I confess

It is much easier to deal with my carb addiction after surgery. I have also learned how to live with substitutes. When I reach a point where I just crave bad carbs I eat them with a dense protein first. Most of the time i'm ok with the carb substitutions tho. I even make a microwave cake with coconut flour, and carb quick. Turns out pretty darn good but i'm not a big sweet eater.

Good luck, get counseling if you need it. Don't let food keep you from your goal!!! You can do this!!!!

I found that once I "detoxed" from refined carbs pre-op, it was much easier to resist them for the remaining pre-op time as well as post-op.

Best of luck with it - it makes a difference!

 Have a big ole bowl of pasta for me.
Oh but I sometimes miss a big plate of alfredo. I like to eat so much I can feel my arteries hardening.
It will get easier after surgery. I still can't eat any major amount of pasta.
There are substitutes. Have you been to Nik's blog? Or theworldaccordingtoeggface.com?
They both have good substitutes for pasta and pizza.

Deb T.

 The two items most responsible for destroying our health are white flour and white sugar.  Google Lessons from the Pima Indians to read about how a tribe of people lost their health and slimness once they were introduced to white foods. 

I still eat carby stuff but I try to control it. I also try to eat whole grain pasta and whole grain bread.  Once you've had surgery you will find if you are really wanting something badly, drinking a glass of crystal lite or having a protein shake will change your perspective. I love this surgery for that ability. It does not take much to satisfy me at all and sometimes after a protein shake I can forgo what it was that I was wanting to eat to begin with because I feel full and satisfied.

I'm right there with you!  I'm pre-op, testing done, waiting on a surgery date, and all I can think about is eating ALL the things that I shouldn't or won't be able to eat post-op.  Pizza, pasta,  fast food hamburgers & tacos.  I made myself a Ruben sandwich last night with chips and a pickle, because that's what I was craving at the moment.  Sweets usually aren't my trigger, but I've been pigging on those too!  I'll proably gain another 10lbs before I get to my pre-op diet!

I loved pasta, too.  The further away you get from it, the easier it will get.  I had some serious hallucinations about food the first few weeks post-op. 

What you can do is find some palatable substitutions for pasta (and pizza, too, thankfully!).  And now is a great time b/c you are pre-op and can learn how to do it ahead of time.  Food trial and error post-op is no fun sometimes, trust me.  

A favorite around here with my stepdaughter and hubby and myself is tuna mac & cheese.  I craved this hard core.  I bought a bag of pre-shredded broccoli and carrot slaw in the produce section, and steamed the hell out of it.  Then I put in some Ragu cheddar sauce (just enough to coat the noodles, about a 1/4 cup) and shredded cheddar and colby, and then I added the tuna.  I ate a normal portion for me (about a 1/4 cup-1/3 a cup), but my stepdaughter inhaled the stuff.  It was really good, did a great job substituting the macaroni, and had a very low carb count, and those carbs were all complex from the veggies.  High protein, low fat (depending on the cheese you use that is).  A very well rounded meal, and suitable for the soft food stage, too.

Another is spaghetti squash.  Recipes abound on the internet.  I have yet to try it, because I have always hated squash, but we are planning on getting one next week and making clam "pasta." 

For the pizza craving, I have found making crustless pizzas to be very easy and very satisfying.  I put in 6 tbsp of grated parmesan (not the green can stuff, the real deal), 1/3 cup Quorn meatless crumbles (I'm addicted to Quorn, BTW), 1 oz of mini turkey pepperonis, and a squirt of garlic from a tube (high class around here, ya know).  Nuke the crumbles and garlic for about 30 seconds, then add the rest and nuke another 30 seconds.  Oven at 400, spread it into a patty on a VERY well greased cookie sheet, about 6 inches in diameter.  With the ingredients I use, it's 320 calories, 21g fat, 5.5g carbs, and 31.5g protein.  High calorie and high fat, it's a treat just like pizza was as a pre-op (or at least should have been), but I tweak the recipe to make smaller lower-fat ones and have cheese chips, or just use the Quorn, or use a lower fat cheese.  

As Nik would say, PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD!

Gina :~)

I love my carbs..I dont eat meat, so before surgery, id eat A LOT of pasta and pizza. I can tolerate chicken, but i ate mostly carbs, and I blame my weight on it. Now that I had surgery, I dont want to eat the carbs. I dont crave bread, but I am craving pizza. I dont want to eat it ever again because I cant trust myself to eat it. I am going to find other healthy things to eat (when im off of pureed) to try instead. I just cant trust myself with carbs..Im not a sweets person so I dont worry about the sugar..But I will miss my pizza for sure!

 I have found that since I got the go ahead to add carbs back in (I didn't do mashed potatoes and such during my mushies phase)  I tried adding some pita bites, while low in cal/carb for a small serving I found that the more I had the more I wanted and I was dealing with hunger of some sort much more often.  I've lowered my carbs way down again and I'm findign that I'm back to the eating on schedule because if I don't I will miss meals.

Carbs are the devil for me!  So I too am always looking for different ways to prepare things.  it's easier cause I live alone so I just don't keep those 'trigger foods' in the house and I threw out the pita bites...when the bag was almost gone..no more until I'm way further down the road.

Gypsy

 Relax!  I too used to love pasta and bread. Now,15 months after surgery I really never eat pasta or rice. I am immediately stuffed from the pasta and don't at all crave it like I used to. You will change your   Cravings iif u listen to your body.  I don't want the three  or four bites of pasta 
that I could eat. Stick with eating protein first then your veggies and if u can still eat have a bite of pasta. I promise u won't want it by then for sure. I am having great success with this. I am down 187 pounds from a size 28 to an 8. All is well and the surgery was the best decision I ever made good luck to u!   Remember you must eat differently if u want to be different but I don't deny myself anything.