Food-Panicked

[Cathy S.]

About two weeks ago I finally got my surgery date: March 2nd. My doctor told me that two weeks prior to my surgery he wanted me on a low-cal 1500 calorie a day diet. I was relieved over not having to do a liquid diet for sure! I vowed to begin my new new diet then and there, four weeks out from surgery just in case I was able to get an earlier surgery date if there was a cancellation. Slowly I began to find myself what I call "food-panicked". Falling off my diet to eat forbidden things because I kept irrationally thinking I'd never be able to have them again. Has this happened to anyone else? Is it normal? Now at two weeks out, my commitment to follow my diet is back, and I even had a meal replacement shake for breakfast today (first one that didn't taste like Kaopectate! LOL) If this happened to any of you please let me know that I am not alone!!

[PhotoNut]

Hey Cathy, welcome to B2G! Relax, you are definitely not alone in this. We call it the "last supper syndrome". Very natural reaction to the upcoming changes in your life. I remember crying over the thought of losing my dearest "friend", food. What I have found though is that I can have just about anything I had before, only now in limited quantities. I'm sure others will share their experiences with you as well, and I hope it brings you some comfort in knowing you're not alone.

A suggestion for meal replacements. BSN makes a wonderful replacement called Syntha-6 that comes in delicious flavors. They also make Lean Dessert protein supplement for later in your journey when you only need the added boost of some protein and not a complete meal replacement. My favorite flavor is the whipped vanilla but there are many to choose from, all of which are favorites among B2G bandsters. You can purchase these products locally, or on-line. Search for BSN Syntha-6 or BSN Lean Dessert.

Keep us posted on your journey! You're going to do fine! :)

[Mloukas143]

Sue said it all, it is completely normal, which could be a reason why I didn't lose any weight on my pre op diet....only about 2lbs! I remember one day before my surgery I went to my favorite place and ordered my favorite meal, definitely not a choice on the pre op diet, but i feared the same fears that you went through. Once you have the surgery you will find yourself complying to most of the rules for the sake of your new life style and for the sake of the band..don't want to damage anything in there!
Good luck, you are on the right track....Heck, I am not the best eater either...some days are good and other days are just horrible! lol

[kristina]

honestly i WISH i couldnt eat the foods i so strangely love!!! i went through the same thing, only i was on a liquid diet. i didnt cheat but the day before surgery i lost so much weight 21 pounds. that my doc said i could eat whatever i wanted the day prior! i had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! LOL!!! i would still love to have a pb&j sandwich. but i cant eat bread. the only thing i cant eat with restriction: is bread, fries, carbonation, rice, fiborous meat, like roast or steak & pasta. but after they hurt you- u wont even want them trust me. oh and its very gradual...u dont "get" restriction for some time...it will come and go the first few months- usually. also some people can eat bread and rice and pasta...and cant eat eggs, or soup, or raw veggies. we are all very different.

[Mloukas143]

I have to admit something Kris...I hurt when I eat bread, pasta and potatoes....but when i hurt, i stop eating for like 5 minutes, and then i will continue and make sure i chew the crap out of my food. Even though it hurts, i still eat it...i can't give up my breads and pastas, it is so bad...even with the discomfort. I am really hoping that this next fill will prevent me from eating those foods, because i love them so much!

See Cathy, some people want the band to forbid certain foods, this way you don't have to deal with them or the weight loss stall or weight gain that comes along with them! lol

[chellesewell]

OMG!!! I feel the SAME WAY!! I keep saying "I'm in month 3 and time is limited!!" It's so funny. My surgeon says yes you can eat them and you can make them go down, but you shouldn't. I have really taken that to heart and plan to be spot on with my eating when I know it makes a difference. Right now, I am down 12 pounds...gained 2 back....and my nutritionist is like "wow, you can do this without surgery!!" but I'm like"Look, I have done this 5 times...yo-yo dieting does not work...I gain more back every time...so, No." Good luck! Keep us posted....you are SOOO NOT ALONE!!

[dspace51]

Very normal this will always be a struggle at times, find good nutritional snacks and eat 1 when those feelings start. tell yourself to just stay focus. Contact my sister in-law who can give you some advice as to what works for her in keeping my brother in-law focused, she helped me. Cory keys2health @ yahoo.com she has a lot of little things to keep the food interesting.

[503-250]

Hey Cathy,

I'm sure you're going to be fine...everyone finds the thing that makes them panic...so congratulations...you've found yours. For me I didn't have the last supper syndrome...as a matter of fact I found it hard to eat before I had the surgery for fear I would screw up my chances. So it's totally normal, just remember that you are doing this for a reason and to quote Lapband cover model and superhottie Tami Ehl, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".

With that said, i'm interested in what you don't think you will be able to eat. I know we have a random selection of food issues with the band based on the individual, but rice, pasta, bread...those are the biggies. For me, it's dry meat...so any overcooked meat is guaranteed to plug my band up and put me off my meal. Three years out I can honestly say I don't miss any foods I can't eat...rice isn't exactly a treasure trove of flavor and enjoyment so it's not that bad, certain breads are just not going to happen (although right now after 7 months in the middle east I would love a chunk of sour dough bread from SF) and I can eat pasta...but not a lot of it. Other then that I have not had food issues except that I want to eat more of something I like but I know I don't have the room for it. Don't think that getting banded is going to mean that you can't eat, just that you can't eat too much.

Best of luck and keep us informed as you progress to the new you.

(And...between me and you, when you feel worried, lookup Tami's profile and check her before and after pictures...she was stunningly beautiful before and she is drop dead sexy now...it makes me try a little harder whenever I think about it)

[SweetCori]

It was tough during the pre-op diet for me. I did 3 weeks. The first week was 2 liquid meals and then a sensible dinner. That was the week of Christmas! Then 2 weeks before was all liquid. It was tough but I did it. Yes, I did maybe have a bite or two of real food here and there, but I kept pretty strict to it otherwise. I did my last meals (sparingly) the week before I started the pre-op diet. In fact, I had my last Diet Dr Pepper the day before I started.

YOU CAN DO ITTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!