Honestly...do you miss eating the way you used to?

My mantra through this whole process has been, "Failure is not an option",yet,  I know we all have doubts about being sucessful with this and missing our favorite foods . IMHO, 95% of this is mental , 5% is the surgery itself. Having said that,some things you just won't know till after. Pre surgery, I had a drink in my hand constantly, yet, I don't miss drinking with meals. I was a major sweets eater/carboholic. 99% of the time now,I don't crave them. Occasionally , I've had a bite or two of dessert and I was satisfied with that. I used to love coffee and it doesn't taste good now. There have been a few times when at the beginning of a favorite meal, I've missed not being able to "dig in", yet a few bites latter, I'm satisfied. It also does not feel good the first few times you eat too  much when you are "learning" your sleeve.For the most part , you may not miss certain foods/quanities as much as you think. You are likely to feel very motivated by a little protein filling you up and the rapid weight loss. At functions, I often eat a bite or two,socialize,eat a bite etc. People don't realize I'm eating a lot less this way and I concentrate on relationships, not the food.Follow your plan,you'll be fine.Everyone struggles to some degree at the beginning,but, it is temporary.

I have eaten cake, ice cream, pizza post op. I don't eat the icing on the cake- it gives me a headache. I eat no sugar added ice cream and thin crust pizza. These are things I eat very rarely. I do not crave sweets like I used to. It is quite strange to explain. I can eat 70 grams of good carbs and have no head hunger. On the other hand I can eat 1/3 of that in bad carbs (refined sugars) and the head hunger is awful. Takes about 3-4 days of catb detox.

As others have said, I had (and still have) a very disordered approach to food. I needed to rethink my "relationship" with food, and get right with it.  It's OK to enjoy food, we're meant to, but its primary function is nutrition, not all the other uses I put it to (something to do when I'm bored, a way to celebrate, a way to deal with stress, whatever).  And that's what I've focused on, mostly, since surgery.  It's not perfect, and it's not 100%.

Do I miss some things?  Yup.  As someone else said, I'm a baked good freak, both dessert-y stuff as well as breads, rolls, etc., and I've had to stay completely away from it all.  And a sweet freak as well, especiallly ice cream.  But in my experience, grains (especially wheat) and sugar are triggers for me.  Some leads to more, always.  And then I'm white-knuckling it to get off them again.  It's better for me to stay away.

But do I do that perfectly?  Nope.  I have on occasion had a few forkfuls of a dessert or someone else's mashed potatoes.  I've found that one bite of sugar or grain, when I'm full with protein and veggies, doesn't trigger me.  (YMMV)  And I do have three planned off-plan events during the year - my birthday, Christmas and Thanksgiving.  That doesn't mean all day, btw - just dinner.  The rest of the time I pretty much try to follow a very low-carb food plan.  I cook my own food about 95% of the time and do focus on big flavors, though, and I found a low-carb pizza recipe that I make up when I need a pizza fix. (I've made this easily a dozen times, I have some in the fridge right now.)  I haven't had a cheeseburger of any sort in 2.5 years and haven't missed it.  I've had a fry here or there from someone else's plate, and don't miss them either.

And as someone said, sometimes I get to daydreaming about a favorite former dinner - half a box of Honey Nut Cheerios with plenty of milk.  Two or three bowlfuls.  Later in the evening a couple pints of Hagen Dazs, if I went to the store on the way home from work.  Like those lottery winnings, though, it's just a fantasy.  The REALITY is running around in a size 4/6/8.  (Sizes are all over the map these days, haha!)

I'll take it.  :-)

I am 85 percent sure you should change your font so us people on tablets can read what you are trying to say.

Massive amounts of those mentioned foods seems soooo gross now....... not the flavors and taste..... will always love that..... but the quantity is not an issue anymore. For me it was about 6 months before it all started making sense.......

As for feeling like an outsider ???

The opposite....... nothing made me feel more like an outsider than being the fattest one in the room......or amongst a group.

Functions are much more enjoyable as a person of a normal weight, to wear good clothes and to interact freely without being self conscious of being grossly overweight.

People in general respect the control and discipline.......

It's just normal now and a non issue.....

frisco

Thank you ALL so much! You all said EXACTLY what I needed to hear! I really appreciate you all taking the time to answer my question!