Ask yourself: do you miss food or do you miss eating?

Cleopatra_Nik
on 12/4/12 10:15 pm - Baltimore, MD

I think this is an important question to consider at any stage of our post-op lives. One thing writing Bariatric Foodie has taught me is that there really is no flavor or taste I can't have post-WLS. I may not be able to have something in its original form (buffalo chicken dip vs. buffalo chicken wings, for example) but I can have most anything I want if I can find a way to make it work calorically and digestively.

Yet I was sometimes dissatisfied still. And it was because I wasn't JUST missing the food. I missed (and still do sometimes miss) mindless eating. It is a controversial thing to admit, I'm sure, but sometimes I miss being able to have a continuous stream of good flavors and textures going into my mouth. I sometimes miss endless chewing. I sometimes miss that place I go to when I zone out during mindless eating. It takes me away from the stress, away from the worries and into a seemingly happy place.

Unfortunately that's short lived. As soon as I stop eating, it's over. So I know it isn't real happiness but damn if I don't miss it still sometimes. 

So when you're thinking about having a treat, an indulgence, just think about that. While having the food itself might not be that bad (especially if you are careful with your portioning), what you might be missing - and what can be dangerous to give into - is the desire to eat and eat and eat. And that can turn an innocent and planned indulgence into something much, much worse.

Be mindful, friends!

RNY Gastric Bypass 1-8-08 350/327/200 (HW/SW/CW). I spend most of my time playing with my food over at Bariatric Foodie - check me out!

eeyoregirl
on 12/4/12 10:42 pm - DC

What a great post!  I am only about a month out and I was trying to explain that desire for big mouthfuls of food and mindless eating to my husband.  It is getting better and I know that habit and desire (hopefully) will diminish as I grow stronger and my new healthier life is my new normal. Glad to see that I am not alone in the struggle and have such a great board to turn to when I need the help.

Jamie-Sue30
on 12/4/12 10:42 pm, edited 12/4/12 10:45 pm
RNY on 10/24/12

So glad you posted this Nik. Sometimes I find myself missing the ability to sit down and consume whatever I wanted and the emotional escape that I would get from eating. I realized after surgery that my problem with emotional eating was a lot worse then I had thought. 

Sometimes I miss being able to go out to dinner with my sister.  Sitting down with a big ol' steak and pile of mac n cheese and big glass of wine. It is amazing how happy food made me! However, 6 weeks post op I've realized that it was an unhealthy way to live not just because of the calories I was consuming but also because of the dependence on food to be happy. It is no different then an alcoholic or drug addict. The only difference, the most difficult thing? You have to eat to live. 

I have thought that I need to see a psychiatrist because I really want to break my emotional dependence on food. I want to find a healthy relationship with food. I want to feel like I can still enjoy food in a healthier way. I'm sure this will all come with time, I am still a newbie. Each day gets a little easier though...

         

cajungirl
on 12/4/12 11:51 pm

I definitely miss the action/reaction of eating and not necessarily the food itself.  The emotional aspect of food being used as a crutch has been difficult sometimes depending on the emotion I'm feeling and when/how I used food to cope with that emotion.

Proximal RNY Lap - 02/21/05

 9 years committed ~  100% EWL and Maintaining

www.dazzlinglashesandbeyond.com

 

Kim S.
on 12/4/12 11:55 pm - Helena, AL

For me, this became more of an issue the farther out I got.  I like food. And I can eat anything I want.  I do really well with portion control though.  For instance, I have a couple cookies pretty much every day.  Some days though, I get really ticked off that I can't eat 1/2 the bag of Oreos with a giant glass of milk.....

And sometimes when eating out, I get mad that I can't enjoy some of everything...I just get too full too fast...but all in all, I guess I'd rather have this problem than be the old me.......

Thanks for a great post Nik!

             
     
Hollie313
on 12/5/12 12:05 am - MI
RNY on 05/09/12

Nik....were you in my brain yesterday?!?!  LOL.  Seriously, I was standing in the Subway line watching the guy in front of me order a whole sub with extra, extra cheese and I found myself "missing" being able to eat a whole sub.  Then....I snapped myself into reality and remembered that was how I got MO in the first place.  =)

Surgery: 5/9/12              HW: 302           SW:  287.6        CW:  158
            

Laura in Texas
on 12/5/12 12:44 am

My neighbor is fascinated with my weight loss. She's well over 100 pounds overweight, maybe 150. I see her everyday at the bus stop when we get our kids off the bus. I don't mention my surgery ever, but she does. She'll make remarks about surgery like "I could never have weight loss surgery because I love to eat!" plus other various reasons for not having surgery herself (I never try to tell her to have it, because I know it is an individual decision). I tell her I can pretty much eat anything now, but she does not believe me.

Laura in Texas

53 years old; 5'7" tall; HW: 339 (BMI=53); GW: 140 CW: 170 (BMI=27)

RNY: 09-17-08 Dr. Garth Davis

brachioplasty: 12-18-09 Dr. Wainwright; lbl/bl: 06-28-11 Dr. LoMonaco

"May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears."

Cicerogirl, The PhD
Version

on 12/5/12 12:22 pm - OH
I have someone at work who comments on the tiny portions that I take of various things when we have an office carry-in. "I could never have that surgery because I could never eat just two bites of ____." or "I could never give up eating ____."

No matter how many times I tell her that there are only 3 foods that I cannot eat at all, and that I gladly opt for two bites each of four side dishes over a large serving of only one of them, SHE stills sees my food consumption as excessively restrictive. The amusing thing is that 90% of the time I don't feel restricted. I truly can fully savor two bites of a decadent dessert and be satisfied. Yes, occasionally I regret that I cannot have a full dessert all to myself, or that I cannot eat a whole bacon cheese burger with onion rings, but not very often. I am VERY content to be maintaining myself at 25% body fat while being able to enjoy those two bites of so many foods!

Lora

14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained

You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.

artroxy blue
on 12/5/12 10:58 am - MA
RNY on 08/14/12

I miss mindless eating...I ain't gonna lie! I definitely was one of those people who swore off surgery because "I love to eat!". That changed when I realized the mindless eating had gotten me up to 299-300lbs. I could deal with it when I weighed less, but at that weight, everything was being effected by my love of eating. I was doing myself more harm than good. 

                       

    
Cicerogirl, The PhD
Version

on 12/5/12 12:13 pm - OH
Interesting post. I had actually never contemplated this. I don't miss food because I *can* eat almost anything in moderate amounts and if I really want something... REALLY crave something... I usually have a small amount of it.

Do I miss eating, though? Sometimes I do. Usually when I am watching a football game. I miss the mindless of munching of chips, pretzels, etc.

What I miss the MOST, though, is the crunching. I miss the crisp crunch of pretzels, Doritos, Fritos, etc. Crunchy veggies are not even in the same league, nor is microwaved pepperoni (although I like that as a snack, it is a very poor substitute for something hard and crunchy). I have not liked any kind of protein pretzel, etc. where I could more easily justify consuming the carbs because of the protein. Soy crisps... Eh.

Lora

14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained

You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.

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