no hot dog from the grill, not steak.  But you know what, it was fun and I did eat what I could and it was enough and I felt satisfied.  You will see, surgery changes how you view food so it won't feel like you are giving up anything.

Now, mind you, I have not faced the candy at Halloween yet, the food coma of Thanksgiving or the endless treats of Christmas, but I do know that I now have the ability to turn down the things that I know are not good for me and I also have the will power to take one bite and say "yummy" that is good and not take another.

Do the surgery in Oct/Nov.....you can't escape the holidays, they will come the next year even if you wait until March! 

Eat to live dont live to eat thats gonna be your new motto.... dont think so far ahead about what you want to eat, have your surgery get thru the hurdles, get better, feel better then everything else will fall into place.

Good Luck

Well yes, never really thought about all the other food holidays, that weren't really food holidays. They just had lots of food associated with them.  Of course that may be the first step I need to get my mind around. Someone once told me to "Eat to live not live to eat. Food is fuel, nothing more. " So I need to learn to enjoy the flavor and stop after one nibble. Of course if that dizzy light headed thing (cant remember actual term) from eating sugar happens, I will learn real quick.

You both have given me something to look at. I just find it hard to fathom that I should be eating 2500 calories baseline, am currently at 1900-2000 and after surgery will live measured in teaspoons and tablespoons instead of cups and ounces.  But I see many of you doing it successfully, so maybe there is hope for me yet.

Thanks

Remember the Surgery is ireversable... think hard about what your getting into. This is no cakewalk especially at the beggining months. After my surgery for first two weeks i asked myself why the heck did i do this, I was so happy being fat and eating whatever.... but then I fought thru it all, I saw my stomach getting full quickly, my weight dropping more than it ever has... Im now wearing my 18 year old sons clothes for god sakes... for me it started as if I made a trebbile mistake but now i couldent see myself living much longer without getting it done, and im only 5 weeks out and feel this way.
My diabetes is basically gone, I have the blood pressure of a 15 yr old.... and I feel like I can do anything right now...

But like i said think long and hard about your decision, remember to ask yourself this very important question....
"Do I really want to eat myself to death, be unhealthy forever, or do I want to begin to live life?"

Good luck

You should actually check out the recipes on "bariatric foodie"  and eggface's blogs.  You will still be able to get the same flavors - maybe in a different format - even when on soft / pureed foods.  For example, I've made pumpkin protein pudding -- a lot of the flavor of a pumpkin pie without any of the sugar & the bonus of protein.  "Cheesecake" made with greek yogurt is also yummy.  I couldn't have signed up for the everything you eat will taste like crap forever plan!

I agree about the thought. I have looked into several options over the last few years, and read these boards for several months before I saw the Doc in Apr.

I have two bad knees and an arthritic back from spinal fractures. One knee needs to be replaced soon, the other can wait. So my decision is have surgery, lose weight and be able to walk, or dont have surgery and end up sitting or laying all day. Ortho says if I lose a lot of weight, I may take enough pressure off my knees to delay the replacement. The longer I wait to have them replaced the better. It will also reduce the pain in my back.  I can get around now, but in the last 5 years I have lost mobility and gained weight proportionately.

Other than that I am healthy. I do not have those automatically qualifying CoMorbidity factors, only the pain and suffering from Orthopaedic issues.

It is just hard when your kid used to say Dad lets go play and now says Dad can you make it upstairs to look at something for me.

I take things as they come, but I do have my scouting radar out in the future looking for pitfalls. So far it has kept me from getting in too much trouble.

I refuse to give in, so whatever it takes to get healthier is what I will find a way to accomplish.

Now if I could find one of those fancy charts to add to my profile and find a decent profile pic, I would nearly be one of the group, lol.

Seriously my mind is my greatest assest and my greatest enemy at the same time. But I now have you guys to help keep me straight.

Enjoy

You can go under 'my account' and then look for "Health Tracker" on the left and you need to look for Tickers & Widgets...that's how you get the chart to add to your signature.

As for your concern about not being able to eat during the food holidays...you will do just fine. Once you see the weight loss and you start to feel better you won't want to eat the stuff that's not good for you. I read the labels on some of my favorite pre-op foods and decide whether I want to eat those calories for the day. It's usually not worth it to me. Good luck, you'll do great!

Found the Tracker and I think I added it. Just dont see it on my posts yet. I'll figure it out though.

Thanks for the assist.